Category Archives: Working Boats

Matira – A Peek Down Below

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MATIRA – A Peek Down Below
 
At last weekends Woody Classics Weekend cruise to Clevedon I had a peek aboard Matira. I first spoke to owner Barrie Abel back in 2017 when he was looking for a classic sympathetic insurer to insure his recent purchase. I pointed him in the direction of David Cooke, who helped Barrie out. At the time the vessel was ’sitting’ on Barries front lawn while he addressed some mechanical issues.
I mentioned to Barrie that Matira was a bit of a mystery boat to me, my only exposure to her was seeing moored in the creek off the Te Atatu Boating Club. She was to my eye an unusual mix of styles.
Her builder and launch date are a little unclear – there is talk that she is a Lanes c.1912, but Harold Kidd has previously commented on WW that this is possible except that “Lanes” is usually just a default for ‘old boat’. HDK also commented that he thought she could be a bit earlier than 1912 by when there tended to be a built-up foredeck and a break in the sheer aft of that. She was certainly not built as MATIRA. Probably a well-known early launch whose provenance has been lost / blurred by one or more name-changes.
 
Fast forward to September (this year) and Barrie made the long haul from Clevedon to attend the inaugural Woody Classics Weekend event at the Riverhead Hotel, an impressive undertaking considering the weather on the day. During the lunch ashore, a group of us chatted about wanting to do the Wairoa River trip to Clevedon, as a member of the Clevedon Cruising Club, Barrie volunteered to be our liaison person – the rest is history, scroll down to Mondays WW story for the full trip report.
 
While tied up together at the CCC wharf, with Barries permission I popped aboard Matira with the camera, photos above. I have to say I was very impressed with the fit out done by Matira’s previous owner (ex Lidgards boatbuilder) Dan Kamphuis. Dan purchased the boat in c.1997 and as you can see in the photos below, totally rebuilt the boat. She was relaunched in 2004. 
 
Everyone walking the dock over the weekend loved her, including my wife and she has high standards – well she married me after all 🙂
 
You can see / read more here
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Riverhead – Sept 2019

Woody Classics Weekend BBQ Cruise to Clevedon Cruising Club – 60+ photos

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Impressive Haul Out Area

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Heading Home

Woody Classics Weekend BBQ Cruise to Clevedon Cruising Club – 60+ photos

Morning woodys, as you will see from the above photo gallery the weekend woodys cruise up the Wairau River to the Clevedon Cruising Club was a great trip – had the 3 F’s that always make for good times – Fun, Friendship & Fraternity.
To hit the right tide window it was a very early start for most i.e. 6am at the marina – the smart ones, left Friday night.
We assembled at the river mouth around 9.30am and were met / piloted up the river by Barrie Abel, and woodys I have to say – just as well Barrie volunteered, because if you believed Navionics at times we were traveling over dry land, when in fact we had 3m of water under us. So a big thank you Barrie. Barry owns the 1912 woody – Matira, I will do a WW story on her on Wednesday.
Several boats missed the rendezvous but still safely made their way up the river.
After arriving at the clubs jetty late morning, the group split up – some went walking, some snoozed, and the rest hopped in the dinghies and ventured to the upper reaches of the river. We got very close to the Clevedon township before the fuel starting running out. Luckily a few had spare fuel so it was passed around like a good wine and everyone took a slip. I was aboard Dave Gidden’s dinghy and we had about 1cm in the tank when we switched off. Spotted a few interesting woodys along the way – Nathan Herbert and I would love to hear more about the launch – Liberty (tagged below).
Some wowser decided that 5pm would be drinks time, so a few of us had to retire to Dave Giddens floating man bach – Allergy for a cup of tea…..
The evening centred around a BBQ at the CCC, which is a fantastic set up and the members hospitality was first rate.
As a thank you for hosting us, we presented a donation to the club and rewarded Barrie Adel for his services with a bottle of Appletons finest Jamaican Estate golden rum. Club Commodore – Bruce Robson also now sports a WW T-Shirt 🙂
In return we have a CCC burgee for our virtual clubhouse.
On a personal note I would like to thank all the woody boat owners for ‘opening’ your boats up for the club members to inspect thru-out the day. Good chat was had.
We must have behaved ourselves, as we have been invited back – so woodys, more details to follow, but we will be repeating the cruise early 2020 e.g. April.
🙂 a visit to the GENTS was amusing – the uninitiated were in for a foot wash – the system was good old kiwi DIY at its finest 🙂 I can report that the LADIES was Regent Hotel standard.
Photos: myself and Nathan Herbert
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Now I’ll bore some of you with the below video of my Raindance, taken by Nathan Herbert aboard Jas Prew’s launch – My Girl. I think it’s the only time Jason has ever let me pass him 🙂

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Mystery Woody at Whangateau

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IMG_0478 Interesting woody in Wangateau Harbour

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Mystery Woody at Whangateau
 
Woody Denis O’Callahan (MV Tasman) spotted the above woody anchored last Saturday when he was mooching around the Whangateau Harbour.
There appears to be a ‘pole’ (maybe the main mast) lashed to the starboard bulwarks.
A few splashes of paint on the stern might be concealing a name, home port?
 
Anyone able to ID the vessel for us?
 

