Classic Dinghy Moments
In the clinker (L>R) Douglas, Hugh & Ivan Guthrie. fyi Hugh celebrated his 93 birthday in June.
WAINUI
Below is a tale by Phil Parks that I’m sure a lot of us can relate to, sounds very familiar. AH
I have been a lover all things to do with the ocean and boats since being pushed off Howick Beach as a 5 year old in my first P class.
As my life has evolved boats have always figured but my love of surfing was foremost until recently.
Living on the west coast is not that conducive to owning boats although I do have a purpose built tinny to go fishing out here when the swell is small enough.
About 15 years ago I bought a place at Ti Point near Leigh and have had a nice fizz boat up there. This has rekindled my love of boating and as age is now making surfing harder all the time I am spending more time boating.
I have dreamed about owning a classic launch for years and always troll the for sale columns looking at everything for sale. Funny how that gives you a good sense of values of various vessels.
The only thing that has stopped me “going for it” has been the lack of some where to keep a launch.
I had applied for a mooring 12 years ago with the Rodney council but it soon became apparent the whole process was an absolute wrought as I never proceeded to get any where near the top the list although new boats seemed to be appearing all the time.
I had always called the mooring administrators annually to whine about the process and to keep my name on the books.
When I did that in 2011 I was now dealing with the new Auckland Council and I was flabbergasted when a very helpful lady heard my cause and replied “well there are a couple of sites available do you want one?”
Did I what!!!! I paid the money and secured a mooring site that could be viewed from my bach lounge. Fan bloody tastic! Now every time I looked at boats a wave of excitement came over me!
Xmas 2011 and looking at trade me I spied a nice looking old launch that seemed to be at a good price. Problem it was at Hohorua. Made a few calls to the owner but never got around to getting up there to have a look.
I could not get her out of my mind and when another boat that was at Kohukohu came on the market I thought I would do a road trip. Arranged to look at 8 boats, jumped in the car and took off.
There were only 2 boats that interested me mainly because I was fussy about the “look”. It just had to look right. Most did not.
Anyway one thing led to another, time passed but I eventually became the owner of the 28′ Wainui.
It was the originally boat that I saw on trade me 5 months before and was smitten with. As it was a deceased estate and the family were finding it a real hassel to keep I ended up getting her for a very good price and the whole deal had a good feeling to it. Very co-operative vendors.
It now meant there was pressure on to get the mooring established and that is another whole story in itself.
My best friend and I sailed her down from Hohorua to Ti Point and that was a fantastic trip and again another good story.
She now sits in Ti Point Harbour with a few other classics. I will soon move her up to the bach for a full restoration.
Probably have to sell the fizzer to afford it but worth it.
Its all about the journey………….Phil Parks
27-02-2017 Photo below by (ex Colin Brown) of Wainui at a Mangawhai property. Most likely the bach mentioned in the story above.
Curious Cove Holiday Resort
| The speedboat is a Chris Craft replica, “Stingray”. Bought by my grandfather, A.R. Manning, in the 60’s. Sadly Stingray is no longer around, she was built for lakes and had been fastened with brass and basically fell apart. Reportedly she was very quick and stories of my Dad and his cousin driving her at full chat under the Curious cove wharf (while the his Mum and Dad were away) surfaced at his funeral.Being towed by the Buick truck is Ventora, a 28′ vindex stretched to 32′ – Dad wanted a big cockpit for fishing. She was built at Curious Cove and launched in the early 1970’s. She is still around somewhere in Northland.
The old commercial launch in the photo with the tyre fender is a bit if a mystery. She might be a Picton built Lane launch as she shares hull lines with Iris and Mavis. She could be Whareatea, built by Claude Wells in Whakatahuri. I would welcome any suggestions. The two photos in the bottom right have are Red Funnel Launches launch Ramona (currently on the hard in Picton (top), Rongo (l) and Rawene (r) (bottom left photo). I know Rongo is gone but I don’t know whatever happened to Rawene after she stopped being the Picton mail boat in the 1980’s |
SHIPBUILDERS LTD….a few notes.
By Harold Kidd
The advertisement is from the back of a 1946 Sea Spray magazine and shows Shipbuilders Ltd spreading its wings for the bright new post-war world.
Shipbuilders Ltd started in business in Poore Street, now Westhaven Drive, around the middle of 1922 when it was run by T.L. Sharp. It also had an office at 23 Shortland St. Its major work was in shipwrighting, heavy repair work on steamers, scows, barges and commercial craft of all types. Norman Matheson, who had built the Rudder Cup-winning launch Maroro, worked there for many years. The company dabbled in commercial vessel ownership, for example running the scow EXCELSIOR with J.J. Craig Ltd., bringing rusty scrap from the ship graveyard on Browns Island to town for export to Japan.
