Category Archives: Tales & Yarns

Auckland Is So Close To Having a World Class Working Traditional Boatyard – But Also So Close To Stuffing It Up

Posted on by
3
PV1
Auckland Is So Close To Having a World Class Working Traditional Boatyard – But We Are Also So Close To Stuffing It Up
The hottest topic around the waterfront & has been for way too long is – what’s happening with the Percy Vos yard. Everyone has a different story & reckons their version is fact.
All I can tell you is that we are dangerously close to mucking it up. It is almost a joke, the issue has been around for over 15+ years, I have reproduced below a submission that was produced back in Feb 2005……… thats exactly 14 years ago. It shows what the yard could look like & examples of successful working wooden boat yards.
So woodys the question today is – whats wrong with Auckland Council and its many public facing departments? They do some wonderful work across the city & at times move fast e.g. they decided what the America’s Cup bases will look like & approved them in a few years – so why is this project dragging on?
PV2
PV3
PV4
PV5
PV6
PV9
PV7
PV8

Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019 – Photo Parade – Part 3 – 90 photos + video

Posted on by
Reply

Photo 8-02-19, 18 21 59

Photo 8-02-19, 18 22 14

Photo 8-02-19, 08 45 37

TAMARIKI – Peter Mortimer

Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019 – Photo Parade – Part 3 – 90 photos + video

For the few of you that have seen enough beautiful boats in the last few days, I promise today will be the last AWBF photo gallery. But for the record Tuesdays AWBF WW story out performed Mondays story and had in fact the highest number of views of any story on WW in the last 12 months 🙂
Today our gallery comes to us from the camera of CYA NZ Chairperson – James  Mortimer. On top of capturing some great photos, James was in a very unique position at the festival – his father Peter was exhibiting the 1979, Gary Wheeler built yacht – Tamariki (photo above), which was the only NZ flagged boat in attendance, and they briefly had the past two NZ CYA chairs and the current one on board for a beer at the same time, nice.
Again, different person = different perspective – enjoy and remember , click on photos to enlarge.
And as a bonus we also have a video of the James Craig leaving her dock – would be nice to have a vessel of her presence based on the Waitemata. Filmed by Andrew Christie.

Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019 – Photo Parade – Part 2 – 337 photos

Posted on by
2

DSC05566

DSC05184

DSC05461

DSC05551

Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019 – Photo Parade – Part 2 – 337 photos

One of the interesting things reviewing all the photos that have been sent in from the festival is that each person ’sees’ the festival through different eyes – so what they end up photographing is very different from someone else.
Todays collection from Fiona Driver and Rod Marler is a perfect example, it is a very different view from yesterdays and also shows the scale of the event. Worthy of its own WW story.
I could have edited the collection down, but the photographer/s are very passionate woodys so if the image appealed to them, I’m confident it will to you. Enjoy 🙂
Scroll down after todays photo gallery to view more of the festival in Part 1 of the coverage.
And remember , click on photos to enlarge.

Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019 – Photo Parade – 200 Classic Wooden Boat Photos – Part 1

Posted on by
2

DSC05172

AUSTRALIAN WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL 2019 – HOBART, TASMANIA – PHOTO PARADE 200 CLASSIC WOODEN BOAT PHOTOS

5P7A0484

Well woodys while I was gutted that I had to cancel my trip to the festival, I honestly believe that we have ended up with a better view of the festival. I have been inundated with photos from woodys from both sides of the Tasman. The coolest thing is that the show is so big and the exhibitions so broad, that there have hardly been any duplications – my new best Aussie woody friend – Andrew Christie has excelled with photos from the air (drone) and on the water (he borrowed a clinker dinghy from the ‘Living Boat Trust’ and rowed around the docks). My kiwi woody friends –  Colin and Sheryl Pawson + Fiona Driver and Rod Marler + James Mortimer  have supplemented Andrew’s photos with more stunning photos from their camera’s. As an aside Andrew won the AWBF 2019 short film festival, with his entry ‘Wooden Boat Lunacy’ featuring a Billy Holmes built motorboat – Folly III. This short film has been featured on WW – link here    https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/11/08/folly-iii/
Rather than mix them all up – I thought it would cool to group them by photographer. There will be more to share with you over the next few days, seems like everyone has maxed out the mobile data packages 🙂
Remember you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them – Enjoy
Andrew Christie

