If you are even remotely interested in classic wooden boats – Mahurangi is where you want to be this coming long weekend 23>26th Jan.
Details below.
Mahurangi Weekend 2015
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Category Archives: Working Boats
Ronomor
RONOMOR
photo ex Baden Pascoe, details ex Geoff Brebner, Harold Kidd & Baden Pascoe
Geoff Brebner has been sniffing around for info on a launch by the name of Ronomor (row-no-more) which he had last seen a number of years back on the hard at Half Moon Bay. The small amount he has been able to glean was that she was built at Stanley Bay by D M Darroch & Sons probably in the 1920’s. The story he heard was she was built to save them the frequent trips to the city side in the yard rowboat, hence the name Ro no mor.
Now in consultation (that sounds very posh for an email) with Harold Kidd, Harold agrees that Ronomor was built by Darroch but originally as Albatross and renamed Ronomor after she was lengthened about 1919. She was used to commute to and from Omaha/Mahurangi rather than across the harbour and did at least two pleasure trips to the Bay of Plenty, probably why she finished up in Whitianga.
Harold advised that there were several Ronomors or variants of that name, which doesn’t help.
Now Baden Pascoe adds that his father fitted a Lees Marine 90 hp Trader & that she did a good 10 knots. More photos to more ex Baden.
Anyone else able to add to the story of her past / present?
Avalon – the game fisher
AVALON
photos & details ex Harold Kidd
The above 3 photos of Avalon are from the Tudor Collins Bay of Islands game fishing collection*.
Avalon 36′ x 8’6″ x 3’6′ was built by Collings & Bell in December 1927 for Peter Williams of Russell for use as a game fishing boat in the Bay of Islands. She was one of Collings’ typical concave-convex square bilge designs like Alma G, Manaaki, Lorna Doone and Zane Grey also built for the Zane Grey game fishing circus. She had a 85-100hp Redwing engine and was designed for 16 knots. She was often chartered by Zane Grey who took her to Bermagui, NSW in 1936 for game fishing (sharks) there, she came back to NZ after the expedition. Some few years ago she was exported to the US to the Zane Grey Museum, somehow avoiding the then Antiquities Act.
*the images in the collection were bought at a flea-market by Sharon Knight who has made them available via Harold for all of ww followers to relish.
Photo below from classicgameboatsnz
More photos from the Tudor Collins collection – this time taken during the 1930’s visit of the Duke of Glouster. Mailed in by Ken Ricketts
Launches at Waipu Landing 1953
Waipu Boats
photo & details ex Colin McKenzie ex New Zealand Herald Jan 1953.
A flotilla of launches & the scow Rahiri seen here at the Waipu Landing at the start of the celebrations to mark the arrival of the Nova Scotian settlers there 100 years previously.
From the left:
#1 Bridge decker on left (was owned by Mac Kelly, Beachlands) Colin has forgotten the name of the launch.
#2 Highland Lass (Jim Somner, Waipu)
#3 Bluebird, (John Munroe, Papakura)
#4 Spindrift, (Gordon McKenzie, Clevedon – Gordon was Colin’s father & Commodore of the Clevedon Cruising Club)
#5 Rahiri (Jock McKinnon, skipper). The remains of Rahiri are now to be seen in the sands/beach at Blackpool, Waiheke Island.
Moerangi
MOERANGI
Moerangi is a 1901 Logan Bros 55’ 9” trawler style classic launch that spent most of her life as a fishing boat and ferry before undergoing 2 separate restorations the last in Whangarei costing I understand over $300,000.
Being royalty i.e. a genuine Logan, she has a wonderfully documented pedigree of ownership and escapades detailing her life over the last 113 years, which makes my life very easy when doing a ww post. Click the (blue) links below to view/read. Built in the Logan style triple skin heart kauri she has been restored by the expert shipwrights of The Wood Shed in Whangarei who obtained suitable heart kauri and replaced in the traditional manner all that was required, its interesting reading & you can see where the $300k went.
Powered by a 1950 Gardner 5L3 reconditioned in 1986 she has traveled approx 500 hours since and cruises 7-8kts at 750 rpm using approx 8 liters per hour. Accommodation is in 2 double staterooms forward with ensuite and aft plus 2 single berths. The wheelhouse has a large saloon and dining area, aft galley with 2 burner stove grill & oven, 3 way electric fridge, pressure H&C water, 1 heads and a separate full size shower. Electronics VHF, autopilot, GPS radar, depth-sounder & TV/DVD.
Moerangi is for sale (sales brochure below) & this really is one of those situations where someone can ‘profit’ at the expense of someone else e.g. all the money has been spent & the work done to sympathetically modernize this unique classic motor launch while retaining her graceful lines. Her next owner gets to enjoy the vessel without all the hard work & I’m sure at a discount to what was actually invested in her restoration.
Older photos
Akaroa Mail article 15/1/1988 click to enlarge
October 2014 ‘The Wood Shed’ shipwright work summary / report link Shipwright report October 2014 (2 pages)
Boating NZ Oct 2007 feature link Boating NZ Oct 2007 Article (5 pages)
Ownership history link Some Ownership history
Resolution
RESOLUTION (Rio Rita)
1. Want to go cruising on a classic launch this Christmas?
2. Don’t have a spare $1,500,000 for a beach front holiday home.
If the answer was yes to either of the above then the phone call I received last week could make today your lucky day 🙂 Read on
NZ Kauri Carvel construction traditionally built 12.8m launch, from Collings & Bell shipyard in St Mary’s Bay, Auckland. Launched in 1929 and originally named “MV Rio Rita” this Ex survey vessel was tasked for 40 years as a tourist passenger ferry and royal mail vessel in the Marlborough Sounds.
