MISS BRETT
Classic displacement launch Miss Brett, built for the famous cream trip at the Bay of Islands. 40′ loa, 10’9″ beam, 2’11” draft. Kauri carvel planked, launched 1924, powered by 100 hp 6 cyld Ford diesel.
Must be loads of history out there on this old girl. Designer / builder??
Sorry about the photos, ex trademe & very poor quality 😦
SYBIL FRANCIS
This one might be easy but I suspect not – her trademe listing said she was built in 1935 & is 36′ three skin kauri planked with a 10′ beam. Powered by a 120 hp Ford diesel.
Currently based at Great Barrier Island & been earning her keep as a fishing boat, she has had one owner for the last twenty three years.
Anyone able to shed some light on the old girl?
CYA NZ Classic Register 2014/15 Edition
At long last its out. Chris Miller & myself craft this book every season. Each year we say “never again” 🙂
Click the link below to view 200+ classic boats – note the link takes you to the CYA website so if you want to return to the ww site you will have to re-log in. Also the on-line addition does not show owners contact details for obvious reasons 😉
http://classicyacht.org.nz/demosite/wp-content/uploads/Classicreg2014/mobile/index.html
AWAROA
photos & details from Geoff Brebner
This old ship has a long history. Unsure of the dates but she was built by Joe Fell on the Hokianga and was owned by Bert ( H. A. ) Subritzky for many years. She is pictured at Rawene in the 1950’s, that is Bert Subritzky you can see at the wheelhouse door. Bert moved to Auckland in 1956 with Awaroa and the barge Maggie and set up Tamaki Water Transport at Pakuranga, later becoming Subritzky Shipping Line.
Awaroa is still alive and well at Thames in a ‘berth’ on the Kauaeranga River just downstream from the road bridge going into town.
Thames has a interesting collection of old launches – Inverness, now firmly hemmed in by the rampant mangroves. She was formerly Awhitu and Geoff recalls her as a passenger launch on the Manukau Harbour. Geoff worked for Subritzky for a number of years mostly on the vehicular ferries and became very familiar with the wooden Romo and Maro.
07-01-2016 photo of Awaroa at Manaia, Coromandel ex Peter Croft. Those windows would have to win the TV1 and TV2 award e.g. widescreen TV’s 🙂
17-10-2018 Input from Geoff Brebner -, who sent in another photo, below, of Awaroa, seen here recently in Thames. She is powered by a 4cyl. Ford diesel.
A.H.B. / KELVIN
A.H.B. is 1907 Chas Bailey Jnr, 3 skin Kauri and 39ft., she was built for the Auckland Harbour Board hence her name A.H.B….Once she was sold out of their ownership she was renamed Kelvin and spent most of her life called that, her current owners, the Pollard brothers, we put her back to her original name.
Paperspast says she’s worked alongside Ferro in the early days, even receiving Ferro’s old engine at one stage. Also that she was leased to the police during night time hours for patrolling the harbour in 1911.
She was transferred to the Manukau and used by their harbour board for quite some time there before being sold off eventually.
The old stern on photo (supplied by Harold Kidd) is thought to be before or after the shot of the other old photo (ex Paperspast ) which caption says she was being returned to the Waitemata to be used in cray fishing industry 1933. Refer b/w photo/caption below.
Some info supplied by CYA member Baden Pascoe even has her fitted with two engines in the late 1940’s. Both shaft logs are still installed but plugged off.
She was also owned for a time by by boat builder Dave Jackson.
For a while she languished amongst the derelict boats down in Waikawa, then she was sold and steamed to Mana where she was forgotten and almost met her end via chainsaw before the Pollards rescued her, got her running / floating and bought her back to Auckland.
She’s powered by a D series Ford with a hydraulic box and is berthed at Panmure. She is mobile but she is a project boat requiring plenty of work and a loving owner to take her to the next step.
The Pollards boys – Andrew & Cameron have rescued more classic motor vessels than anyone I know, I have heard Harold Kidd say on numerous occasions “the their blood is with worth bottling”.
Like all of us, there are only so many toys you can fit in the box so A.H.B. is looking for a new owner / home – initially contact me on waitematawoodys@gmail.com
as always – click on any photo to enlarge 😉
SEAGULL – a classic 4 Sale
A lot of people say your mad owning a classic boat, if thats true, owning two must make you certifiable.
CYA member Paul Burton is bucking the market trend that normally goes like this – Yacht > Launch > Camper Van > Die. Paul is going from a classic launch back to a classic yacht, well to be 100% correct a motorsailer.
The upside of Paul’s flip/flop is his rather nice 1953 ex Navy Launch ‘Seagull’ is for sale.
As you would expect from a vessel that has been in service, she was very well presented & an ideal classic for someone looking for an affordable (<$50k), easily handed, low maintenance, economical classic for exploring the Hauraki Gulf.
