Category Archives: Spirit of Tradition

Summer Wine

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Summer Wine – Oneroa 07/2013
SUMMER WINE
Summer Wine – could be a very special boat, I suspect she was designed by one of NZ’s most talented modern(ish) yacht designers, Des Townson. He only designed (I think?) one launch & Summer wine could be it. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to iD most Townson boats – not a lot of right angles on them 🙂
I said hello last weekend as I cruised past her stern in Oneroa, I would love to know more about the boat, she was flying the CYA burgee but I can not find her in the database?
ps I might be wrong about her being a Townson, more knowledgable people than I have question my judgement on this launch – so jump in with your view.AH
An Update From the Owner – I was wrong but right 🙂 AH
MV SUMMER WINE (registered as such to avoid confusion with the plethora of Summer Wines) was designed and built by Noel May of Bucklands Beach, and launched in 1993, for his own use in retirement.  Noel had been a long time friend of Des Townson and had built a number of Townson keelers, culminating in the build of ARISTOS, the only launch designed by Townson.  The two launches are similar, but distinctly different in both dimensions and layout, in that they share the same materials (triple kauri hull, epoxied inside and glassed outside, teak coamings, glassed and clear finished, walnut panelling interior).  ARISTOS has recently been purchased from Whitianga and is now in the OBC in the capable care of a jeweller, I believe.
SUMMER WINE hopes to become a classic when she is old enough, meanwhile her owners,  most certainly are old enough to be classics, although their construction may let them down a bit, are content to be ordinary members of the CYA, hence the burgee.
My daughter, who knows about such things, took the opportunity to spend some time with Noel May shortly after we took the boat over and scanned a number of photos of the designing and construction and launching which she made into one of those self published book thingies.  We have spare copies aplenty by the way, which the CYA is welcome to one of if there is any interest.
We have covered a lot of miles in the three and a bit years past and have found her to be vice free, comfortable, and manouverable due to her little twin Yanmars. Dennis Rule
26-03-2017 Photos below of SW at Pine Harbour – Mar2017 ex Ken Ricketts

Mahanui (Jacinta II)

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Mahanui 2013
Mahanui Islington Bay ’13
Jacinta II

MAHANUI

Mahanui was built by Keith Atkinson in 1977 for Trevor Lindsay who owned Linbide Precision Tools.  She was originally launched as Jacinta II.  Keith had built a 44 ft boat to a “Bertram” design (Raymond C Hunt) launched as ‘Shango’ which Trevor admired but it was too big for his marina at Half Moon Bay  so he said if Keith could build a scaled down Shango he would buy it.  That was Jacinta II Photo attached as originally launched. She’s hard chine Kauri Plywood glassed over hull and topsides.  Trevor owned her for 25 years and sold her to someone in Doves Bay Kerikeri who used her for game fishing then became ill and sold her about 8 years ago to Brett Haeger who changed the name to Mahanui, and converted the portofino stern topsides to conventional topsides and added a new duckboard.  There was no extension of the hull.  He also shortened the flying bridge coamings.

Jenny and Angus Rogers purchased Mahanui in February 2012 and set about fixing the defects the survey revealed starting in May 2012 at Lees Boatyard in Sandspit.  On the way to Sandspit one of the original motors (BMC 98’s) blew its fuel pump and closer examination of the motors indicated we either had to spend a lot of money on reconditioning very old motors or bite the bullet and replace them.  We replaced them with twin Perkins Sabre M135’s with Newage PRM gearrboxes.  She was in the shed at Sandspit for almost 9 months and during that time the hull was dried out, treated inside and then white gel coated, new exhausts fitted, new fuel and water hoses and filters, completely rewired, new BEP switchboard, LED lights throughout, faulty instruments replaced, complete overhaul of refrigeration, new batteries,resplining and strengthening coamings, all chromed brass removed and redone, bowsprit and anchoring system upgraded, all deckrails removed and refastened, new controls and cables, new skin fittings, other wood work, most of the internal panellng replaced, flybridge interior completely refurbished,coamings back to bare wood and Uroxis varnished, topsides and flybridge repainted, hull taken back to glass re-epoxied and new antifoul, new electronics and autopilot. Now ready for its next 30 years.

13-01-2017 Update from Angus Rogers
Piecing together an accurate history on Mahanui is interesting.  The original owners (Lindsays) have provided ‘as launched’ and ‘run until 1996’ photos (below).  Then in 1996 they extended the hull to its present length and Portofino sterned her and upgraded the foredeck hatches, put in solar panels etc.  The next owner must have extended the side panels of the flybridge as shown on the photo that appeared in WW as “as launched”.  The Lindsays corrected me about that photo showing her “as launched”   and then the 3rd owner added the topsides and new duckboard and removed the added sidepanels to its present profile which I have just changed by extending the coaming roof.
Read details & view photos of the work undertaken in 2016 at the Greg Lees yard at this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/10/25/23212/

 

Lady Dorothy & Valerie

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Lady Dorothy & Valerie

Two fine classics anchored off Milford Island in Whangaroa Harbour, Jan 2013. The one on the left is Robin Elliott’s Logan 33 replica. The other is the Lane designed launch Valerie, c1933. Valerie is kept at Whangaroa Marina and currently owned by John Briers and Jackie Te Hore of Cable Bay. Valerie was for many years owned by the Reynolds family, close friends of the Pickmeres, who owned her up until the late 1960’s. Apart from a short period in Auckland during the 1960’s she has spent almost all her life in Whangarei and the far North. It is believed Valerie was sometimes used by H. Pickmere when he was charting the far north. Info ex Robin Elliott.

Lucille

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Lucille

Lucille – Logan 33 replica – not a lot of wood 🙂 but her owner is so passionate that he has replaced all her fitting with one-off bronze castings & he is currently building a very cool wooden dinghy at the NZ Traditional Boat Building School.

Maggie

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Maggie

Maggie – designed and built by Roy Parris in 1992,originally she had a large hatch in the foredeck and a doghouse aft-end. A very pretty looking workboat , and exceptionally well balanced hull , the completed boat sat on its keel in the shed rocking gently from side to side between 2 wedges for well over 1/2 hour until Roy Parris stopped it whereupon it sat and it stood completely unsupported on its keel only. After an early life transporting supplies to & from Kawau Island she was refurbished in 2004 & is now best described as a small clinker built day boat, being 18ft 6″ overall. Her stem and keels are heart totara with a hull built of rewa rewa ribs and kauri planks. Her comfortable cruising speed is 7 knots at 2100 rpm. Maggie is a good little sea boat, and is permanently berthed in the Viaduct Harbour Basin.