Category Archives: Sub 28′

CLASSIC 1950’s WOODEN SPEEDBOAT 

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CLASSIC 1950’s WOODEN SPEEDBOAT 

Todays woody is looking for a new home and I suspect someone with deep pockets. The c.1950’s speedboat is 16’6” in length and built with triple kauri plank and mahogany plank deck. From the photos the hull appears to be in good condition, probably due to being in storage for the last 30 years.

Currently powered by a Ford flathead V8 engine (not running). Its stated that ‘in her day’ she was capable of towing skiers at 40mph.

So woodys – anyone looking for a project – has Lake Rotoiti written all over her 🙂
(Thanks Ian McDonald for the tme heads up)

2025 KAWAU ISLAND SPRING SPLASH REGATTA – A WOODY WEEKEND TO REMEMBER – 50+ PHOTOS

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THERE IS A WOODY HIDING IN THERE – SEE BELOW ⬇️
RAINDANCE
KAIKOURA
CENTAURUS
CALLISTO
HGARUNUI
MARIHI
ST CLAIR
TAREE
MEOLA
RONAKI
VOLANTO
KIWARUA
MOANALUA
TUNA

2025 KAWAU ISLAND SPRING SPLASH REGATTA – A WOODY WEEKEND TO REMEMBER – 50+ PHOTOS

Pleased to report that the long weekend’s woody action at Kawau Island was an absolute triumph. Now in its second year, the Spring Splash Regatta — a joint venture between the Kawau Boating Club, Ponsonby Cruising Club, and Waitematawoodys — continues to grow in both size and spirit.

It’s still early days for what’s shaping up to be a great annual tradition, but this year’s event had an unmistakably upbeat, jaunty vibe. Everywhere you looked, people were smiling, swapping yarns, and clearly having a great time afloat and ashore.

I’ll apologise up front for being light on the yacht racing and prize-giving coverage — for reasons I won’t bore you with — but rest assured, the competition and camaraderie were both in full swing.

Sunday’s Woodys Classic Parade was the visual highlight of the weekend, showcasing a handsome flotilla of 17 classic launches for all those anchored in Bon Accord Harbour and watching from waterfront properties. Aside from a brief 10-minute burst of H₂O at the start, the weather came right and the parade looked spectacular.

A big thank you to the classic skippers and crews who took part — your efforts made for a great show.

Helming a boat among moored craft while trying to take photos is a fine line between “challenging” and “slightly reckless,” so I’m especially grateful to Dean Watchlin, Murray Deeble and Richard Bicknell for sharing their superb photos from the weekend.

Enjoy today’s gallery — loosely divided into two parts: the weekend’s happenings and the Sunday Parade. Sorry if the cameras missed your boat – some joined the parade midway and some departed midway. The crew of KAIKOURA below, correctly attired for the occasion 🙂

WOODEN CLASSICS TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT THE 2025 WHANGAREI MARITIME FESTIVAL – 60+ photos & videos

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WOODEN CLASSICS TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT THE 2025 WHANGAREI MARITIME FESTIVAL

Early Saturday morning I pointed the car north and arrived in Whangārei just in time to catch the soft early light — perfect for photography and well before the dockside crowds arrived.

Whangārei’s Town Basin really is the ideal setting for a maritime festival — easy dock access, great viewing angles, and plenty of nearby cafés and attractions. Add in the buzz of the Saturday markets and you’ve got all the ingredients for a standout event.

Wooden boat numbers were a little down on last year, but a few visiting commercial vessels — including Customs, Pilot boats, fishing craft and a pair of Waka — helped round out the fleet. From a public point of view, it was still an impressive line-up. Given the number of classic boats that have migrated north in recent years, it would be great to see more of the region’s wooden heritage on display next time around.

It was great to catch up with so many familiar faces — clearly the new highway was busy with Aucklanders heading north for the weekend.

All up, a thoroughly enjoyable day. Hopefully today’s photo gallery will inspire a few more of you to make the trip in 2026.

And there is always a few foody pix – hands down the best two seafood fritters ever – one mussel and the star – one whitebait. And a free KOWHAI coffee because she liked my WW t-shirt.