 

DCIM100MEDIADJI_0824.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0828.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0830.JPG

 

DCIM100MEDIADJI_0825.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0835.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0837.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0838.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0839.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0840.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0841.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0843.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0842.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0845.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0846.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0847.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0849.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0850.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0851.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0852.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0853.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0854.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0855.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0856.JPG

 

DCIM100MEDIADJI_0857.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0858.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0859.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0860.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0861.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0863.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0864.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0865.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0866.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0867.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0868.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0869.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0862.JPG
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0848.JPG
5P7A0462
James Mortimer
Photo 8-02-19, 08 45 37
Colin Pawson
IMG_0072

 

 

Fiona D and Rod M
DSC05510
DSC05551
DSC05604
DSC05177
DSC05624

A Very Big Woody Weekend Down Under

Posted on by
1

DCIM100MEDIADJI_0855.JPG

IMG_0003

IMG_0031

A Very Big Woody Weekend Down Under
This weekend is a very big woody weekend DOWNUNDER, we have the Lake Rotoiti Classic& Wooden Boat Parade in NZ and over in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia – it’s the bi-annual Australian Wooden Boat Festival.
Both events are huge and will be covered by waitematawoodys. Starting with the AWBF tomorrow (Monday). I have Woodys at both events sending in photos, including drone video footage, which brings a whole new perspective to our coverage.
The photos above come to us from Colin Pawson & Andrew Christie
Below is a short drone video of the fleet in what they call the Parade of Sail on the River Derwent. Many thanks to Australian woody, Andrew Christie for this video and tomorrows photo gallery.
P-CLASS P500 DAFFY DUCK
We cover everything on woodys – from mega events to a guy trying to track down the P-Class yacht his father built for him 55 years ago 🙂 Does anyone know the where-about of P500 (Duffy Duck) ? Paul Silva would love to know that she is still around and if possible have a look at her. He’s also keen to buy her – so woodys can anyone help Paul out?

Jo Marli + Robert Brooke mnzm

Posted on by
10

 

IMG-1970

IMG-1969

IMG-1971

Slipways

Jo Marli

The photos of the above boat – Jo Marli, were sent to me by Nathan Herbert, and were taken during the recent Mahurangi Regatta weekend.
Nathan also sent in the b/w photo (most likely taken somewhere along Beaumont Street, Auckland City) and commented that the boat on the hard left is the same boat.
Can anyone tell us more about Jo Marli?
Input from Harold Kidd
Robert well deserves his MNZOM. It’s just so nice that his life’s work is recognised as having national value.
JO MARLI first appears in 1962 owned by R.R. Miller of 346 Dominion Road and he continues as owner for many years after that. She’s been on the Mahurangi for 10 years or so.

MNZM for Robert Brooke

Screen Shot 2019-02-04 at 2.34.42 PM

In case you missed the news, Robert Brooke was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in the New Years Honours.(story ex CYA Sheerlines newsletter)

Mr Robert Brooke has helped preserve New Zealand’s wooden boatbuilding heritage and continues to contribute to and advise pro bono on boatbuilding and restoration to this day. Brooke pioneered and was pivotal in the integration of the ‘Design-and-Build’ mode of teaching and learning into the national curriculum of Workshop Technology. Where previously students copied existing designs or components, under Design-and-Build students conceive the design and see it through to completion. This principle has become the mainstay of technology education and is flourishing under the NCEA environment. He was an advisor in technical subjects for the then Department of Education from 1987 to 1990 and was the National Moderator of the Northern Region appointed to assess National Standards. He has been National Examiner for Ship, Yacht and Boatbuilding and has been a member of the Ship, Yacht and Boatbuilding Advisory Committee for Unitec. He has moderated Ship, Yacht and Boatbuilding Trade and Advanced Trade examinations. He has been General Manager of the Boating Industry Training Organisation. He was commissioned from 2003 to 2005 to design and set up the Boatbuilding Training and Apprenticeship Scheme for the Nova Scotia Boatbuilders’ Association in Canada. Mr Brooke was a leading figure in the establishment of the Auckland Traditional Boatbuilding School.

