KAWAU SPRING SPLASH CLASSIC PARADE – 25 WOODYS + A BAY FULL OF BOATS
If you were thinking about buying a classic wooden boat but weren’t quite sure which style floated your boat, a visit to the 2026 Kawau Boating Club Spring Splash over Labour Weekend would have gone a long way towards answering that question!
Over the last two days, I’ve shared a series of semi-random Waitemata Woodys posts to give you a taste of the action, both ashore at the KBC and out on the water.
Aside from New Year’s Eve, I can’t recall seeing so many boats anchored in Bon Accord Harbour. Now, I know that’s not everyone’s scene – some skippers will do a U-turn if they’re not the only boat in the bay! But for most, the fleet, the atmosphere and the chance to catch up with fellow boating enthusiasts are all part of the magic.
There were a few new systems to navigate and the inevitable operational speed bumps, but none of that stopped the good times rolling. Each evening, the dining and partying got underway, with music perfectly matched to the crowd. The food gets an 8/10 from me, which is high praise indeed!
So, a big tick to the team behind the weekend. If you enjoyed this year’s gathering, do yourself a favour and circle Labour Weekend 2027 in your diary now.
Today, I’m sharing a photo gallery focusing on Sunday’s WaitemataWoodys Classic Wooden Boat Parade. We had a fantastic turnout, with 25 classic craft joining the parade. I have include a few photos that show the ambience of the KBC (thanks to Beth Houlbrook from KBC for her photos). When I cover these big events, my objective is to try and give the WW readers a taste / feel for what it was like, so enjoy the gallery and remember if you click on a photo it enlarges.
And it wasn’t just the parade. I’ve never seen so many classic wooden motorboats out on the water at one time, the bay was absolutely teeming with woodys, my count was 41 classic craft.
Enjoy the gallery, and remember, clicking on any photo will enlarge it. Scroll down to view the two previous weekend posts.
P.S. If you were there and we missed your boat, apologies. With so many classics on the water, keeping track of everyone was always going to be a challenge.
Firstly I hope Sundays WW story appeared ok , first time done totally remotely from mobile phone and dodgy internet connection + a little late at night….
Sunday we had the Classic Woodys Parade in Bon Accord Harbour – amazing turnout , 24 classic craft gathered off Kawau Boating Club for a celebratory cruise around the bays.
A huge thank you to the skippers that made the effort to turn up and special thanks to the Kawau locals that cheered the fleet on from their bachs and wharfs.
Only a few parade photos today, just too many to edit on the phone – full report on Tuesday.
We held a parade prize giving on Sunday nights at KBC and most woody skippers walked away with a smile on their face ✔️. Full photo gallery from the bay and parade on WW Tuesday.
If you typed the words jet boat into the WW search box, pretty sure the answer would be ’Nothing Found’, until today.
I stumbled across this wee beauty 4 sale in Nelson – what a treasure.
Some details – TARANUI is 19’ in length and was built in 1967 by Mr Macpherson of Mapua. She spent the most of her life in a shed at Duncan Bay, Tennyson Inlet. Powered by a Crusader Marine 327 Chevy, connected to a Hamilton Jet unit which was purchased from Wilkins & Field in the mid to late 60’s. The gate steering has been modified to make her more agile.
She won ‘Best Jet Boat’ at the 2016 Classic Boat Show at Lake Rotoiti and from the photos looks like she could win again.
Spotted the 33’ Roy Parris designed and built (1978) classic launch – WAIKARO at the Slipway Milford earlier in the week , poked my head / camera into the cabin and got a surprise – it looked a little like a tip 🙂 Normally she is immaculately presented (last photo), closer inspection revealed a large hole midships and the absence of her Ford 2715 diesel engine.
Turns out she is getting a heart transplant – out with the Ford and in with a new Yanmar. Will be interesting to see the performance comparison – the Ford was 6cly. 120hp and gave her a top speed of 14 knots, The Yanmar is 4cyl. 110hp and turbo. Yanmar is higher reving and probably 1/2 the weight. Her semi displacement hull helps with the speed.
Being keen fishermen her owners like to fish where the big ones are eg Great Barrier Island , so reliability would have also been key factor in the decision to re-power.
Looking forward to feed back on the performance of the new Yanmar.
WW has been contacted by Jack Lyons regarding his 12’6” classic Sea Craft clinker built kauri runabout .
Jack’s father purchased the boat c.1950 and ownership was passed on to Jack but as is often the case these craft get ‘parked’ away with the good intention of being restored.
Well life and the ownership of a 47’ Warwick yacht got in the way and now Jack has made the call to find a new custodian that can take on the project.The Sea Craft is located in Wellinton and from Jack’s comments, the right owner is more important than the right prize. WW readers will be familiar with my view that these trailerable classics are the future of classic wooden boating, so woodys someone needs to put their hand up.Jack can be contacted at
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.
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.
• 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.
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.
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.”
