Category Archives: Tales & Yarns

Pencarrow – Where Is She

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Post Re-build
As Launched
Original Engine
Wellinton 1940’s
Wellington WWII – Navy
Wellington – Navy
Pre Re-build

PENCARROW – Where Is She

WW was recently contacted by Dylan Saggers in regard to the 1916 built, 38’6″ vessel – Pencarrow. I’ll let Dylan tell the story

“The bridge-decker has been close to my heart and the history has been with many other happy owners. 95% of her life she has been called Pencarrow but when she was launched (as described In the paper article below) she was christened Valerie. Originally had a NZ made 4cyl. Twigg marine engine, then a 160hp petrol Kermath engine and I possibly believe she still has her 6 cyl. Ford diesel.Built In Auckland by Lanes (as I was told) not sure If this is correct . She has been many tops and 1 hull change In her lifetime, as described In the photos she has been many things. Many owners have had her. The Pencarrow spent time with the Pencarrow Sand Shingle company for a year in the mid 1930’s towing barges to Wellington for reclamation of the wharfs. In the 1940’s she was owned by the NZ Govt for Navy Patrol for Wellington. After that she went to the Dunn family who owned it from the early 1950’s to late 1960’s. 

But through the 1970’s > 1980’s unfortunately, I didn’t know who owned her. Early 1990’s my Dad had her and she did not have the extended top (as pictured with her reflection shining in the water) She was very beautiful to me In that configuration. She is my favourite boat of all the boats my father had. Then sold to the Macmorland family with partner family (It’s easily understandable why the top was extended including the wheelhouse being put forward for more room) as pictured the current top as it is now. Then the Coles family. Last sold In 2016 I think In Waikawa in Queen Charlotte Sound. After that I don’t have any Info.”

Dylan would like to locate the present owners, keep In touch with them and make an offer on it when he can. Dylan’s main outcome of all this is to buy her and restore her how Dylan remembers her when his father had her. Any current info or pictures Is very welcome.

Mystery Launch 01-04-2023

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Mystery Launch 01-04-2023

Todays woody photo comes to us from Brian Peet. Brian commented that the origin unknown as there came from the non-boating side of his mother’s family. So woodys can we ID the launch and location.


If the weather is good later today I’ll be mooching over to Islington Bay, Rangitoto Island for a cleansing ale and to see who won the ‘Round Rangitoto’ launch race and annual Cake Day competition.

UPDATE – CYA CANCELED THE EVENT (again) – Par for the course these days I was a week early with the cake – the below was afternoon tea on Raindance last Sunday – dark sticky ginger cake with lemon cream cheese icing & frosted walnuts. Based on taste feedback I might have won 🙂

PATHFINDER (Eunice. K)

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PATHFINDER (Eunice. K)

Today thanks to Ian McDonald’s eagle eye and a tme listing we get to have a gander at the 39’ bridge decker – Pathfinder. Constructed of kauri, single skin carvel, she is powered by a 130hp Ford diesel.

Back in Oct 2017 she made an appearance on WW under the name – Eunice K and we learned she had been renamed – Pathfinder. Link below. Check out the comments section, good chat on the vessel, don’t think we ever 100% identified her provenance.  Maybe today. https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/10/17/eunice-k/

YESTERDAYS WOODY PUZZLE WINNER IS DANIEL THOMAS– WHO WON THE DRAW. THE CORRECT ANSWER WAS – ARETHUSA EX HEREWARD PICKMERE, NOW OWNED BY DEAN WRIGHT. The photos are by Winkelmann via the Auckland Library.

Valsan and Endeavour Update

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Valsan Re-Launched

Big day at the Milford Slipway yesterday – the 46’ 1938 built Lidgard launch – Valsan slid down the railway slip after being out for nearly 5 months. Lots of deferred maintenance was adhered to and she received a Jason Prew Paint Job (JPPJ). WW link below to previous Valsan stories.https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/10/01/a-woody-stranger-hauled-out-valsan/

UPDATE 30-06-2023 – At anchor, bottom end of Waiheke. Photo ex Angus Rogers.

