MISS RAETIHI – A Peek Down Below
Todays woody the 44’ ex charter boat was built in 1955 by Sandy Brunsel in Havelock. Construction is carvel planked Kaihikatea.
Forward motion is via a 471 Detroit Diesel engine that gives her a cruising speed of 8.5 knots.
As to be expected with an ex charter vessel she is very well fitted out. Home is Picton, Marlborough.
(Thanks to Ian McDonald for the heads up on Miss Raetihi
CYGNET – Restoration
The 35’ launch – CYGNET was built in Auckland in 1913, builder unknown, and started life as the cream boat on the Mokau River. A 2016 WW story (link below) advised that she was restored in 1998 and operated on the Mokau as a passenger vessel.
In a story this week on ’The Kawhia Connection’ fb, Andrew Shaw commented that CYGNET was owned by a John Ruby between mid 1950’s and 1994, based in Kawhia. Also operated for a time by Grant and Pauline Taylor.
Andrew Shaw advised that they had nearly finished a 3 year restoration of CYGNET and a launch date is eminent (Thanks to Lew Redwood for the heads up)
WW story Oct 2016https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/10/22/23124/
ALICE – Workboat Wednesday
The above photo of the workboat – ALICE popped up on a Ray Morey fb post on the ’Tugs & Workboats of NZ’ site. At the time Ray commented that the photo showed ALICE on the Onehunga Harbour, and shows how she looked when she arrived at Tuakau. She was powered by a 3 cyl, 2 stroke Gardner semi diesel engine. Ray also commented that her previous owner was George Higham.
Can we learn more about this very smart looking craft
Q406 > NEW VENTURE > MOTUNUI > WAITANIC
Todays story comes to us via Ken Ricketts, with details and photos begged/borrowed/ uplifted by KR from the following sources – fb/google/Lew Redwood/Ken Brown/Daniel Michaels and KR himself.
The ship Q406, is probably the last Fairmile left in NZ. She was used during WW2, as a N.Z. coastal patrol boat, and later in the Solomons. Once she and the other Fairmiles returned back to Auckland in 1945, they were decommissioned.
Q406 was offered up for sale via tender and purchased by Rodney Farry, who fitted 2 x Graymarine marinised GM Detroit 6-71 diesel engines, and converted her into a passenger ship. In this configuration she operated around the Otago Harbour, until she ran aground on a sandbar, causing Farry to lose interest in the concept.
She was renamed NEW VENTURE in 1949 and sailed back to Auckland, under command of a temporary crew. While sailing back, she struck a violent storm off the Castlecliff Coast, with the inexperienced sailors clinging near the coast.
In 1950, she was sold to Waiheke Shipping Co. and had her name changed to MOTUNUI and was used as a passenger ferry, transporting people to and from Auckland to Waiheke, Great Barrier & Motuihe Islands.
When Waiheke Shipping was sold to North Shore Ferries. MOTUNUI would continue operating under them until 1984, when she was sold into private ownership.
Over the next 20 years she would switch ownership multiple times, one of these being to the late Ken Brown, an old friend of Ken Rs, who converted her to pleasure craft use, in the 1980s. She was kept at the bottom of his garden, on the water’s edge, in the Tamaki River.
There were plans in 1997 to have her brought to survey standards in time to be used as a sightseeing boat for the America’s Cup.
This was abandoned when relations between the joint owners, (& several suppliers) soured. Even though much work was done by then (including fitting an original wheelhouse taken from Fairmile Kahu).
She was sold again in 2001 and 2006, when she took one final voyage to Tauranga, so her machinery could be removed, along with her superstructure.
Her final owner was Barry Woods, who operated Woodlyn Park Motel, at Waitomo. MOTUNUI was hauled onto land, and converted into a motel, now advertised as the ‘WAITANIC’. A sad ending but better than a date with a backhoe and box of matches and she has some funky neibours for company – a Bristol Frighter and railway car, refer below 🙂 . (edited by Alan H)
The Adoration Of Wooden Boats
One of the many wooden bating channels that I follow is {the} Southern Woodenboat Sailing news-blog out of Australian, their tag line is ‘The News, Culture and Practice of Sailing Woodenboats in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific’ . Its very good check it out and subscribe. In this weeks communiqué one of the stories was a link to a 45min interview on the ABC Radio Sydney’s nightlife program, hosted by Philip Clark – the stations intro blurb was – ‘We are a land bound by sea, and boats are an integral part of Australia’s history. Wooden boats especially have something magical about them. They flex, they groan, they creak. They each have unique characters. Philip Clark on Nightlife is joined by a panel of wooden boat specialists. Steve Robson, a self-confessed timber tragic from Sydney. Peter Higgs, President of the Wooden Boat Guild of Tasmania and Greg Blunt, a shipwright and fifth generation boat builder from Williamstown, each with wooden boats in their veins.‘
Click the link below to listen to the interview – so many similarities to the NZ scene, a lot of the discussion focussed on the dwindling wooden boat building timber stocks, being Australia its Huon Pine, they do make reference to out mighty Kauri.