FYI – when I’m at an event I point the camera at what catches my eye , sometimes I miss a few boats but I like to think the photos are more like someone strolling the docks rather than someone trying to capture the whole caboodle 🙂

CLASSIC SPEEDBOAT BLACK TULIP – LOST HER SHINE, KEPT HER ATTITUDE

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CLASSIC SPEEDBOAT BLACK TULIP – LOST HER SHINE, KEPT HER ATTITUDE

Earlier in the week one of my Picton spies (Steve) spotted a ’new’ arrival at Waikawa Marina, in Picton. Boats name is BLACK TULIP, which rang a few bells with Steve, so a quick WW search popped up a July 2022 story – link below. At the time Dean Wright had spotted the boat sign and dry in Paihia. 

Whilst needing some TLC she was a looker and we learnt that she was a Mason Clipper 23 and came with an impressive power boat racing history. https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/07/22/black-tulip-where-is-she-today/

Now a few days later she popps up on tme – post an extensive make over, and powered by a 280hp Yanmar, that sees her topping out at 23 knots.

An oid salt told me once that once you lose the varnish on a classic ,it just becomes another white boat – well I think if you check out the photos below, you would have to agree, she has lost the WoW factor – but its only paint and maybe the next owner will see the light 🙂

CLASSIC LAUNCH – NAUTILUS ID’ed AT LAST

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CLASSIC LAUNCH – NAUTILUS ID’ed AT LAST

Todays classic wooden launch first appeared on WW back in December 2017, link below. Jason Prew and Nathan Herbert were mooching around the Whangarei town basin area and spotted the launch – at the time we never learnt her name but Nathan did comment that he believed the launch started life as a Les Coulthard sedan. https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/12/08/mystery-launch-08-12-2017/

After 7 years of radio silence the photo above pops up on a Maurice Sharp fb post. Maurice commented that at the time she was owned by Gilbert Deeming and the photo of her on the hard was taken c.1960s by Chris Deeming.

Ray Anderson also commented that his father bought NAUTILUS off Gilbert Deeming. Nathan H confirmed she was in fact a standard design by Les Coulthard and was 26>28’ in length.

Can we learn more about what became of NAUTILUS in the late 1960’s > 2017 period. (2017 photos below)

NO EXCUSES – GET OUT ON THE WATER THIS SUMMER + Whangarei Maritime Festival Details 

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NO EXCUSES – GET OUT ON THE WATER THIS SUMMER + Whangarei Maritime Festival Details 

Todays story stretches the WW statute around what’s a classic wooden boat but in our book beauty always wins. I know its plywood and probably has some f/glass but at sub $10k you get a very smart looking boat the will turn heads and get admiring thumbs up.

And you get to bring it home and avoid the marina robber barons. In the last 10 yrs been garaged and mostly used on the central north island lakes. If in late summer you decide boatings not for you – re-list it , I’d be surprised if you lost anything on the purchase price.

2025 WHANGAREI MARITIME FESTIVAL

In just over a week (Oct 11>12) the salty Whangarei folks are hosting the annual –  WHANGAREI MARITIME FESTIVAL at the Whangarei Town Basin. If you haven’t attended before, it is time you did – why?

1. There will be an impressive on & off -the-water display of classic and traditional water craft

2. Hands-on maritime displays +  interactive learning experiences

3. A Kids’ Zone + live music on the waterfront, and maritime talks

4, Entry is FREE

5. With the new expressways it is less than 2 hours drive from Auckland

6. Your car needs a good run 🙂

Now do not think this is a small-scale event – last year 20,000+ people attended the festival, including me – you choose whether you go Saturday or Sunday, but my recommendation would be Saturday, the Town Basin has more of a buzz on Saturdays + lots of markets in the area for those that are bored easily with things boating related.

Link to 2024 Festival WW storyhttps://waitematawoodys.com/2023/10/16/whangarei-maritime-festival-trip-report/

KEY INTEL October 11th and 12th 2025

Whangārei Town Basin – Free Entry

More info: www.whangareimaritimefestival.co.nz

A 1908 CLASSIC WOODEN LAKE BOAT – LOGAN LINEAGE ? + 2026 WOODEN BOATING EVENT CALENDAR

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A 1908 CLASSIC WOODEN LAKE BOAT – LOGAN LINEAGE ? + 2026 WOODEN BOATING EVENT CALENDAR

Todays classic wooden launch is named – RICHMOND ROSE, and has recently made an appearance on tme (thanks Ian McDonald).

