Category Archives: Working Boats

Kathleen M

Posted on by
1
Photo #7
Photo #6
Photo #2
Photo #1
Photo #4
Photo #3
Photo #8
Photo #5

KATHLEEN M
photos & details ex Paul Drake, edited by Alan H

Paul writes so well, I’ll let him tell this tale. Enjoy. AH

“I had an association with this boat in the 1970’s and I’m sure the photos above will be of interest to WW followers.

In 1971, KATHLEEN M was operating as a long-liner out of the Viaduct Basin, in the days when that basin was full of interesting working boats of all types. She was AK444, as is evidenced in one of the above photos. She was purchased that year by the woodwork teacher from Taupo Nui-a-Tia College and taken to Taupo. My brothers and I were involved in getting her from the Viaduct to Westhaven and onto a trailer.

At Taupo the Rugby engine was replaced with a Universal Cruiser Six – a magnificent engine, rather bigger than necessary, but which gave a very satisfactory turn of speed at lowish revs. The addition of a mast and simple but stylish foredeck rails and toe rails made her into a useful and attractive small launch – 22 feet I believe she is.

Some years later she was sold to the Lake Taupo Yacht Club who of course threw out the Universal in favour of a small Buhk diesel. She served the club well for many years, under the name P3.

She was sold into private ownership again and was last noticed offered on trademe as a freebie, probably about 15 years ago. I have a feeling she may have had some rot issues. Her hull had been sheathed in GRP a long time ago – in the 1960’s. Perhaps this had eventually led to problems.

It is interesting to see that she has ‘turned up’ at Pam Cundy’s Whangateau Traditional Boatyard, a good home for her and I will follow with interest to see what happens to her there.”

Pam at Whangateau Tradtional Boatyard Input
“I spotted Kathleen M on trademe whilst we were at Whangaroa on our Christmas cruise & I think it had a buy now on it, so I did. We could only see the bow in the photos and I remember thinking what ever came aft of the bow was going to be sweet and she is. She’s going to be such an easy restoration but I can’t get to her yet. We have the cabin top and the small upper set of windows and other parts of the puzzle to restore her to, we shall go with the lower wheel house though. The fiberglass has not hindered her in any way. It’s a shame it was done but then she may not have been around today…The rot is isolated, well when I last looked her over. One section of a plank has gone, I think it was probably just a bit of sap not heart kauri that’s all. The chop strand is extremely thick and heavy, her hull shall be around forever.”

I thought I had photographed everything that existed at WTB but I can not find a photo of Kathleen M in residence so Pam will have to send one in 😉  AH
PHOTO GALLERY

Photo # 1 – Haul out time at Westhaven

Photo # 2 – Trial run with fisherman owner doing the splits. Yours truly on the bow fending off.

Photo # 3 – Hauling out at Westhaven – yours truly on the deck, brother Roger at the bow, new owner Laurie in the water.

Photo # 4 – Many hands make light work – scrubbing off at Westhaven. Various members of the Drake family lending a hand, including our mother Marjorie.

Photo # 5 – On the slip at Taupo being worked on shortly after purchase by owner Laurie Tyler.

Photo # 6 – As found in her berth at the Viaduct Basin, surrounded by other beauties of the past.

Photo # 7 – Looking good and in use at Taupo, inside the Waihaha River mouth.

Photo # 8 – AK444 about to leave Auckland for Taupo early one Sunday morning. For various reasons, this trip took 12 hours.

Albacora

Posted on by
3

ALBACORA
details & photos ex Hylton Edmonds, Karen Moren & B Worthington

Albacora was built by Mac McGeady in 1954 for Pat Edmonds (Hylton’s father). She was to be a big game fishing boat in the Bay of Islands. She was 36′ & when launched powered by twin 90hp Graymarine engines.
The photo above is from a postcard (image a ‘little’ enhanced) of when she went up to Fiji in 1969 to start another successful game fishing career, operating out of the Fijian Hotel on Yanuca Island near to Sigatoka on the Coral Coast. While in Fiji, kiwi boat builder Ben Hipkins raised her cabin top to increase headroom.

