Category Archives: Tales & Yarns

Beached Mystery Wooden Launch

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BEACHED MYSTERY WOODEN LAUNCH 

I’m not sure how the above launch ended up in this situation and I’m hesitant to name the location as not everyone that reads this site is above a ‘souvenir’ trip. Let’s just say its down Clevedon way.
The absence of floor boards would lead one to think that she has joined the submariners club i.e. been submerged.
The ‘anchor’ I’m assuming has been put out by someone trying to secure the vessel in its present location. Thanks to T Foh for sending in the photos.
Anyone able to ID the boat and tell us where she may have come from?
Could be a project for ’Tom The Torch’ 😉

Classic Woody Launch Bronze Steering Gear 4sale

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Beautiful bronze Wilcox Crittenden angled helm fitting with bronze chain, 6.5m x 2 of stainless wire, one bronze double upright block with phenolic sheaves, three single Edson upright blocks with bronze sheaves, two bronze Cheek blocks with phenolic sheaves. From a classic American launch. The best quality gear that will give a lifetime of service on your classic launch. Good for another 75 years. Shaft puts the wheel approx 50cm from the bulkhead at about a 45 degree angle. Straight shaft with keyway could be machined to fit any wheel. Tension at the rudder end with turnbuckles. For sale on trade me by one of us good guys 🙂

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/boats-marine/parts-accessories/blocks-shackles-deck-hardware/auction-2214228778.htm

 

Miami > Queen Victoria

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Miami > Queen Victoria

I have a few questions re the above photos. To be honest, I’m a little confused so I have drafted the details below from info supplied ex her current owner and ask that those of you with more / better knowledge than me, give me feedback.

In 1915 Dr. Rayner of Moose Lodge, Lake Rotoiti, commissioned the Bailey Boatyard in Auckland to build a launch named ‘Miami’, when Rayner sold Moose Lodge to Sir Noel Coles Miami was replaced with the 28’ launch – ’The Moose’. The Moose was built in Feb 1939 by Collings & Bell. The Moose is shown in the top photo being transported to the Lake. The next two colour photos I believe to be the same launch at a later date.
The next three photos show the launch Miami, now named Queen Victoria, that Lake Rotoiti boatbuilder Alan Craig is about to start a re-furbishment on, during this work her Yanmar engine will be rebuilt. Her current owners in 1985 replaced her Redwing engine with the Yanmar, this being her 3rd engine – previous owners, the Armstrong family of Gisborne Point, fitted the Redwing during their ownership period. Bob Armstrong is on record as saying the launch was hard to moor and had a history breaking away which resulted in the Armstrong selling her to an unknown person, who kept her on Lake Rotorua for approx. a year.
Miami was then purchased by the Lewis family of Te Puke and kept at Otaramarae near the Harris boasted. Many years later it was sold to Bert Goulding a Tauranga surveyor, who kept her in a boatshed in Te What Bay next to his lake house (house now owned by ex MP Mr McLean)
Miami’s present owners had always admired her and regularly enquired if Bert Goulding wanted to sell the launch – his wife always replied “not ready yet”. Then in 1979 at the grand old age of 93, Bert Goulding decided it was time to sell. Her present owners jumped at the chance and purchased her. In 1985 she was sent to a Tauranga boatbuilder (Bill Visser) and altered to what we see today.
So woodys – is the above story factual and can anyone supply photos and more details on the past life of Miami > Queen Victoria ?
Input from Harold Kidd – The top left pic is OKATAINA built by Sam Ford in August 1938 for Beamish-White of Okataina. (oops – since moved to the bottom of this story. AH) The top right pic is MOOSE; same Ford truck though!
As for MIAMI, I just can’t find her being built by Chas Bailey for Dr. Rayner although 1915 had a lot more news going on than pleasure boating! Gallipoli, for example.
The first mention I have of a launch MIAMI is in 1924 when she was owned by G W & E L Best of Tennyson St., Northcote. She appears to have been sold to Whakatane in 1927, owners H West, F Prideaux and D McKenzie. In 1937 -1940 she was owned by H Dunton of Bowentown. Maybe she gravitated to Rotoiti from there or maybe there was another MIAMI at the same time?
The Bests had another MIAMI themselves in the 1950s.
I suppose Dr Rayner would have used the name MIAMI for a launch as, apart from being an enterprising dentist with his “American Dental Parlors” in Auckland, he was a developer of resorts like Turangi, Rotoiti etc obviously inspired by the contemporary conversion of Florida sandhills into the resort of Miami.
Just the same I’m eager to establish his connection with the launch MIAMI.
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Knoxie III > Miss Ida