The story goes that she was built in 1908 by Logan, is 26’ in length and powered by a ‘well’ mounted Yamaha 9.9hp 4stroke outboard.

Sadly her kauri planks have been glassed over. Home is Lake Rotoiti

I suspect a name change at some stage as in/around the 1908 period most Logan launches were ‘canoe stern / double enders’.

A search of Harold Kidd and Robin Elliott’s book The Logans’ drew a blank.

So woodys can we learn more about this classic wooden launch and confirm her design / builder and year.

PUT THESE WOODYS DATES IN YOUR 2026 DIARY

REFLECTIONS ON THE 2025 PORT TOWNSEND WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL – 80+ Photos / Videos

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REFLECTIONS ON THE 2025 PORT TOWNSEND WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL – 80+ Photos / Videos

One of the bucket list classic wooden boating events is the annual Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. From all reports the 2025 event was outstanding. While its easy to go on-line and find a link to a professional overview, in my eye there is something special about viewing a festival attendees collection of boats – sure the light or camera angle isn’t alway perfect but you get a raw edge, which appeals.

Today thanks to kiwi John Oates we get to share what appealed to John’s eye.

One of the festival features that sets it apart from a lot of events is the ability to go aboard the boats and talk to the owners. There is something for everyone – food & drink, live music, kids activities, movie screening and lots of opportunities to get on the water.

One of this years ket themes was tagged –  ‘A Gathering of Maritime Legends: Celebrating Shipwrights’. The festival brought together shipwrights from some of the world’s most iconic maritime institutions—craftspeople who keep the art of wooden boatbuilding alive with skill, heart, and tradition.Via  a mix of talks, presentations and hands on gatherings where the public were able to rub up against the legends.

Enjoy the gallery – I did. As always click on photos to enlarge ;-

Ps John has promised another photo report featuring more classic sail boats ✔️

Pps where did that Morris Minor Ute come from ?

A NEW CHAPTER FOR COMPACT TRAWLER BESSIE FLORENCE 

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A NEW CHAPTER FOR COMPACT TRAWLER BESSIE FLORENCE 

As I have mooched around the bottom end of Waiheke Island over the years, ono of the craft I have spotted most frequently is the 26’ BESSIE FLORENCE, link here to a Jan 2016 WW story. https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/01/16/bessie-florence/

BESSIE FLORENCE  is a ‘mini’ trawler designed by Jay Benford and built in 2006 by Paul Jessop of Waikawa, Picton for Cook Strait fishing and Sounds use. With her build year and construction method (glassed ply) she sits outside of what we would label a classic wooden boat , but probably slides into the spirit of tradition family.

Forward motion is via a 30hp Yanmar 3GM30 diesel engine that which averages approx. 3 litres per hour when cruising at 5-6 knots.

Recently her owner made the call to move the craft on and I can report that her new owner will be relocated BESSIE FLORENCE to the Coromandel area and changing her name to TOBY.

RESTORATION OF THE SOUTHERN WOODEN LAUNCH – NANCY LEE

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RESTORATION OF THE SOUTHERN WOODEN LAUNCH – NANCY LEE

Another woody story from my new hunting ground, the ‘Memories of Abel Tasman National Park’ fb page.

Todays classic wooden launch is named NANCY LEE and the photos come to us from a Sept 2020 fb post by Darryl Wilson, via John Burland.

At the time of the post the NANCY LEE was under going a restoration at the hands of Marc Wilson and Craig Hyland,the location of the work was Port Motueka Marine Services. Looks like a big labour commitment taking her back to bare wood.

Then in 2021 Margaret posted an update, as seen in the 4th photo above, but commented that there was a wee way to go before she is back in the Riwaka Estuary.

Can we learn what happened after 2021, did she get finished and if so where is NANCY LEE now.

AND PROMISE – NO MORE Abel Tasman stories for a while 🙂