Category Archives: Sub 28′

CLASSIC WOODYS ABROAD – COLOURFUL CRAFT ON THE CÔTE D’AZUR

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CLASSIC WOODYS ABROAD – COLOURFUL CRAFT ON THE CÔTE D’AZUR

For the last few months, Kiwi woody Shane Anderson and partner Azra have been exploring Europe the hard way — by bicycle and on foot. And we’re not talking about battery-assisted cycling or gentle strolls! These two have been tackling the big stuff, including the mighty Mont Blanc.

This week, they’ve been hiking the spectacular French Riviera, using the beautiful coastal town of Villefranche-sur-Mer as their base.

Naturally, Shane couldn’t resist checking out the local boating scene, and today’s woody photos come from the marina at Villefranche.

Shane reports that much of the local wooden fleet consists of smaller 15–22ft fishing boats, most powered by small diesel engines, with a few sailing craft thrown into the mix.

What really catches the eye is the wonderful use of colour. These working little wooden boats have plenty of character, and sitting together in the marina, they make for a colourful slice of traditional Mediterranean boating life.

KAWAU ISLAND’S LABOUR WEEKEND BOATING MUSTER

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KAWAU ISLAND’S LABOUR WEEKEND BOATING MUSTER

The photo above has appeared on WW before, capturing and promoting the X-factor that makes Kawau Island such a special destination for classic boaters. Its sheltered anchorages, rich maritime heritage and relaxed cruising atmosphere make it hard to beat for a Labour Weekend escape.  

Over the past few years, the Kawau Boating Club, Ponsonby Cruising Club and WaitemataWoodys — three staunch supporters of classic boating and the cruising lifestyle — have been working together to develop and promote a gathering of traditional craft in and around Kawau Island.Brought together under the banner of Labour Weekend Spring Splash.

The event is becoming a wonderful opportunity for owners and crews to get out on the water, catch up with fellow enthusiasts and celebrate everything that makes classic wooden boating so special.It’s all about good boats, good company and the timeless pleasure of cruising in one of the Hauraki Gulf’s most treasured destinations.

Each year it gets better and better and has become one of the most popular events on the waitematawoodys calendar. Link here to last years event  https://waitematawoodys.com/2025/10/28/2025-kawau-island-spring-splash-regatta-a-woody-weekend-to-remember/

There truely is something for all craft – 

• FRIDAY – Cruising to the island

• SATURDAY – Matakana Markets River Cruise & Round the Island Yacht Race

• SUNDAY – Waitematawoodys Classic Parade & Short Course Yacht Race + Race Giving ar KBC

• MONDAY – Breakfast at KBC

Each day the KBC clubrooms will be open to all boaties + we have new managers and menu. Check on-line for opening hours. https://kawauboatingclub.nz

f you are not racing there is no requirement to enter, just turn up and enjoy the weekend and the sociability of the KBC. Hey you my enjoy it and consider becoming a member 😉

PS – I emailed details out to the WW data base earlier in the week, but not surprisingly not everyone is on the database. If you want to be kept updated on classic events and gatherings – just drop an email to waitematawoodys@gmail.com with your name, boat name (if you have one) and mobile number. We do not spam you, it is a very tight list.

Read more in the attached PCC notice of regatta.

NOR LABOUR WEEKEND SPRING SPLASH 2026Download

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CLASSIC WOODEN YACHT ASTRID – ANOTHER PIECE OF HER STORY SURFACES

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CLASSIC WOODEN YACHT ASTRID – ANOTHER PIECE OF HER STORY SURFACES

Sundays WW story on the classic wooden yacht – ASTRID,  https://waitematawoodys.com/2026/10/04/where-is-astrid-the-search-for-a-classic-wooden-yacht/  , prompted Mark McLaughlin to send in todays update / input. Over to Mark 

Further to Sundays storyon Astrid, there was an Athol Burns thread on Boatdesign.net about 14 years ago where the topic of Astrid came up. An ex-owner (now residing in the USA) came forward and provided some colour photos from his ownership and he made the following comments:

I was partnered with a friend we owned ASTRID in Auckland for a few years. I too was wondering what became of her and stumbled onto this forum. I have included some photos.