Powered by a 52hp Volvo Seagull runs on the smell of an oily rag e.g. $3-5 an hour.
Now unless you are Tony Stevenson, no one wants to own 2 classic boats so it would be an understatement to say that Paul is a motivated vendor. If you are interested, contact Paul to discuss the many options as to how you could own Seagull.
Viewing is available at Bayswater Marina until July 5th, then on the hard at Devonport Yacht Club.
Paul Burton 021 876 496 E: paulburton@hotmail.co.nz
A twist – the CYA member selling the classic yacht Paul is buying, is buying a classic launch, so its all a merry-go-round. Maybe I should be a broker? in fact I am……. now who do I send the invoice to 🙂
TAINUI
photo & details ex Murray Willis
It is believed that Tainui started life as a Auckland Harbour Board work boat. Built in 1967 by according to her owner someone or thing called ‘BOSS’ ?
Her construction is 1×1/2” Kauri plank Carvel. She is round bilge and 38 ft long.
Tainui is moored next to Murray’s launch Marguerite in Whangaparapara at Great Barrier Island where she has spent the last 10 years. The current owner purchased her from a bloke in Plimmerton and sailed her up the east coast to the Great Barrier Island.
More details on her past would be appreciated.
Due to poor health she is for sale but not listed nor advertised any where, if you are interested, contact Murray at jan.murray@xtra.co.nz
SHAMROCK
Shamrock (originally Shamrock Leaf) was built by Bailey and Lowe and launched in 1915. She started life powered by a 25hp Sterling petrol engine and could reach speeds of 10 knots. She was converted to diesel in 1936. Built for Arch McCarthy who ran the ferry service from Waitakaruru to Thames until the Kopu Bridge was opened.
Arch sold her to John Faulkner in 1925 where she worked as a ferry and tug in Tauranga harbour towing barges from Motiti Island and Mayor Island. She was sold in 1980 and went to Kawau Island where she did tug work towing log rafts and barges during the building of many of the wharfs at Kawau. With the tides permitting she would take the locals to Warkworth to do shopping etc. She was then on sold and was charter fishing from Leigh to Great and Little Barrier Islands.
In 2000 she was purchased by Rod Bridge from Shamrock Charters and sailed to the Kaipara Harbour where she would spend the next six years doing charter fishing in the harbour and over the Kaipara bar. It was 2000 when she was deregistered as a passenger ship and dropped the Leaf to become just Shamrock. She holds the record for being the oldest vessel in continuous commercial survey in NZ.
Her current owners, Trish & Martin Beeby purchased her in 2006 from Rod Bridge and sailed her back to Auckland where she now resides at Te Atatu. She has competed in 3 Auckland Anniversary day Tug Boat Races and has not disgraced herself. Now powered by a 150hp Ford Dover her 4th engine after she had a Isuzu and a GM 4 /71. 2014 is her 99th year & she just passed another survey for insurance purposes and she is still doing well.
Trish has done a lot of work tracing her past but if anyone has any information or photos email them to waitematawoodies@gmail.com
Photo below ex Zach Matich of Shamrock while she was chartering on the Kaipara out of Helensvillle
Photo below ex classicboatsnz showing Shamrock Leaf out at Bailey & Lowe
Update 09-10-2020 Unshore of the date but looking a tad more ‘pleasure’ craft.
A Mystery Boat 20/05/14 – RIO RITA > RESOLUTION
Ok woody boaters – todays post is an enigma to me. The boat is unknown to me, but she is flying a CYA burgee, a check of the CYA database shows no match so the vessel is either belong to a very distant lapsed member or someone has ‘borrowed’ the burgee.
The photo is ex the very talented pro photographer Dean Wright & most likely shot in the BOI.
Anyone able to shed some light on the vessel?
It also appears she is currently in Tauranga & listed on trademe (thanks Andrew Pollard for the tip). Photo added above.
Update
Lots of chat about todays mystery boat in the comments section – check it out. I can confirm it is ‘Rio Rita’ > ‘Resolution’ . I have also added a great photo sent to me by Harold Kidd of her on launch day, 1929, at St. Marys Bay, she was built by Collings & Bell & launched as a tourist passenger boat, note the open cockpit forward. Looked rather grand, quite different now days.
Updated photo– 13/06/14 – ex Harold Kidd of Rio Rita in the Sounds, still with ‘Rio Rota Auckland’ on her transom.
Updated photo – 23/07/2014 – ex Liam Daly on or close to her launch day
2014 photo below ex Dave Jones ex Baden Pascoe
Click link below to read the April edition (#93) of the Classic Yacht Association – ‘Classic Journal’. Apologies for being ‘out of syn’ but this issue got lost in transit / translation. Click blue link below.
Enjoy 🙂