Message from Robert Brook

A very sincere thank you for all the congratulatory messages.

Education, the Marine industry and Classic boats have been a large part of my life and it has been a great.

Thank you again.

Robert

Geoff & Warrick Bagnall’s Achilles Relaunched

Posted on by
5

P1050128

 

P1050103

 

P1050169

P1050176

P1050117

P1050115

P1050094

P1050195

IMG_0639

 

P1050205

GEOFF & WARRICK BAGNALL’s ACHILLES RELAUNCHED
Saturday was a very special day for the Auckland woody community – we got to celebrate with Milford boatbuilder Geoff Bagnall as he re-launched the 31’ 1973 Roy Parris designed and built launch – Achilles.
Geoff has built and restored a lot of very fine craft in his 19 years at the Milford yard, but the refit of Achilles is extra special because she used to be his fathers boat. Amazingly Warrick was there to witness the launching and he looked very happy, on two fronts – seeing Achilles back family ownership and it was also his 90th birthday, a cake appeared and a bloke’ish version of happy birthday was sung 🙂
Geoff also served his apprenticeship under Roy Parris so the bond with the launch is deep.
Achilles will most likely be Geoff’s last big project – in a few days he will close the shed for the last time – that is a very sad day for us woody owners but this story is all about Warrick, Geoff and Achilles, more on the future of the shed later. Today we had 4 generations of the Bagnall family coming together for the party.
Over the last 18 months I have watched Geoff crafting over the refit and the standard of workmanship and design smarts is second to none, the man has a very good eye for size, proportion and just what looks right when it comes to boats. I have had the pleasure to have Geoff work on Raindance for over 10 years and she is now twice the boat she was when I bought her in terms of practicality and looks, as a result of Geoff’s input and craft.
Some details on the ’new’ Achilles – she now measures 31’ in length, is powered by a new Yanmar 200hp turbo that will she her dancing along very nicely. That stunning finish comes from being glassed (I quote Geoff- “I don’t want to be bloody working on her again in my life-time”) and she has all the latest features to make life aboard very comfortable. There are still a few wee jobs to complete but I think you’ll agree from the photos above and video below, Achilles is an impressive sight and a wonderful example of Geoff’s skills.

 

P1050227
Below is a selection of photos taken ‘in-the-shed’ during the refit.
As always – click on photos to enlarge 😉

To view a selection of launches built by Roy Parris – click this link https://waitematawoodys.com/tag/roy-parris/page/1/

Arohanui

Posted on by
4

IMG_20190130_090823

 

IMG_20190130_090951

IMG_20190130_133754

 

IMG_20190130_090622

AROHANUI 

A story from Stu Mannington on Arohanui – below in his words:
 
“I brought Arohanui in 2004 though Half Moon Bay marina brokerage salesman and family friend Wayne Kidd. I had her surveyed by Jack Taylor, he found some rot in her and a few other things but what do you expect at something of that age. I nearly did not buy her but I liked her looks just like a old hot rod car she was a bit run down so I decided I should remodel her a bit. I took a month off work and had her hauled out at Half Moon Bay marina, they had a round barn shed I hired. I lived at Waiheke Island, my brother lived in Howick so stayed at his place, started each day at 6.00am and worked until 9.00pm at night. 
I had help from an old school boat builder named Kevin Reynolds who used to to work for my father’s friend Roger Preist years ago. Kevin fixed a few things and put a teak cockpit in. My father fitted new power steering in the top and bottom as it would not steer in a straight line + new controls and gauges + dash steering wheels. We had all new stainless rails made + crane. I fitted a bimini on the fly bridge then decided to close in with new canvas covers. I repainted (myself) and sprayed the vanish.
When you went in a bay people would comment on her looks,
I sold her only one week after putting on the market, my wife and kids cried when it left our bay in front our house at Waiheke Island. I should have kept her.”
You can see / read more on Arohanui at this WW link   https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/01/08/arohanui/

Tooroorong > St. Helena

Posted on by
2

DCIM101MEDIADJI_0679.JPG

As purchased 4 years ago

fhfhfhfh

mocking up the new house 1

getting closer.