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Miss Ida 3

KNOXIE III > MISS IDA 
I was contacted yesterday by Greg Philpott, up until recently the owner of the Opua General Store in the Bay of Islands. Greg is on a missions – I’ll let him tell the story.
“By way of introduction, my partner Margaret and I have recently sold the Opua General Store business after owning it for just short of 6 years. During that time I became immersed in the history of the General Store and Opua itself  (along with it forerunner Te Wharau, which was the town that grew up in the 1870’s/80’s to service the Loading Ground – the site where Kawakawa coal was trans-loaded to ships at anchor. In 1884 the rail line was extended to Newport (now Opua), many buildings were shifted from Te Wharau to Opua and as such the township of Te Wharau has now totally disappeared.) The reason for relating that little snapshot is that all manner of launches, workboats, ferries and tourist craft have been a part of Opua (and by locational connection, the Bay of Islands) for its entire existence.
And so on to my current project – The Boats of the Bay. This is looking at the history of the commercial tourist Boats of the Bay of Islands. Their origins, their working life and their final situation
 
Here’s where I need help – Knoxie III was built for A E Fullers and Sons by Warne Bros at Matauwhi Bay in 1939. She was renamed Miss Ida in 1949. Whilst built originally to enhance the Fullers fleet for the Cream Trip it appears that much of her latter days were spent as a work boat and as the back-up launch for the Opua Okiato vehicular ferry, photos above. I am looking for pictures of her carrying the name Knoxie III And when did she depart the Fullers fleet and what was her history post Fullers?”
Anyone able to help out?

Diana White

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DIANA WHITE

Today’s woody story is a tad out there – we have a 38’ ex lifeboat looking for a new home. Well to be honest we are really looking for a woody with a big shed and lots of vision. Owner John Fairburn wrote to me saying he had too many projects on the go and needed to find a new home. I’ll let John tell you in his words:

“Diana White has crossed the Manukau Bar in extreme conditions without a worry and travelled at sea when no-one else was, is now for sale. It had always been a slipway boat until it’s 1st private owner previous to me took it over and the huge anodes that earthed the SSB radio brought on a softening of timber through electrolysis around bronze, stainless and galv steel plus alloy cabin.

A lifeboat has many compartments held together with many bolts and special bronze and galvanised steel framework that had begun to rust in a few spots, so it took a bit to get back to bare hull to work on any soft stuff, and then I was going to use epoxied timber to rebuild. It’s a double ender 37’6″ x 12’0″ x 3’6″ with 2 x 23″ propellers in tunnels and weighed 13 tons. 

I was going to re-power and fit twin rudders so sold the 2 D series Fords that returned a litre per nautical mile at sea. At the moment it’s a bare hull so easier to survey (tap hull for soft timber) and is much reduced in weight and therefore easier to transport. I was in process selling props / shafts / stern-tubes / stuffing boxes and couplings, rudder, stainless bow rails and alloy swing down mast with radar reflector and 2 x stainless fuel tanks and the guy across road wants to turn hull into a house/cabin but a local Katikati boat owner reminded me of Waitemata Woodys, so if someone wants to pay me $3000 they can have the lot complete with RNLI drawings (1 inch to the foot) so they can plan their finished project.