By 1939 the Manager was S.B. (Hookey) Williams, formerly of Chas. Bailey & Son Ltd, in Beaumont Street, nearby. It had 4 “electric slipways” and went into the war with a good reputation for shipwrighting and good gear.
During the war the company did a lot of work with Seagar Bros building minesweepers and at least one Fairmile. In 1943 it joined with Chas. Bailey & Son Ltd, W.G. Lowe & Son Ltd, Associated Boatbuilders Ltd., P. Vos Ltd and Roy Lidgard in forming United Ship and Boatbuilders Ltd to carry out an unprecedented amount of ship construction for the United States Army and Navy. As a little light relief, they built 5 M Class yachts for American flyers in the Pacific.
In November 1944 there was a race amongst the five 18 footers which were mainly crewed by Shipbuilders Ltd staff amongst whom were Roy Steadman, Tim Windsor, L. Pollard, W. Heerdegen, C. Freeman, H. Yates, Vince Hogan and Roy Parris…pretty important names amongst Auckland’s yachtsmen of the time.
To be continued
POLARIS
Story & photos supplied by Russell Ward
Here is a very interesting little boat that has been out of circulation for a while. I have been looking after her since 2005 and she is a shadow of her former self, but in a stable state.
Polaris, a 25’ pilchard trawler was built for a local fisherman by the name of Pearce by H Pearn & Sons Looe Cornwall 1935. The main engine 2 cyl Kelvin with similar engine as port wing engine. Construction is larch and pitch pine on oak frames. As an economy, the planking was not caulked –just fitted well. Pearce employed crews for both his boats and Polaris fished out of Polperro Cornwall until 1947 when she moved to Penarth Wales –I have one of her life rings with homeport Penrath still visible painted on it. She suffered a bilge fire from wing engine exhaust which was dealt with by sinking the vessel.
She was taken over by a boat builder who converted her into a pleasure boat with a strange cabin. In 1950 she was bought by the coroner Col Kenneth Treasure of Tenby Wales. We think the good Colonel had her rebuilt with a rather more aesthetic cabin and I have a copy of a post card of her in Brixham
1954 found her in the ownership of one Griff Board with a Lister diesel installed. Board took the ship to Brixham where, in 1956-7 she was spotted by Wally Sharples who had seen her when he went to Brixham to see the Mayflower replica. The vessel had an extensive overhaul.
1958 Sharples, his family and apprentice John Penney emigrated to Adelaide and Polaris was shipped as deck cargo on “Queensland Star” 1960 found Sharples and family with Penney in Auckland along with Polaris which was rigged with a gaff mainsail and moored at Bucklands beach. Sharples cruised extensively in the Hauraki Gulf, Bay of Islands and Whangaraoa. I can remember seeing her round the bottom end in the ‘60s looking as pretty as a picture.
In 1970 Sharples and his wife moved to Opua, Bay of Islands and Polaris was moored there. Sharples died onboard after a fishing trip and the boat passed to his apprentice Penney. 1993 Jack Barber and Faye Christian bought Polaris from Penney. They used her extensively but the years were catching up with the ship and she was brought ashore for extensive hull work. This was well under weigh with the hull timbers almost all replaced when Jack Barber died 30 September 2002.
The son of the first owner was in touch and emailed a picture of her in her original form. Some part of me says she should be finished off like that.
Not often a boat travels so many miles on other boats’ keels. Even more fun is the knowledge of a boat’s travels halfway round the world leaving a lot of people who fell in love with her.
The Pascoe Model Collection by Baden Pascoe
The Pascoe family has been associated with model yachting for almost 100 years.
In about 1912 Charles “Charlie” Pascoe, my grandfather, meet “Chips” Fordyce” and had a 30” hull shaped. He finished off this hull, rigged it and gave it the name “ Star “. From what I understand this was the beginning of the Pascoe’s association with model yachting.
Not much of a xmas present
Now I have a bit of thing for what the English call ‘pond yachts’. The one on the mantlepiece above, my wife rescued from a Devonport junk shop as a bare hull & in the halcyon days of the 1980’s, I paid a man to make the rig & sails for it, thank god I did not re-paint the hull, that would have halved its value. These days they sell on e-bay for really silly money but mines not for sale.
The launch Ruamano was the cause of some rot setting in in the Ward family. We had been staunch sailers until just before one Christmas, Andrew Johns (then owner of Ruamano) invited us out for the day. Flat calm, no sailing and no family keen. Finally Caroline (Ward minor) volunteered. We set off with the GM growling and a wake that spread out to the sides of the harbour; eventually dropping the hook in Calypso Bay after 40 minutes.
I conjectured that, if we were in “Gloaming”, we would still be slatting round off Devonport with a mutiny on hand in the flat calm. I would be steadfastly refusing to fire up the iron staysail, and we would be rocked round for the day by the likes of Ruamano roaring past. The crew would be grumpy.
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