She had a single banger gas engine with a huge flywheel crank start. The name eludes me. It was kind of cool in it’s annoying way. Cranking made for some funny times.

She sailed quite well with a bit of a struggle pointing as you can imagine. We decked her out with some Lidgard sails including a full radial reaching chute. From memory she was built in Kawhia. I had a copy of the Seaspray article but it has since disappeared.

She was in Westhaven when we bought her. 

https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/who-is-athol-burns.38688/page-2

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – AVALON – RESTORATION UPDATE #6

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – AVALON – RESTORATION UPDATE #6

Today we have an an update from Tobias Forsyth on his rebuild of the 24’ Sam Ford built (1954) classic wooden launch – AVALON. Getting very close to hitting the water. Have to admire the workmanship , very talented man is Tobias.

I’ll hand over to Tobias to walk us thru the work – Update 6, great progress and we have a launch date for late November.

“Photos are fairly self explanatory, new cabin top has been clashed with kauri and then corners glassed, an internal laminex epoxied and vacuum bagged down to have a nice easy maintainance deck head. Cabin top then fully painted and installed. Final coats of varnish done plus non skid on decks before glass install. Made some good progress of wiring and systems with a quick test run of the engine to make sure all is working as it should. 

Test fit the new squabs and carpets along with a few other cosmetic touches. All going to plan the launch date should be ok. Just the final coat on the hull and then driveline install and finish off the engine bay and systems left to go now.” 

WHERE IS ASTRID – THE SEARCH FOR A CLASSIC WOODEN YACHT

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WHERE IS ASTRID – THE SEARCH FOR A CLASSIC WOODEN YACHT

Last week WW was contacted by Mark Panther who is trying to track down the current location of the Athol Burns designed 23 foot double ended cutter ASTRID. I’ll hand over to Mark to tell the story. The Sea Spray articles area get read.

“I believe ASTRID was built by George Gould in the early 1950s. This boat is of some significance to me, as my parents sailed her to Tonga, Fiji and back home in 1957. The story of the trip along with photographs was published in serialised form in the 1960 August, September and October editions of the Sea Spray magazine.

From all accounts, she was a bit on the slow side, but handled a number of adverse weather events on that trip very well. 

Bluewater sailing in those days differs from the current methods. Windvanes or autopilots were not available, so it was watch on, watch off hand steering, and safety consisted of a small folding canvas dinghy rather than a liferaft, with sextant sites when you could get them.

The top photo shows her hauled out on the old WWII seaplane base concrete ramp at Sawene Bay, Fiji for an antifoul. 

I believe she was owned by a Mr Brian Brown at Waiheke in the early 1990s, and I had heard a rumour she was located at Whagapoua on the Coromanel some time later.”

So woodys can we help Mark out with an update on what became of ASTRID and where she is today.

PART ONE – SEA SPRAY AUG 1960

PART TWO – SEA SPRAY SEPT 1960

PART THREE- SEA SPRAY OCT 1960

122-YR-OLD CLASSIC WOODY GETS A WELL-DESERVED MAKEOVER

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Sept 2024
Sept 2026

122-YR-OLD CLASSIC WOODY GETS A WELL-DESERVED MAKEOVER

Back in Sept 2024 WW posted a photo of LEXIA, the 26′, 1904 Chas Bailey Jnr built classic wooden yacht berth in the Milford Marina. At the time I commented about her condition. The top photo is from 2024.

Fast forward to Sept 2026 and LEXIA has been hauled out at The Slipway Milford – refer 2nd group on photos, sadly below the water was in a similar condition to the 2024 photo. 

BUT – great news, she is getting the full treatment as seen in the 3rd group of photos. 

Lucky that no-one tried to sail her, the mast and boom were very suspect in several places.