Hylton has a rather nice collection of classic woodys –  with Zane Grey & Lady Eileen both in varying stages of restoration at his Russell, Bay of Islands yard/shed.

Link to Lady Eileen https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/05/22/lady-eileen-3/

Update from Hylton Edmonds

Hi Alan,

Great to see Albacora back in the lime light, and taking yours and a few of your correspondents lead in the quest for accuracy, if I could just correct a few things as follows,
Albacora was 38′ 6″” x 11′ 6″ x 3’6″, mostly full length kauri of 1 1/2 ” thick.
Her cost as-built was 4,500.00 pounds, transported by Hammond and McIntyre from Summer Street, down Franklin Road to Quay Street. She was launched at 7.5 tons by Mrs. Eileen Bronson (a well known fisher-woman of the day) on 13 September 1954 at Admiralty Steps by the floating crane Mahua.
She had twin Petrol Morris Commodore’s of 50 HP each.
Unfortunately these were the only motors readily available for her first season of 1954 /55, and were replaced the next year by twin 4 cylinder Lees Marine Fordson Diesel’s of 75 HP each. The work was done at Deeming’s on Tapu Point (as all the work in NZ was done) including changing her from wet exhausts to dry. A great friendship between Dad and both Roly and Ted Lees ensued. These were later replaced in her last years in New Zealand with twin 6 cylinder Lees Marine Fordson’s of 115 HP each.
Albacora had a successful Game Fishing career and at the time of being sold to Marlin Investments in Fiji in 1968 she had 4 World and 7 New Zealand records to her name.
Albacora was only ever in Auckland twice, firstly when she was launched in 1954, and secondly when she came back down from Russell to go as deck cargo on the USSCo Tofua to Fiji in the May of 1968
In the mid 70’s she was sold to a Mr. Dick Evison who was setting up Turtle Island Resort. Details became sketchy after that until in 1980, family friend and well known yachtsman Dick McIlvride saw her in a derelict state up the Nadi River.
Acting on a tip off that Albacora was still “alive”, and a hoping to fulfill a life long dream of bringing her back home, – a trip to Fiji 5 years ago was made primarily to find out once and for all what happened to her. The late Dick Smith of Musket Cove was most hospitable to me, but confirmed the sad news, that Albacora had indeed been a wreck up the Nadi River, but then purchased by the owner of (adjacent) Plantation Village (a Mr. Reg Raffe) in the November of 1982. She was re-floated, towed over to Malololailai and hauled up onto the hard between the 2 resorts. A rebuild was intended sometime after the Christmas/Summer Holiday season. Tragically on March 1st 1983 Cyclone Oscar decimated not only most of that side of Fiji, but Albacora as well. She (as was most of the buildings on the island) pushed into a heap by bulldozer and burnt.
My Father always said, as all McGeady Boats were, – she was a strongly built boat, and a comfortable sea boat, and to me Albacora was a very good looking well proportioned classic sedan launch, that acquitted herself well in every respect, but as we all know, – wooden boats in the tropics…… a very harsh environment to say the least.

Classic Clinker Motorboat

Posted on by
11

Classic Clinker Motorboat

Now this little classic appeared briefly on trademe ($5,000) & then the listing was pulled, so hopefully the owner changed their mind or a buyer was found off-line.

This clinker built tender / lifeboat was built by Miller & Tunnage of Port Chalmers, Dunedin.

She started life as one of two lifeboat / tenders on the back of the tug ’Dunedin’ which was launched on Jan 6th 1914.

Built by Miller & Tunnage of Port Chalmers she is 14’ with a 6’ beam & powered by single cylinder diesel motor. The current Yanmar diesel was installed by Miller & Tunnage in 1961 & propels the craft at 6 knots. She has had only 2 owners in the last 40 years & as the photos show has amazing attention to detail & has been well loved.

If anyone was interested in her, a call to the seller agent might be a good idea – Shauna Brady 06 356 1084.