I’ve still got a big oak tiller that has bronze end fitting that clicks into bronze shoe for manual steering and a special cutting tool to clear propellers through tunnel access ports.”

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Lady Ellen Restoration June ’19 Update

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LADY ELLEN RESTORATION UPDATE – JUNE 2019

Just received the above photos and story below from Bruce Mitchinson, as before, I’ll let Bruce talk you thru the report.
“Over the weekend we cleared out the boatbuilders shed ready to lay out the plywood cores for the cabin coamings, which are to be clad in Iroko inside and out.

This is the last of the major woodworking, apart from the engine box and associated trim and accessories, and fitting the coamings back on the boat.
Galley is complete ready to go in after the interior paint job.
Below deck the cabin woodwork is done and ready for paint, which is all white, with varnish door frames and jambs.

Unfortunately our painter has a hand injury so we are on the lookout for a new painter at the moment. 

We also lost our engineer, Ken Jaspers, who looked after our engine through its recondition, sourced all the new parts and running gear, and had things primed ready for assembly and paint.
Ken battled bone marrow cancer for the last year and was still working on our job up to a week before he checked out.
There will be a plaque for Ken, ‘Engineer to Lady Ellen’ that will go on the bulkhead in the engine bay. 
The trailer and engine which became a feature in Ken and Eileen’s driveway for over a year, is now up in the boatyard, ready for Brian to finish the assembly.
All the finished parts are stacked in the shower cubicle in the shed, ready to bolt on.
 
Still a lot of work to do, but it looks like a boat now.”

Rangi Rua (Rangi II)

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Rangi the one that hit rocks in Norfolk.
Rangi11 sailing past the oil rigg having a rest on its way to New Plymouth

 

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RANGI RUA (Rangi II)
 
I was recently contacted by Terry Hall in regard to his ex yacht Ranginui Rua, Terry commented that when he bought her she was named Rangi II (as seen in the sailing photo above) but when he tried to register her with Lloyds – London the name was refused as there was a passenger  ship with that name,  Terry had a Maori friend, a chief in Northland who suggested trying Rangi Rua –  Rua being #2 in Maori, he sent this off and it was accepted. Thence the ‘different’ name on the hauled out photos.
 
Rangi Rua was built by Mark Anthony in Freeman’s Bay and is a Woollacott 42′, Terry believes it was extended with extra frames. Her and a gaff rigged boat called Marpu were probably the last kauri boats to be built in Freemans Bay. Bad luck followed both yachts – Rangi Rua was lost in the Trans Tasman race in 1948 and Marpu was lost in the Pacific on its way home from Japan.
 
Terry owned Rangi Rua for many years and had her moored in the Town Basin in Whangarei in front of the wharf shed. He still has the log book which he kept when he sold her. In the photos of her on the slip, Terry is in the white overalls with his boatbuilder son, Frank and crew.
SUNDAY QUIZ
Yesterday Angus Rogers was doing what most of us were doing i.e. nothing 🙂 so he took an old photo out of its frame to clean the glass. Do we think Angus has ID’ed the yachts correctly ?  Sail numbers starting with A17 Ngatoa on right working left are A11 Ida, A5 Rawene, A3? Ariki and A16? Little Jim. Some of the anoraks may be able to identify the last two from their sails and shape and the yacht on the right with no numbers showing.
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The Marine Photographer’s Eye, Benjamin Mendlowitz – OCH Video Featuring Kiwi Classic Wooden Boats

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The Marine Photographer’s Eye, Benjamin Mendlowitz – OCH Video Featuring Kiwi Classic Wooden Boats – The best photos of our fleet you will have ever seen!

Today’s story is rather special as the team at offcenterharbor.com have given waitematawoody readers access to their latest video that features woodys from this years Mahurangi Regatta. The OCH site contains over 500 videos (& 500 articles) that range from boatbuilding, to trimming sails, to a complete course on understanding every aspect of your marine diesel engine. There’s even a 42-part series on how to build a Caledonia Yawl camp cruiser. The collection of videos features mariners and craftspeople at the very top of the boating field, showing exactly how they do things, and which products they use in their work.