CLASSIC MYSTERY WOODEN LAUNCH AT LEIGH WHARF

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CLASSIC MYSTERY WOODEN LAUNCH AT LEIGH WHARF

Today we have another classic wooden launch photo from Robyn Kellian via Tobias Forsyth.

Based on all the previous photos and what we can see in this one, the location is the Leigh Wharf.

Vessel name and date unknown.There appears to be a Registration # on her bow so maybe a small commercial fishing boat – long-liner? 

Hopefully we can get a positive ID from the WW crew.

HENRY GEROS WOODEN BOATBUILDERS – TAURANGA 

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HENRY GEROS WOODEN BOATBUILDERS – TAURANGA 

Todays woody photo popped up recently on a fb link that features historical events from the Tauranga area.

The photo originated from the Bay of Plenty Times, 22 March 1973 issue.

The poster was Rebecca Muir, who commented that in the photo we see Henry Geros and his two sons – Phillip and Michael(r), putting the finishing touches to a 22’ cabin cruiser built in their Tauranga based boat building yard.

Can we learn more about the yard and possibly the design of the cabin cruiser, which to my eyes is very appealing. Being 1973 the AWB’s (average white boats) can not of been too far away……..

CLASSIC MULLET BOAT WAIATA’s POST WAR TRIP > JAPAN

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CLASSIC MULLET BOAT WAIATA’s POST WAR TRIP > JAPAN

Todays woody tale features the 1934 Dick Lang built 26’ mullet boat – WAIATA (H15). Probably the most travelled mullet boat ever.

Chris Leech sent in a link to a fb post by the boats owner – Steve Rhodes, Steve had shared details and photos on the ’Sitting There Rotting….’ page.

We learnt that WAIATA was taken over in c.1939 by the Royal NZ Airforce for use in a R&R programme during the war. Fast forward to March 1946 and the airforce loaded WAIATA onto an English aircraft carrier named GLORIA headed for Japan where she continued her R&R duties for the J-Force.

WAIATA returned to NZ in 1948, and returned to civilian ownership. The article below is dated from the year 2000 and provides more background.Steve Rhodes commented he bought WAIATA awhile ago in disrepair and pulled her out and is spending ‘shiploads’ on doing her up. In the b/w photo above we see WAIATA on the aircraft carrier GLORIA along with our troops and the Corsair planes.
Great history, keen to learn more about the future plans for the ‘yacht’ (I suspect from the photos she is now better described as a launch)

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUCNH – ROSINA (Iron Bark) 

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUCNH – ROSINA (Iron Bark) 

Earlier in the week WW contacted by Steve Bass concerning details on a Weiti River craft. Steve mentioned a launch that he had previously owned named – ROSINA, and in reply to my standard reply -“send details”, we get to learn her history. Best if I let Steve tell the story (edited)

“I bought Rosina at Easter 1999 after she had had a major rebuild from 1986 to 1995, work included her Kauri planked hull clad in 1/4″ ply on the sides of the hull and 1/2″ on the bottom over 1/2” kauri planks and then fibreglassed. Her decks, cabin and interior were new so was basically a brand new boat when relanched at Stillwater on the 15th Jan 1995.

She was originally called Iron Bark and was launched at Meola Creek in 1947. I re-powered her in 2005 with a Nanni 3.10HE as the original 2 cyld Nanni was too underpowered. She is 20’ long x 6’ wide and draws 18”. Has a cruising speed of 6.5k and tops out at 8k. 

Sadly I sold her in March 2024 after owning her for 25 years when I retired. She is currently land bound near Raglan after her current owner took her out of the water after sitting in the mooring at Wyuna Bay Coromandel for 20 months. Hopefully she will see some more use in the near future.”
In the last photo we see ROSINA being hauled and trucked back to Steves property for her biannual dose of TLC.

Anyone able to make a suggestion on the design / builder.

In NZ we get upset when the Prime Minister uses one of our Air Forces ageing transport planes – life is a tag more swish in Oslo, Norway – check out the Royal yacht below https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdEdyxFoZtF/?stkn=ZHJjb3IzcW14YnZw