24-06-2015 Input from Russell Ward

Aha! Rivet counters of the NZ coast unite!
Below is a deck plan of the good tug Dunedin as built 1914 showing a transom-sterned motor dinghy mounted to starboard on the boat deck. Measuring off the scale on the plan, she might be 15’ -similar to our little darling under discussion.
A conventional dublenda BOT lifeboat is seen to port.

Now, sorry fellers, but the natural response of a sorta kinda apprentice historian to claims made in adverts for boats as well as cars is “No it ain’t!” because more often than not, vendors embellish the provenance a tad from time to time to stimulate the market. So be it with our little incumbent.

Lets face the facts, Dunedin would have been supplied ex builders (Stevenson and Cook Port Chalmers) with ships boats and equipment as per specifications a part of which I have scanned. This plan shows a smaller motorboat to stb and it was likely built along with the other in the Port by Millers or Tunnages. M & T used to bead the edges of the stringers –Iona is the same. However, the photographs I have attached show some real heavy boats on board.

I hate to rain on the party, but that boat doesn’t look all that robust and a workboat doing pulleyhauly stuff on a tug in Dunedin would be a very strong heavy boat and would have a plum stem so that the inevitable collisions would be better dealt with. The raked stem as our little darling has wouldn’t take a collision so well. Also a motorboat of that era would have a big thumpy single banger engine or maybe a two stroke made in the US that would shake a light boat to pieces right quick. The two strokes didn’t usually have a reverse box so might be a handful in tight corners.

Maybe it is a later addition –the Dunedin may have had a progression of boats on board as the old ones were dropped, smashed or squashed in their duties. William the Conqueror’s axe and all that.

She’s a lovely boat, however,  and I am tickled by the nicely polished rotary bllge pump which she doubtless needs. BTW I have a nice little Stuart Turner P5 single with reduction gear that would fit in real nicely…… Fitted with the usual Critical Need factor –if you need it urgently, it ain’t gonna start so there. Any other time starts easily with a flick of the flywheel One titled owner, only used on weekends.

Eva

Posted on by
11

EVA
photo & details ex Baden Pascoe

Following along from last Sundays post, the photo above shows the 1904 Logan built Eva paying a visit to Charlie Hansen in 1936 on Moturekareka Island, the wrecked hull of Rewa can be viewed in the background.  Robert Patterson is standing at the end of the wharf and his crew Keith Penny in the white pants standing on the sailing vessel. On their return trip from Auckland they delivered supplies to Hansen and he gave them the wheel and other items off the Rewa. Baden understands it is now/was in the Onerahi Cruising club.
Eva was steamed to Auckland as Robert had installed a new K3 Kelvin diesel of 66hp. The agents were Vivian and Leo Walsh who had their business above Fosters in the AET building (Fosters). The brothers insisted that they inspect the installation so the warranty would be honoured.
Shame the government did not back them when they requested funding so they could set up an aircraft manufacturing business. The Government thought they were just silly young men mucking around with a vision that had absolutely no future 😉

Todays ww task is – what happened to Eva & anyone able to ID the yacht alongside?

Update below from ww follower ‘Ben’ ex last Sundays Rewa post

“I’ve been told by the owner of the 28ft Mullety (Logan Circa 1910) Cora, that she was once owned by the owner of the Island Moturekareka at the time of the scuttling, and that the principal reason for the ‘seawall’ was to provide him with an anchorage for Cora.
Cora’s now in the Bay of Islands, in good shape with a close-to-original gaff rig on her.
Whether this is her in the photos, I’m not entirely sure, but when the present owner bought her, she had a similar profile to the vessel in your photo.”

11/06/2015 Photo ex Geoff Brebner

Salacia and Salacia Too (Le Anne)

Posted on by
6

SALACIA & SALACIA TOO (Le Anne)

photos ex Mike Blank, Brian Worthington, Ken Rickets
info ex Mike Blank & KR – edited by Alan H

Today’s post features the boats of Roy & Helen Blank (Mikes parents) – being Salacia & Salacia Too. Both were moored at Sandspit just off the main wharf, during their stewardship. The Blanks were staunch long standing members of Coastguard & effected many rescues with Salacia Too.