One of the OCH founders is Benjamin Mendlowitz who, in my eyes, is the worlds finest photographer of classic wooden boats, this January, Ben and his co-founders escaped the US winter and headed down under. Whilst in NZ their #1 mission was to attended the Mahurangi Regatta and to this end on the Saturday Jason Prew with My Girl & myself with Raindance hosted – Maynard Bray, Benjamin Mendlowitz & Steve Stone for a Regatta photo shoot.

In the 11 minute video, Ben talks us through his day on the water filming woodys. In the opening section when Ben is commenting on our classic fleet he says “I was newly inspired in my photography”. When a photographer with as much experience as Benjamin Mendlowitz says that – that is saying something about our woody fleet. Plus the video is a master class for anyone interested in marine photography.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW AND SIT BACK AND ENJOY + CHECK OUT THE COOL OCH OFFER BELOW

https://www.offcenterharbor.com/videos/marine-photographers-eye-benjamin-mendlowitz-in-new-zealand/ww190523

SPECIAL 50% OFF – LIMITED TIME OFFER

The OCH site is 100 percent membership driven, and they do not accept advertising. Not lining their pockets with advertising enables them to provide OCH members with the unvarnished truth, straight from legendary masters of their craft – without worrying whether they piss off an advertiser 🙂

In addition to allowing WW woodys to view the video at no-charge, they have also put together a one-off subscription offer for WW readers.

They are offering 50% off the annual rate – thats an amazing US$24.50 – BUT woodys be quick it will not last for long + there is a Risk Free Guarantee – try it for a few days, if your not happy they will provide you with a 100% refund. I’m a subscriber – I love the site, I have watched one story probably 10 times.

JUST CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE  

https://www.offcenterharbor.com/join-now-2450-ww/

WHAT YOU GET:

  • FULL ACCESS to everything on the site for 1 full year (including our growing library of over 1,000 videos and articles)
  • Your membership includes three full “how-to-build” video series (80+ videos worth over $500 that you get free)
  • You can get your questions answered in the “comments” section under each video and article
  • Join our community of “off-center” boating enthusiasts around the world

 

 

Lady Ellison

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LADY ELLISON

Yesterday I was sent the above photo of the c.1952 launch – Lady Ellison by Murray (Mudge) White.

Murray commented that in 1953 he owned the classic yacht ‘ Scout’ and wishing to learn coastal and celestial navigation he went to classes held by Captain Warrick Dunsford at the RAYC and he asked Murray if he would help deliver the Lady Ellison to Wellington.

The skipper and old coastal skipper and an engineer and the boy (Murray) those job was mainly using a drum pump to pump petrol from the two 44 gallon drums in the aft cockpit to the main tank. Murray thinks the engine was a Scripps V8 conversion. After a 4 hour stop in Gisborne to refuel and have the radio checked (AZCI)  they made Wellington in calm conditions in 77 hours. The previous owner was Bert Hammer but Murray doesn’t know who brought her.

Harold Kidd has previously commented on WW that the hull was built by Sam Ford c.1952-3 for Albert Ritchie Hammer of 22 Dommett Ave Epsom. Hammer worked on her for 6 months at Sam’s yard and she was launched at Okahu Bay. HDK also said that the treatment of the coamings and Sam Ford trademark windows were a bit clumsy compared with Sam’s usual treatment of them, but probably a combination of the current owner raising the center cabin by 9″ & Hammer’s handy work rather than Sam.

Her specs are LOA 36’, beam 11’4” and draught 2’9”. Currently powered by a Ford 120hp diesel. Home these days is Motueka, where her owner, Steve Simms, lives aboard.

Colour photo below ex Mark Jarvis – 2015

You can see and read more on Lady Ellison at the long below – remember to read the comments section, lots of chat there.

