Category Archives: Working Boats

2015 Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parade – Get There

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2015 Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boat Parade

One of the best wooden boating events in NZ is taking place this long weekend at Lake Rotoiti (Nth. Island). If you are anywhere around the central North Island on Saturday (7th) I would encourage you to make you way to Lake Rotoiti. I went last year & it was a hoot, I’ll be back again on Saturday, so if you miss it – it will be on ww early next week.

Event & viewing details here
http://www.woodenboatparade.co.nz/
http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2015/classic-wooden-boat-parade/rotorua

Classic Yacht On-Line Magazine Jan/Feb 2015

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Classic Yacht On-Line Magazine Jan/Feb 2015

Latest edition of the on-line USA magazine ‘Classic Yacht’ . Remember in the USA yacht = boat so there is lots of motor-boat related stories. Enjoy 🙂

click link to view   http://www.myvirtualpaper.com/doc/ClassicYacht/cym-janfeb2015/2015012001/#0

Miss Helen

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MISS HELEN

For the last 2 weeks I have had phone calls & emails from ww followers telling me about the ‘new’ classic launch that just appeared at OBC. The words being used are “totally immaculate, like new”  /  “newly restored and gleaming” etc.
She is visible from Tamaki Drive & is in fact the ex Bay of Islands game fisher – Miss Helen. Built in 1932 by Colin Wild. I have posted restored & ‘old’ photo as a comparison for you – I like the effort that has gone into keeping / making her very original.

So folks – who can supply more info on her? I would love to see the interior & learn a bit about the restoration.

We need her in the CYA launch fleet 🙂

(a big thank you to Mark Edmonds, Nathan Herbert & Lindsay McMorran for photos & details)

 

Harold Kidd Input

She was built in 1930 by COLIN WILD for L.E. McQueen of Wairiki Road, Mt. Eden as AUDREY M and had a 125hp Lycoming 8 cylinder engine. McQueen had her dodger raised to give 6ft 6in headroom in October 1931 and had fresh water cooling installed. He then sold her to A.L Davenport who renamed her MAHSEER. Davenport sold her to Whittaker in 1934 and he renamed her LADY HELEN. He sold her to L.A. Marquet who sold her to A.E. Fuller of Russell in August 1937. She was altered for gamefishing. In August 1942 she was severely damaged coming ashore in a gale at Russell and substantially rebuilt again. Again she was renamed, MISS HELEN to tie in with the rest of  the Fuller fleet, MISS IDA, MISS KNOXIE, MISS RUSSELL etc.
BTW the Register of British Ships says she was built in Russell, which is incorrect, although she was re-built there once or twice.
McQueen, of course, had WILD build WAIRIKI in October 1934.

The Register of British Ships says she was built in 1932, which is also incorrect. The RBS is a very dodgy resource, especially where the vessel was registered well after she was built, as here.

Input from Ken Ricketts

She belongs to Terry Porter of McMullen & Wing. – photo below during during restoration towards the end of last year.
Terry has done an absolutely fabulous job on her, splining, beautiful new interior, the whole bit. She is powered by a brand new 4cly high performance artificially aspirated inter-cooled Cummins Diesel. AH

2015 Auckland Anniversary Regatta Tug Boat Race

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2015 Auckland Anniversary Regatta Tug Boat Race

Below is a selection of photos from CYA member Brett Evans of Mondays inner harbour Tug Boat race. This looks a lot of fun & great to see so many of the CYA fleet ex work boats competing.

2015 Mahurangi Regatta Weekend – 70+ Photos

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2015 Mahurangi Regatta Weekend – 70+ Photo Parade