Endeavour – the 1958 A Couldrey designed, Brin Wilson built launch, is part way thru her re-fresh. Fingers crossed the coamings get the Uroxsys treatment 🙂

Love the helm wheel. Read more on her here https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/01/27/endeavour-gets-a-birthday/

Southern Woodys at Motueka + Bulldozed Boat Yard

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Southern Woodys at Motueka

Earlier in the month, Kenny West was visiting the South Island for the Lake Rotoiti 2023 Antique & Classic Boat Show and ventured up to Motueka and had a mooch around the marina. The above two woodys caught his eye and today we get to share them.

THE BIGGEST LOAD OF HORSE MANURE HAPPENING ON YOUR WATERFRONT


By now I’m sure most of you will have caught up with the ‘developments’ taking place at what these days is known as ’The Landing’ on Aucklands Waterfront. One of our cities few remaining marine haul out / hard stand areas, will be closed and bulldozed. I encourage you to read the ‘STUFF” article that appeared in the weekends newspaper. You would think it was about a project in Colombia, thats how underhand things are. Link Below https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300820274/bulldozed-boatyard-yachties-face-off-with-wealthy-club-over-axing-of-public-hardstand

Sadly I think its too late to change things but lets record our frustration with the people that supported the project. Firstly the commodore and committee at the Royal Akarana Yacht Club should hang their heads in shame. On the RAYC website there is no individual contact details but they do have a Facebook page – so please go on there and record your anger – link below
https://www.facebook.com/royalakarana

Lastly one of driving forces from the Auckland Council / Local Board is a weasel named – Scott Milne, his DNA is all over this project. FB link below, record your anger and promise not to vote for him again if he is in your local board (Orakei). Now if he has blocked new comments, just add you comment to one of his exisiting unrelated stories 😉

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007006489029

Or try email scott.milne@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz

Lastly the Spencer family (Howard Spencer) – a bad smell will follow you around for a long time after this – lets vote with our wallet and not support their new haul out venture – Tamaki Maine Park in Mt Wellington.

LOVING YOUR BOAT TO DEATH – Electro-chemical Destruction / Underwater Rot

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LOVING YOUR BOAT TO DEATH – Electro-chemical Destruction / Underwater Rot

The subject of electrochemical destruction and wooden boats has been covered extensively on WW – in fact the Chris McMullen articles are the most referenced stories on the site. At the end of todays story I have listed links to these stories.

Today thanks to Chris McMullen and Baden Pascoe we get to share an article they penned for the 2023 Mahurangi Cruising Club Year Book*, this article succinctly backgrounds the topic and suggests what as a wooden boat owner you should be looking out for and what to do to protect your wooden boat. READ IT. But if you are lazy – let me spell stout for you – DO NOT FIT ANODES or BOND YOUR WOODEN BOAT.

Note: PDF version below for easier viewing for the visually challenged – i.e. most of us 🙂

MCC YB 2023-Loving Your Boat to DeathDownload

(*Article reproduction with the permission of the Mahurangi Cruising Club©️)

LINKS TO PREVIOUS WW STORIES

https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/11/20/what-does-electrochemical-deterioration-in-a-wooden-boat-look-like/

https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/12/30/electro-chemical-damage-in-wooden-boats-update-revisited/

https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/03/28/the-most-referenced-viewed-story-on-waitematawoodys/

https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/11/08/want-to-see-what-in-a-wooden-boat-looks-like/

Lady Gillian – Flashback

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Lady Gillian – Flashback 

The launch – Lady Gillian (Gillian) has made numerous appearances on WW, starting back in 2014 when we were trying to track down her whereabouts and lasting in 2020 when she had just undergone some enhancements to her appearance – see 2nd photo.

The b/w photo above comes to us from Gillian Lander who contacted WW regarding the vessel. I have reproduced Gillian’s note below :- 

“I have just discovered a whole lot of pics online of what was my grandfather’s launch c.1942ish  ‘Lady Gillian’ – named after me, born 1942.  My grandfather, Augustus [Gus] Seymour Henshaw was an Auckland business man. There was also the Lady Sarah…. I think belonging to the Heard family [Heards Sweets] The boat was sold in ? 1960s and went to Wellington I understand. Presumed it long gone. I see it is now painted white and in the South Island. Many years at Westhaven. Somewhere I have a photo of her with its numbering required during WWII. Wonderful childhood memories. Its’ previous life I understand was as a trader in the islands, the old girl has certainly been about”

In the photo of Lady Gillian with her wartime ID lettering – the location is the Waitemata Harbour.  Possibly somewhere near the Birkenhead headland, with the Chelsea Sugar Works in the distance. No Harbour Bridge in those days.