SALACIA TOO (Le Anne)

Salacia Too was originally named Le Anne & featured in a small article in Sea Spray of June 1965. She was designed and built by John Lidgard for Bill Roberts of Te Atatu. She was 34ft x 11ft x 3ft 6in & powered by 6cyl. 100hp Fordson diesel, triple skin 3/8 Kauri, covered with Dynel.
The photo of her in white, with bow rail and no hard top is as Helen and Roy purchased her, in 1983, probably early 83 as the 2 photos with the brown cabin sides are also from 1983. The finish was artificial wood grain, brushed on, the mix came from Willie Oliver.
The portofino stern was added in October 1993 & the hardtop to the fly bridge at a later date.
Sometime in the early 1990’s Mike thinks the engine was upgraded to a 120hp Fordson. The main cabin side door was another modification that Mike suspects happened somewhere late 1990’s. Roy sold Salacia Too in 2002
The last photo of her above, in white again, with a name change to Emmzee (?) and no bow rail is in Bostaquet Bay. Mike last saw her about a year ago berthed at West Park Marina, Hobsonville, Auckland.

SALACIA

Mike knows little about Salacai other than that Helen and Roy owned her in c.1982/1983 (Greg Lee & Ken Ricketts believe the Blanks may have owned her from late 1970 > c.1983). Mike thinks that she was purchased from a Bell family who may have been chartering her out of Tutukaka. Mike is not sure he ever went on board Salacia. She was powered by a 6V71 GM Detroit diesel.

Does anyone know of the whereabouts of these boats?

Rewa – the wreck. Sailing Sunday

Posted on by
8

REWA – the wreck photos ex Robert Brooke The 3 photos above  of Rewa at Moturekareka Island are from the Jack Brooke photo collection, sent in by son,Robert.Taken not long after she was beached. Anyone able to ID the motor launch in the photos ? a little trick – if you click on the photo & them click on ‘view full size’, then move the magnifying glass icon over the photo & click again (once only) you will get a really good look 😉 To read more about the island & the wreck click this link https://petertasker.com/2011/places/hauraki-gulf/moturekareka-island-hauraki-gulf-new-zealand Click the video link below to view the wreck today

Photo below of the AHB tug Te Awhina positioning Rewa at her grave site. Not well positioned as it turned out 😉 The photo was sent in by Russell Ward who received it from the late Bruce Fletcher & was taken by his father.

Photo below taken by Ken Ricketts in the 1950’s

REWA WRECK AT HANSONS ISLAND CIRCA 1950'S

Mystery Girl

Posted on by
16

MYSTERY GIRL
photo & details ex John Pryor

Mystery  Girl was recently bought up from Invercargill by Reuben Zylstra of Kawau Cruises, the cabin top was cut off in order to fit her into a container.
Reuben has no hard facts as to her history but has been told that she worked as a fishing boat out of Bluff for a number of years. The number T.B.C.691 on my bow must mean something to the ‘Work Boat’ guys?
Anyone able to shed any light on her history ?

Update 08-06-2015

The photo below was taken in 1999 by Chris Rabey, sent in by Russell Ward, that shows you what she looked like when fishing. She would have been converted to private use sometime ago, as her original BF8188 rego was allocated to another boat, Loyal, and when Chris looked at a photo of that one, it was no resemblance to Mystery Girl.