DCIM100MEDIADJI_0621.JPG
DCIM101MEDIADJI_0333.JPG
DCIM101MEDIADJI_0204.JPG

DCIM101MEDIADJI_0331.JPG

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

DCIM101MEDIADJI_0475.JPG

Moreton Bay Video – Dec 2017

 

TOOROORONG > St. HELENA

Hello woodys – today’s WW story is a goody, it started off with an order from Australia for some WW t-shirts, several emails later I discover that the recipient of the t-shirts, Andrew Christie is a serious woody. I will let Andrew tell the story of his acquisition of the classic launch Tooroorong (later to be re-named St. Helena), read below. Enjoy – I did 🙂
ps check out the cockpit canopy ‘wings’, new to me but with the hours of sunshine they get in Australia, they are a great idea.
“St Helena is a 32 foot long timber cruiser.  Her hull is Queensland Beech glued with resorcinol and clenched with copper nails. Her decks are ply sheathed in dynel and her cabin top is made from Australian Red Cedar.  Her hull is also dynel sheathed below the waterline.  She is powered by a Yanmar 4JH3-HTE turbo diesel. When built she had a petrol Chrysler.  She has a two burner Force 10 stove in her galley, and two refrigerators, one forty and one eighty litres which run permanently from four solar panels on the roof.  Her electronics are built around a Raymarine 12 inch Axiom pro.  I have hunted the internet for classic fittings like the half mile ray on the roof a new old stock genuine morse controller.  Many of the brass fitting were cast on patterns I had made or from old ones I found in boat yards or boot trunk sales.
I believe she was designed by Clem Masters (RIP) a prolific designer and builder from Sandgate, but the builder is unknown.  Her registration papers say she was built in 1968.  Although I don’t know the builder, she is however built to a very high standard and was completely rot free and sound when I bought her.  It is better to be lucky than smart.  The long term owner before me, Mort Hudson, sadly had developed alzheimers which meant he had to sell her, but this also meant he could not recite her history.  Mort had named her Tooroorong after his wife’s peanut farm. It seemed to be a tactic that had worked for him and a theme which would follow.
Her original name might have been Venetra.  Mort’s wife Barbara mistakenly recalled her name was Helena during the restoration which resulted in the decision to change it back. My wife was keen to go back to the original name before we learned of the error but we decided on St Helena as many classic Moreton Bay boats bear the names of local places and by that time we thought of her as Helena.  It is important to keep your wife happy as we see below.  
I believe St Helena was a southern boat as before I spent two years restoring her she was enclosed and had a small trunk cabin aft which was pretty difficult to live with and not suitable for a sub tropical climate.  The restoration is a whole other story.  We had planned some quick work and a $15,000 ceiling.  I should run a government with my ability to blow out a budget. Two years later in an enclosed slipway on Breakfast Creek is proof enough of that …
As it turned out, brother in law loved wooden boats.  He is an intellectual but also an artisan.  He had a peculiar wooden shoal draft sailing boat to I think an Ian Gartside design which he kept in Cabbage Tree Creek.  He had also built a beautiful strip plank canoe of cedar which was bright finished.  And he collected Wooden Boat Magazine.
Anyway, my wife’s sister, who, what shall I say, might be viewed by some as a hard hard woman, took a dislike to his boat.  She was embarrassed because the purist in him would not use an engine and crunched into the jetty on docking and she found the sailing experience uncomfortable. This whole boating business was a folly and an annoyance. She started speaking at family gatherings about how it made good financial sense to be rid of the boat.  Whatever (said slowly and with bitterness) I thought. More noise.  
I did however become concerned when I heard Johnny start parroting her narrative.  While she wore the pants he told me that he was not worried it would sell because it was such a peculiar boat that it would appeal to very few people. Who knew that the only other person in Australia who would be interested was looking for such a boat to try an experimental junk rig on.  I said to him after the event, “why wouldn’t you just have made a typo with your phone number in the advertisement – your wife would never realise”.  We are all wise after the event.
Shortly after it was advertised my wife came to me, “Jimmy’s sold the boat”.  “That’s not good”, I said. “You watch, this will be the end of them”.  Well within months they had separated and the blood letting began.  As part of his punishment boxes of Wooden Boat Magazines were hidden under my house.  
And so I came to stand on the top of that very slippery slope.  I read those magazines.  One by one. Then religiously.  The 18 foot catamaran I had in my late teens whispered in my ear.  My favourite book as a boy was The Dove.  This was going to be bad.
I started looking at sailing yachts.  I wanted a Herreschoff. It had to have a bright mahogany house, teak decks and brass, brass, brass.  Anyway, as I stood on the most lovely one in Sydney Harbour about to make my dream a reality I remembered just in time the lesson above.  In my family a sailing boat is a divorce. I decided a cruiser would be more likely to keep me in the family business.  God bless my wife. She put up with the restoration while I told her outrageous lies about how much it was costing. But despite this now she suggests we use the boat more than I do. Provided we take the dogs.  Those damned dogs and their hair.  On my beautiful boat.  Never mind, happy wife.  Happy life.  I think I got the good sister.
She doesn’t know I am still looking for a yacht.  I saw a lovely Dark Harbour 20 in England the other day.  The quote to freight it out here wasn’t that unreasonable.  Surely the house renovations can wait a little longer.  What could possibly go wrong?”