The photos tell the story of the weekend – perfect weather, stunning boats & nice people having a great time. Todays post is just a slice of the 3 days of classic wooden boating. I have 100’s of photos that will filter thru into ww over time. Not all are ‘picture perfect’ – its hard to helm the boat (solo) & take photos in a very congested waterway.
As always you’ll see a mix of motor-boats & yachts because even though some people seem blind to the world of classic launches – the weekend is in fact the biggest collection of classic wooden boats afloat in one place in NZ. Remember people – its all about wooden boats 🙂
Saturday nights prize giving & dance ashore at Scotts Landing was one of those evenings out of the bag – a perfect sunset to cap the day off, the panoramic photo above was sent to me by Mark Lever (owner of the very smart 1926, B.J.L. Juke designed launch – Nereides) & portrays the scene perfectly.
I counted 30+ classic CYA launches around the bays – I’m sure there were more, just didn’t see them all. The launches had a wee parade around the bays on the Saturday to fly the flag for the CYA launch fleet. There was a ‘names in the hat’ draw at the prize giving & one of our newest members – Bill Mitchinson owner of MV Gay Dawn, who traveled up from Tauranga for the weekend, won the ‘Motor Launch Log Trophy’. Now all we need is for last years winner (a non CYA member) to play the game & return the trophy 😦
The trip north for me had one big objective – to see Pauline & Harold Kidd’s just re-launched classic launch – Romance II afloat. Harold & boat builder Marco Scuderi have rebuilt R2’s dog-house & tram-top to pretty dam close to the day in 1919 she slipped down the Bailey & Lowe ramp. In my eyes her lines & proportions are spot-on. There is a photo of her in todays post but I will feature her in more detail on ww tomorrow.
Winners Are Grinners – the CYA boats, skippers & crew cleaned up all the major sailing races at the regatta – photos from the prize giving at the end of the post.
Enjoy & remember you can enlarge any photo by clicking on it 😉
Romance II
Weena
Wenna
Tuna
John Dory
John Dory and Ferro
Gay Dawn
Manapouri
Una
Duetto
Kiwitea
Orari II
Orari II
Tiromoana
Strathalan and Allergy
Mahanui
Mahanui
Kailua
Darleen
Tawera and Darleen
Lillian
CYA Launch Parade
CYA Launch Parade
Karros II
Korama (Thetis)
Shuh-Shuh-Gah
?
Lady Adelaide
Akarana
Raiona
Allergy
Kayla Rose
Zeltic
Ballerina
Kairanga
Matanui
Raindance
John Dory
Rainbow
Ngatira and Breeze
Ngatira
How you win – its all in the detail
Tawera and Peg
Scot
Thelma
Frances
Jessie Logan and ?
Jessie Logan
Frances
Frances
Rainbird
Breeze
Wairiki
Tawera (L) Thelma (R)

 

This is what makes the regatta racing so special – where else do you get sailing like this?

Yes, there were life jackets on-board for everyone

Saturday Night Prize Giving & Dance

 

Grinners Are Winners

Hamish Ross – Rainbow
Steve Horsley – Ngatira
Mike Mahoney – Tawera
Chad Thompson – Prize

Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta

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Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta

photo ex Heather & John Lidgard

Today is the 175th Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta, for a young country like NZ that is a significant milestone. Out on the water today will be boats of all sizes & ages, from radio controlled pond yachts to the giants of the classic fleet – the A-Class keelers. Now even if you are boat-less today, I encourage you to head down to the harbour & grab a good vantage point.

For classic wooden boat lovers – the key times are:
10.00am for the Tug Boat Race. New inner harbour course this year with the start off Princess Wharf
12.00pm for the A-Class classic fleet start, again off Princes Wharf

Full details on today’s events here  http://www.regatta.org.nz/the spectators

Today’s photo from 1946 shows spectators cramming every vantage point they can at Westhaven. The large concrete building looks a ‘little’ more impressive today as the home of the RNZYS. The large launch on the right was Claude Atherton’s Manuwai.

If you do get out, take the camera & send me some photos 🙂

It would be amiss of me if I did not mention some of the people behind today’s regatta – I’ll upset somebody by saying this (but that’s ok) but without the support & effort of this core group of people from the classic boating movement the regatta just would not happen – (in no order) – Bruce Tantrum, John Street, Baden Pascoe, Joyce Talbot, Eric Mahoney & others I’m sure.

Tug Boat Tuesday

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TUGBOAT TUESDAY

Now folks if you are in/around Auckland next Monday, you must check out the Tug Boat Race that is part of the Anniversary Day Regatta – some would say its the best part 🙂 its certainly the most spectacular & it all happens in the inner harbour (refer chart below). Just make your way to a vantage point (pack the binoculars) & I can guarantee you will be entertained.
The race starts at 10.00am. off Princes Wharf.

If you are a float, give them plenty of room – they are deceptively fast & rather large 🙂

Mahurangi Weekend 2015

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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.

 

Ronomor

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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

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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

avalon-14

avalon-15