PREVIOUS WW STORIES
WW 2014  https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/10/14/lady-gillian/

WW 2016  https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/12/13/lady-gillian-2/

WW 2020  https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/01/15/lady-gillian-3/

THE LOG OF TAMATEA – A20 

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THE LOG OF TAMATEA – A20 

Earlier in the week a nugget of gold dropped into my inbox – Mark Newcomb sent in a copy of his families yacht – TAMATEA A20 log book (refer PDF file link below to read)

The log book covers the background to the building of the yacht and her first race + some wonderful insights into life in the WWII period.

Tamatea was designed by A.C. Robb and built by A. Couldrey, launched in Jan 1937.

Amazingly the yacht was built from one kauri log, grown on the owners property in Waitakere (note: log was from a ‘dead’ tree)

Click on the blue text below to open the PDF file, the original of the log book is in the hands of the Maritime Museum, so probably this file is the only record, given the Museum’s track record with ‘losing’ things 😦

Click to access logbook-of-tamatea.pdf

Venture – Where Is She

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VENTURE – WHERE IS SHE – WW cap Up For Grabs

Todays WW story started last week – I’m standing in the queue to catch the Waiheke Island > Devonport ferry and the lady (Penny Ericson)  behind me asks if I’m from Tasmania, now it was Friday afternoon and I had been to lunch so the brain took a few milli seconds to engage. I was wearing an Aust. Wooden Boat Festival t-shirt and the logo was plastered over the back of the shirt. I explain no I’m not, and then Penny tells me she is off to Tasmania in 7 days time for a holiday, so being the nice person I am I give her my ’Things you must do / see in Hobart’ speech. I then open the photo gallery on my iPhone and back the story up with photos. She comments that there are a lot of boat photos and I explain why and tell the waitematawoodys story. 

Snap – she knows the site and was in fact about to email me concerning her grandfather > fathers launch named Venture.

After that long led in I’ll let Penny tell her story – 

“This is Penny , I met you on the Waiheke ferry the other day and we discussed the fact that I would love to know what happened to my father and grandfathers boat that he used on the lakes in Rotorua as a charter fishing launch . 
I think that it operated out of the fishing camp on the Ohau channel , and the Harvey family lived in a house on Lake Rotorua on the other side of the channel .
As you will see from the above photos the launch was called Venture, and the Log book below begins in 1937 and finishes in 1941. 

No one in the family knows what happened to the boat but I had a feeling someone thought it may have been sold to someone in Auckland .
I was delighted to meet you and you sounded so positive that you may be able to find the boat for me .
In the bottom photo my father John or “Jack” Harvey is on the left . He was distinctive as he had a wooden peg leg having lost a leg on the western front in WW1. All his life despite his disability he was a marvellous fisherman and boatman. I grew up in Torbay so was always in boats as a kid, Dad building many dinghy’s for us .

Thank you Alan , I would greatly appreciate finding the boat and maybe the original logbook needs to be reunited with the boat”

So woodys can we help Penny in her search for the launch Venture and along the way learn more about her and what became of her.

17-03-2023 INPUT ex HAROLD KIDD – VENTURE was bought by K H Wilson of Rotorua in 1947 and fitted with a 52hp Graymarine engine. He kept her until at least 1955.

I’ll reward the woody that is the most helpful with a WW cap.

VENTURE LOG – Might be a familiar name featured

Three Minutes Of Wooden Boat Porn

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3 Minutes Of Wooden Boat Porn

Last month I bombarded you with a several photo galleries of the 2023 Australian Wooden Boat Festival.  As part of the wrap up of the festival, the organising crew have pulled together a 3min short film that utilises a lot of aerial film footage. The video gives us a wonderful overview of the festival, the Hobart harbour and waterfront – if there is any saw dust in your blood – Hobart February 2025 needs to be circled on your calendar. As festival director – Paul Stephanus says “This festival is one of a kind” . And its the largest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and surprise surprise woodys – its free, no charge – we like that.

Find a comfortable chair and prepare to be wowed.  

TIP: To enlarge screen size – scroll over the screen above and click on the icon I have highlighted below

RSVP (boat name & approx crew #) TO waitematawoodys@gmail.com