Category Archives: Working Boats

Launches at Waipu Landing 1953

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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

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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

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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.

MV Resolution

Contact details – Warwick Bray Mob  021 288 6643 – Tel Hm  07 579 4043   Email : w.bray@aucgroup.co.nz

Tasman Star

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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

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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

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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

ALMA G II - H Edmonds

Matahui

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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.

1934 Miller & Tunnage

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1934 Miller  & Tunnage

This 1934 work-boat conversion appeals to me. She is a big old girl 55’8” x 13’5” x 5’ 10” – built in heart kauri & powered by a Gardner 6L3 115hp diesel.

For sale on trademe she recently had an extensive refit. The owner is reluctantly retiring from the sea. would make a nice live aboard.

Anyone able to ID her? Currently in Picton so maybe one of the southern woodys?

More details here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/05/28/wairangi/

Info ex Paul Drake –
Below is the ad for WAIRANGI when she was put up for tender by the Lyttelton Port Company (in the 1980’s?).

Photos ex Frank Stoks of Wairangi taken today (01/10/2014)

Boat on the Move – Kiwa

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KIWA
photo & ‘heads up’ from Russell Ward

The classic (workboat) Kiwa is on the move – spotted last week on-route from the Hokianga to Auckland – so the questions are :-
1. Who has bought her ?
2. Where in Auckland is off to ?

Russell took the fogbound photo (below) of her on her ex home waters on the Hokianga in 2006
Paul Gilbert alerted Russell to the post on The Shipping Office website.

Russell’s message to the new owner is  “Look after her, mate. I’ve long admired her”.

Can anyone supply some more details on her builder & past life – Russell?

kiwafogsmall

Got A Question, Looking For A Boat, Found Something Of Interest?

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Got A Question, Looking For A Boat, Found Something Of Interest?

ww gets lots of correspondence that start off like this :

” I used to own _ _ _ _ _ in the the 1960’s, do you know where she is now”

” I wonder if you could help me trace my granddads boat”

So I have set up a Lost & Found post – if your looking for a boat just enter brief details in the comment section below & click the ‘post comment’ button. You click on this icon, top right (up turns blue when you scroll over it), to go straight to comments – the number indicates the number of comments.

Over on the right hand side of the site is a Lost & Found panel – if you click on that it will take you to this post.

You can also use the search box to see if there have been any info posted – just type the boat name into the box & hit enter.

GIVEN ITS THE COMMENTS SECTION – KEEP IT SHORT i.e. NO STORY TELLING

I’ll trial it for a while & see how it goes. Alan H