Beatnik + Mahurangi Regatta Reminder + Details On Sunday River Cruise + Auckland Anniversary Regatta Launch Race

Posted on by
6

img_0554

img_0555

BEATNIK

Woody Colin Pawson sent in the above photo of the sloop Beatnik that he snapped during the week at Great Barrier Island. She is flying a CYA burgee, but doesn’t ring any bells with me, maybe a name change or a very new member?

Her ‘cockle shell’ clinker dinghy is rather cute.

Any of the woodys able to tell us more about Beatnik?

MAHURANGI REGATTA NEXT WEEKEND

screen shot 2019-01-16 at 1.18.55 pm

 

screen shot 2019-01-16 at 1.19.44 pm

If you’re a serious woody you will have already made plans to be at Mahurangi this coming weekend. As I have told you b4 it is the single biggest gathering of classic wooden boats in New Zealand. Lots to do & see for both yachts & launches + Saturday nights BBQ / dance ashore at Scotts Landing is huge.

You can find out more details at the link below. But for the launches, the classic launch parade meets off Scotts Landing at 10.15am, with a parade start time of 10.30am.

On Sunday at around midday there is a trip up the Mahurangi River to Warkworth – the Jane Gifford will lead the way, so we effectively have a pilot 🙂 It is a great trip & the event is being run to demonstrate support for the dredging / improvements to the basin. Details below.

http://www.mahurangi.org.nz/2018/01/26/2019-mahurangi-regatta-programme/utm_source=CYA+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=0f35421837-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_01_15_12_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_539b169589-0f35421837-67897225

I’ll post more during the week.

logo-original

Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta – Classic Launch Race

If Mahurangi was not your scene or you get back early from the Mahurangi, this event is a must do to the ‘petrol-heads’ amongst us. After 100+ years the organisers of the AADR have resuscitated the regatta classic motorboat race. Details below ex Joyce Talbot

“It’s been 100 years or more since a race for power craft was part of the Auckland Anniversary Regatta. But this year, for the first time since the early 1900s, the regatta will feature a classic launch race – and we’d love for you to be part of this historic revival.

This “new” (old) event is the perfect opportunity to show off these wonderful vessels in front of a huge audience of spectators, and a chance to prove once and for all – who has the fastest launch of them all.

Time’s running out to enter the Ports of Auckland Anniversary Regatta and put yourself in the running to win cash, a huge pool of spot prizes including a holiday in Hawaii, and your name on our historic trophy collection.

Entries cost just $30, and every entry received will go in the draw to win a holiday in Hawaii plus loads more.”

Enter now at www.regatta.org.nz

Enquiries: 0800-REGATTA   Email: admin@regatta.org.nz