Lady Ellison

 

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Bronze Stuffing Box Wanted
Does anyone have 2nd hand, rudder gland tucked away that they want to sell?
Or can point Daniel Thomas in the direction of a source for a new one?
Daniel is currently undertaking some serious work to the back end of the 1914 Charles Bailey Jnr built ex work boat – Ronaki at Sandspit.

Monowai III – Southern Cruise

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MONOWAI III – Southern Cruise
Todays WW story is part 2 of Dean & Deb Wright’s recent 2 week Fiordland cruise aboard Monowai III, owned by Andy and Brenda Bell. Today we focus on the launch Monowai III. The photos above also include some from last years (April) cruise > Port Pegasus, Stewart Island, the shots of hail on the foredeck, were when the temp dropped a bit post a front that came through.
Interesting Info:
 
  • 47’ Saunders
  • 11’10 beam, 4’9” draft
  • Carvel kauri construction
  • 15t light ship mode, 18t heavy (Fiordland mode)
  • 8V71N GM diesel, twin disc 2:1 box
  • 2” shaft, swinging 29×21” 4 blade
  • Built by Harold Saunders, Tory Channel, launched 1976
  • Built as a fast cray boat for Cook Strait, capable of 21 knots when launched.
  • Dave Duff was the 1st owner, he kept the boat moored by the Mana Bridge.
  • 2nd owner was Peter McManaway, who did his apprenticeship at Saunders yard and worked on the original build of Monowai III. Peter extended the hull 3’ and did a major conversion, changing the aft fish hold to accommodation and completely changing the wheelhouse to the current configuration. He also added two planks to the height of the hull.
 
She carries 1200 litres of diesel with an additonal 480 litres in portable containers. 600 litres of freshwater. Cruise speed approx 8 knots with a fuel burn around 2 litres per nautical mile.
 
Past Owners:
Dave Duff
Peter McManaway
Syndicate from Wellington
Ron Legge / Richard Downer ( sold to Andy and Brenda Bell in June 2013)
 
 
Below is a video (drone footage) Dean took of the boat going through North Port, Chalky Inlet. That’s the hulk of the Stella lying beached. Built in 1875 and was the first purpose-built lighthouse ship apparently.

Rangi B16

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B16

RANGI B16

I have recently been contacted by Andrew Mason who while going thru a collection of old photos, came across the one above by H Winkelmann, sporting the sail number B16. Andrew was asking if anyone knew if she was still around and if so, what became of her.

I was able to point Andrew in the direction of a comment by Harold Kidd from back in April 2015 where HDK commented on a story / photo ex Chris McMullen on a mystery ship (yacht) wreck.
HDK advised that B16 was the Bailey & Lowe keel yacht Rangi, which had broken up when she came ashore at Norfolk Island in 1951.
Anyone able to tell us more about Rangi prior to 1951?
Harold Kidd Input – She was built as the fishing boat or “schnapper boat” for line fishing by Bailey & Lowe in 1903 as SCHOPOLO for a Greek fisherman called Nicholas. She was very like if not a twin to the Bailey & Lowe fishing boat WHITE HEATHER built for J. Wheeler. Logan Bros’ VICTORY and FRANCES were the same sort of boats. Motor fishing launches made them uneconomical very shortly after and they were converted to most satisfactory yachts because of their extra beam.
SCHOPOLO was sold out of the fishing industry and became LORELEI in 1919, changed hands and was renamed RANGI around 1923.
She took part in the 1931, 1948 and 1951 TransTasman races but was lost at Norfolk Is on her return in 1951.
Input from Jim Lott – Rangi was owned for a number of years by Con Thode’s father. Con learned his early sailing on board and spoke often of his time on board, and his sadness when she was wrecked after his father sold her.

I have been away overseas on “Victoria” (another Auckland ‘woody’, since 2011 and am now back living in NZ.
Currently we won the Camelot “Mokoia” (Stewart) and also owned “Vectis” (Woolacott) in the 1970’s.