Loads of history associated with this traditional timber launch. See waitematawoodys.com/2014/05/20/a-mystery-boat-200514/ . There’s further discussion regarding “MV Rio Rita” serving in 1942 for a period as a Battery Artificer for a gun crew in the Sounds out from Picton.
Renamed “Resolution” in 1971 when she relocated to Resolution Bay, Marlborough Sounds. For approximately the last 15 years she has been owned and maintained by a former boat builder in Omokoroa, Tauranga. Resolution has spent these long summers engaged in extended cruising up the coast between Tauranga and the Bay of Islands. This owner maintained her well and installed beautiful cabinetry throughout the interior, with materials in keeping with the vessels vintage and pedigree.
“Resolution” was recently acquired from this estate, as part of a “boat & berth” package in Tauranga’s Sulphur Point Marina. As traditional and beautiful as she is – Resolution is now surplus to requirements and seriously on the market following a significant price reduction. While Resolution requires a small degree of ongoing maintenance, nothing is urgent & work can wait until after the coming summer boating season.
Her new owner (boat & berth purchaser) has had a pre-purchase condition survey (dated Nov 2014) completed by Pacific Rim Marine Survey’s Limited, which will be made available to any prospective purchaser. Owner needs to sell her to make space for his existing boat so the price reflects this, I understand offers around $58,000 will buy her. Click the blue link below to view the extensive inventory & read more.
Contact details – Warwick Bray Mob 021 288 6643 – Tel Hm 07 579 4043 Email : w.bray@aucgroup.co.nz
Tasman Star
TASMAN STAR
photo ex Bill Belton
Tasman Star was anchored in Little Shoal Bay just off Bill’s house a few weeks ago. From the photo she looks like a great an ex-fishing boat conversion. Thats a serious dry stack on the starboard side, still it most likely works a treat.
I’m sure one of the woodys thats in the ‘Work Boat’ group will be able to supply more details.
Update ex Baden Pascoe
Nice to see a work boat come up on Woodys. I’m not 100% sure who built her but Dick Lang rings a bell?.
She was built for the ‘dallies’ out west in the 1930’s. Her owner in the early days was Steve Mihaljevich, he fished for the Auckland Seine Boat Ass. Later
on she was owned by the one and only Ginger Gibbs.
MANANA III
MANANA III
photos & details ex Harold Kidd
The 3 photos above by taken by Tudor Collins in the Bay of Islands c.1955 of the Miami-registered game fisher Maňana III. The images were bought at a flea-market by Sharon Knight who has made them available via Harold for all of ww followers to relish.
Harold had no idea that this boat ever came out here to fish, but here is the proof. She appears to have been built by Dittmore as the 48 footer Irish Lady and renamed Manaňa III when bought by Capt J. C. Lusk USN (retd) of Annapolis in 1948.
Sadly she was wrecked in Alaska some years ago.
Alma G & Alma G II
ALMA G & ALMA G II
photos & detail ex Harold Kidd
Here is the first of a series of game fishing images taken by Tudor Collins at the Bay of Islands, which Harold would guess to be from the period around 1950-55 . The images were bought at a flea-market by Sharon Knight who has made them available via Harold for all of ww followers to relish.
This first one (today) shows ALMA G on the left and ALMA G II on the right.
ALMA G was built by Collings & Bell for E.C. Arlidge in 1922, the first of a series of splendid 35-36ft game-fishing launches built to Charles Collings’ renowned concave-convex planing hull design for the Bay of Islands. Her original configuration was the same as ALMA G II alongside her in this pic. ALMA G II was built as ZANE GREY for Mervyn Arlidge (for use by Zane Grey) in 1927. Other similar launches were MANAAKI and OTEHEI for F. Elliott (1927), LORNA DOONE for A. A. Holmes (1927) and AVALON for Peter Williams (1927). All were fitted with 6 cylinder Redwing 85-100hp marine engines.
Zane Grey’s visits to New Zealand with his mates caused an explosion of interest in game-fishing and added lots of US dollars to the NZ economy, culminating in the Collings & Bell’s commission from Zane Grey to build the 46 footer FRANGIPANI for fishing in Tahiti, launched in 1932.
ALMA G appears to have had a recent modernisation. Does anyone know when this done and who was the builder?
Photo below of ALMA G in her original configuration c1950, before the alterations.
Update ex Bruce Overhill
Bruce spent many hours on the refurbished Alma G in 2004 chasing Marlin. He commented that she can still catch them and was holding her own against all the big boats in the Bayleys fishing competition out of Whangaroa Harbor.
Below are a couple of photo to show the changes that she has had done.
28-04-2016 photo below of Alma G ex Hylton Edmonds via Ken Ricketts
Matahui
MATAHUI
Lindsay Aitcheson, the new owner of the motor-sailor Matahui would like some input from the collective brains of ww followers.
It is Lindsay’s understanding that Matahui was designed by Athol Burns & launched into the Waiwartu Stream in Wellington in 1955 (refer above photo ex Turnbull Library). Lindsay understands she was built as a fishing boat to long-line in Cook Strait. The builder is unknown but ‘could’ be Frank Dellabarca as he built several Athol Burns designed fishing boats e.g. MV Cristina (featured previously on ww).
Anyone able to shed some light on Matahui & her past??
06/11/14 -Updated with more photos from Lindsay Aitcheson (click to enlarge)
14/11/2014 Two photos of Matahui below ex Pam Cundy when owned by Tim Hall , he used her as a commercial fishing boat. He sold her to build another commercial fishing boat, ‘Skip Jack’ a 38′ Aztec. These days Skip Jack operates as a charter boat out of Gulf Harbour.
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