Royal Irish

Posted on by
3

ROYAL IRISH
photo & details ex Harold Kidd

Royal Irish was built by Bailey & Lowe in August 1913 for H.C. Williamson of Cape Runaway and named after a currently popular racehorse.
She is a 32 footer, originally powered by a 4 cylinder 18-35hp Sterling marine engine. She broke away from her moorings in the winter of 1914 and was shipped by scow back to Bailey & Lowe in Auckland for extensive repairs.
Royal Irish remained on the Bay of Plenty coast for many years. Joe Addison of Waimana owned her during the 1940s when she had a 3 cylinder Ailsa Craig diesel. In 1941 she broke down off the Raurimu Islands. Addison sent off a carrier pigeon with the details. The Whakatane pilot boat ‘Port Whakatane’ went out and towed her in. Addison sold her to Charles Bell of Waimana who replaced the Ailsa Craig with a BMC Commodore.
By 1975 she was owned by Barry Davies of Leigh and she’s been in and around Leigh ever since. In fact still fishing out of Leigh today.
Tough old bird!

waitematawoodys.com Gets One Million Views

Posted on by
27

waitematawoodys.com Gets 1,000,000 Views

At some stage today the counter on the watematawoodys.com blog site will tick over & show that people have viewed the site 1,000,000 times.

I choose the above photo for todays post because to me it captures what the classic wooden boat movement was / is all about. Its got everything there – motor boats, yachts, dinghies, people hanging out having a good time – there is even a dog 🙂 . The location is obviously Mansion House Bay at Kawau Island. The photo was sent to me by Robert Brooke & is from his father’s, Jack Brooke, stunning collection. (click on the photo to enlarge)

When I look back at the first few posts on waitematawoodys its amazing how we have evolved & now how big the audience is both in terms of numbers & the geographical reach.

I would like to thank all the followers of the site, but special thanks must go to everyone that sends in material (photos & info). Doing a daily post can be a little challenging at times but just when I start to panic, an email arrives from someone with some old photos of granddads boat. I would also like to thank Harold Kidd who gave me a swift kick in the backside 2 years ago in terms of getting serious about the site & the accuracy of the content. I would be embarrassed to say how many hours I had to spend to go back & populate the existing posts in terms of year, designer,builder etc but now the site is the #1 reference tool for New Zealand classic wooden boats. But that is a by-product, the real success of the site is that everyday it delivers to people something fun & enjoyable to read & interact with, something that puts a smile on their face.

Way did I start waitematawoodys ? – well the idea came to me via my involvement in the NZ Classic Yacht Association, the CYA is a great club but like most small clubs it can be seen as slightly cliquish, we do so many neat things but the audience is small & there are so many more people out there with an interest in wooden boats. With the birth of social media networks, stuff (photos, stories, info) that had previously been packed away, could now be available to anyone with a computer or smart phne. The future was all about content being on-line & easy to access. It was also about being collaborative. With the advent of personal websites (called blogs) people like myself are able to create a communication channel that has no boundaries. But more importantly blogs are able to be managed/controlled so that they remain true to the topic, which in the case of waitematawoodys is – the study & appreciation of classic wooden boats & the desire to tell the stories behind them & the people who built them, owned them & crewed on them.
At the start the content was all about motor boats but as the audience has grown the readers now have a broader interest in all classic wooden boats & things related to them.

Why did I call it waitematawoodys – now I could put my advertising hat on & rabbit on about what the words mean to people but the simple truth is its just a cool name & looks great on a tee-shirt 🙂

I still get a buzz out of posting daily & from the feedback I get, so do you. But folks – do not hold back on spending stuff to me, some of it in isolation may not be enough for a post but I file it & then bang, someone else sends me something on the same topic & we have a story.

Again thanks for being part of waitematawoodys & remember – its all about wooden boats.

Cheers Alan

ps below is an advertisement I made to plug membership of the CYA (you should join up) the photo (ex Chris Miller) shows we are still enjoying these wonderful craft. If you look hard that’s me in my number one clinker dinghy – I say #1 because there are a few…………..  🙂

Pilot

Posted on by
13

PILOT
photo ex Dean Wright

The above photos show the launch Pilot competing in the Whangaroa Classic Boats Game Fishing Contest. She was based up in Houhora at that time. Not a lot of brain cells were used up when they named her, as in her previous life she used to be the pilot boat in New Plymouth 🙂

I’m keen to learn a little more about her, anyone able to help?

More photos from Dean taken in 2007. At the time she was owned by Paul Nattrass.