Three comments that made my ears prick up: 1. The key tip for looking after these old girls is – usage and maintenance was use it and often e.g. one > two weeks
2. In Australia fractional ownership eg a group of people forming a syndicate to buy, maintain and use vessel is well established. In NZ I only know of 2>3 successful ownership syndicates. While there are numerous ‘charitable’ (I use the word loosely) trusts that own and maintenance classic yachts, seems NZ is slow out of the gates with fractional ownership groups – food for thought.
3. One of the panel was asked to give an estimate to build a clinker dinghy out of Huon Pine – answer for a 10’ one AUS$30>40,000………..CLICK LINK BELOW TO ABC RADIO
ADA / IDA – Can We Join The Dots
Recently WW was contacted by Tom Gordon in relation to his boat – ADA that Tom is trying to find out more information – I’ll hand over to Tom below:
“ ADA, I have been told is one of the 3 kauri hulled boats. The three I believe were built by Miller and Tunnage in the 1920’s however so far I’ve not been able to find out some more finer details in regards to exact build date or archive type photos. I’m looking to repair ADA and re float to maintain some heritage now that I’ve learned some history.
Sir Clifford Skeggs was an owner and one of his ex workers ‘Squidly’ from Taieri Mouth, Dunedin did own it also. Sadly he has now passed and I’m unsure if Cliff is still alive.
I’m wondering if the vessel – INA in the WW archives (WW link below) is definitely one of the three sisters to ADA. I’ve also heard of the names ROA and IMP, potentially one of these is the 3rd? “https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/10/11/ida-woody-classics-weekend-stillwater-picnic-cruise-update/
Can we help Tom out with more intel on ADA and potentially the ’sisters’
OMOKOROA – APRIL 2024 UPDATE
Following on from yesterdays story on the launch – Omokoroa where we got a peek back to her earlier days, today thanks to a nudge we gave her current custodian – Lyndon Chambers we get to see some to the work thats gone into refitting the boat.
First up is a video from early 2023 of Omokoroa being hauled out to commence the project. Lyndon commented that they used Omokoroa for a while before haulout and he has worked on her reasonably solidly since then. The topsides were repaired and glassed before haul out and he has screwed and glassed plywood over 100% of the hull so hopefully a dry boat now. Not too much left to do and she will be back on the water soon depending on what Lyndon decides to do to the interior.
View previous Omokoroa WW story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/04/24/omokoroa-in-former-times/
06-05-2024 INPUT EX ROB HARRIS – below photos from when Rob owned ( many years ago) the launch, location – Beachlands
Woody Fathers & Grandads
Be an instant hero and take the kids out for a day trip – this weekend the Matakana School are hosting the – Matakana Model Boat Show. Over 200 boats static and afloat + races. And if there are no siblings around, even better – more time to enjoy it. See flyer below for full details.
If you go Saturday – take in the Matakana Market, I was there last weekend – great food, produce & coffee. Opens at 8am. And the new express way makes the trip a doddle 🙂
Special thanks to Mark Lever (MV Nereides) for the heads up + photos
LAUNCH DAY MYSTERY – MANAIA
Another photo sent in by John Dawson – to some of the WW workboat group the answer to ’Name the boat’ is probably very easy. Not for me however – things that help –
• 1st three letters of the name are – MAN
• home port is shown as Whangarei
• lack of varnish suggests a workboat
• style suggests pilot boat• funnel may have the letters WHB on it > Whangarei Harbour Board
So what say the workboat brains trust
UPDATE – Thanks to several woodys we have confirmation that the vessel is Manaia – Designed by AJ Collings and built at the P. Los yard in 1963, for the Northland Harbour Board as a toilet boat. LOTS of photos and detail in the links below https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/01/26/manaia/ https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/04/05/manaia-a-peek-down-below/
MYSTERY MAHURANGI WORKBOAT – RURU
Todays woody comes to us from Dave Balderston via hid cubby Dave Stanaway.
Dave B. spotted the boat hauled out at the Cement Works Marina up the Mahurangi River in Warkworth.
The Daves and myself are keen to learn more about the boat and what the plans are for her.
18-04-2024 Input ex Ari at the Quayside Boat Yard – Yes, Ruru was designed and built by Chris Robertson for John Spencer to help them transport gear and maybe the odd animal between John’s island farms in the Coromandel and the mainland. As can be seen by her condition, she had been left unused for years, with the Spencer’s having larger barges to do this kind of work nowadays. One of Chris’ Son’s, Martin, has since acquired her and collectively with the crew here at Quayside Boatyard, plan to bring her back to her former glory and utilise her as a river/harbour work boat.
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