Waitematawoodys T-Shirts + New Release – Caps – Perfect Christmas Presents

Well woodys Summers almost here so it’s T-shirt weather. If you want a WW t-shirt nows the time to order – details below.
  1. Some background on the T’s – I only source top quality garments & use high-end screen printing for really tight detail & a durable finish. I’m passionate about WW & will only put the logo on something that is 100% quality.
  2. In terms of colour – we are like Henry Ford, we only do one colour – a very dark blue (navy) with white logo. 
  3. Price – same price for the last 3 years  – $34.95 (gst inclusive) + $5 p&p (one off freight charge, no matter the number you order). If that’s too much to pay for a quality T-shirt, well I guess you won’t be buying one, but I’m not prepared to compromise on standards. This years T’s are an even better cut / fit.
  4. Sizes – Refer chart below. If there is interest I will do a smaller female sizes.
  5. Ordering – B4 Xmas I’m doing a limited print run, so if you want a shirt/s – I need your order by Monday 25th November, sooner would be even better. I’ll advise payment details when I confirm your order.
NEW RELEASE – CAPS
I have done a small run of WW Caps and the feedback from my crash-test dummies has been very positive – so we have added caps to the merchandise list.
1. One size fits all
2. Light weight, 6 panel
3. Two colour options Navy Blue / Light Blue
4. Price is $32 (gst inclusive) + $5 p&p (no charge if ordered with T-shirt/s)

What’s next – email me at waitematawoodys@gmail.com & advise:

 

# Your name 

# Postal address

# Phone 

# Quantity & size/s & colour (cap only)

Ps – Sent in a sealed courier bag, so if you are ordering for a Xmas present, no-one will know the contents.

Size Guide

CAPTAIN COOK’S TALL SHIP -ENDEAVOUR + WAKA – 35 Photos 

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CAPTAIN COOK’S TALL SHIP – ENDEAVOUR + WAKA – 35 Photos 
 
As promised on Friday today we share with you a stunning photo gallery from the camera of professional photographer, Dean Wright. On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, Dean was out on the water taking photos of Tuia 250, the commemoration of 250 years since the first onshore meetings between Maori and Europeans in 1769-70. Tuia 250 also celebrates the voyaging heritage of the Pacific people that led to the settlement of New Zealand many generations before. The Tuia 250 flotilla is made up of two waka from NZ, and three tall ships including the Endeavour replica from Australia, and a va’a tipaerua from Tahiti that are all sailing the coast of NZ to engage with communities and iwi for three months from October to December.
 
Dean commented that the flotilla was quite a spectacle and seeing the Endeavour replica for him, a Captain Cook nut was amazing.
In the last photo above of Endeavour we also see a voyaging waka next to her, so small in comparison. When you consider the size of the waka, the achievements 800 years ago of her crew are equally incredible.
The fleet stayed at Oke Bay, Bay of Islands, on Wednesday night.
 
AND REMEMBER WOODYS – PLEASE RESPECT DEAN’S COPYWRIGHT ON THE PHOTOS

Southern Woodys

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Southern Woodys

Recently Kiwi woody, John Sloane, based in Macau, was back ‘home’ and sent in the above photos from a visit to the Te Ana Marina in Lyttelton.
A nice mix of working boats, some still active and some converts to a more leisurely life.
Spotted were – Roamer, Kahawai, Manurere, Manatee and Snark.
Look out for Sundays WW story, I have a stunning gallery of photos from Bay of Islands photographer, Dean Wright, of the Captain Cook – Endeavour replica and accompanying Waka. Tease photo below 😉
Note: as always with photos that appear on WW, copyright applies.
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2019 Thames Traditional Boat Festival – 100+ Classic Wooden Boats

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2019 Thames Traditional Boat Festival

Woody Ian Gavin was travelling with family in July and included the Thames Traditional Boat Festival (Henley-on-Thames) in the itinerary.
Its an event on my bucket list, so I was a little envious when Ian handed me a USB stick with 100+ photos of the event. Special thanks to Ian for sharing.
Included in the Festival was a special Dunkirk Little Ships section. As you would expect it was a very civilised affair with the boats moored up to the river bank and they took turns at parading up and down the river.
The large rowing barge is an ex/retired Royal barge that has been recently restored.
Included on the day were a selection of old motorbikes and cars, including a few amphibious one.
Enjoy the gallery 🙂

 

Kiwi

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As purchased

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Stripped bare

 

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Re-launch day

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KIWI

In late Jan 2018 when myself and Jamie Hudson were holding David Cooke’s hand as he piloted Trinidad around the top of NZ and slid down the West Coast to the Marlborough Sounds, Jamie and I had an evening to kill after being cast ashore in Picton. The plan was to catch the late (overnight) ferry back to Wellington. My idea was to hit the waterfront bars, but Jamie has more self-control than I and suggested me stroll the marina for a few hours before we hit the bars, otherwise we might struggle to catch the ferry – as it turned out, very sage advise from Mr Hudson 🙂
 
While taking in the Picton sea air, we spotted numerous very smart woodys at the marina – one of them being Kiwi. Now fast forward 20 odd months and I get an email from Alistair McRae, who had just returned from Picton, on a trip to purchase a very nice Colin Wild woody launch – details on that another day. 
While in Picton, Alistair visited a mate – Wal Edwards, who had bought an old double ended fishing boat named – Kiwi,  built in 1922 (he thinks). Kiwi is 33′ long and was built by Steve Carey of Carey’s Bay. As you will see from the photos above, Wal has done a magnificent job of rebuilding Kiwi. Check out the ballast they removed from her bilge.
Kiwi is powered by a John Deer.
 
The photos above a mix of mine and from Wal and Alistair’s collection.
Can anyone tell us more about this very cool woody?

NIGHTINGALE + waitematawoodys hits 5,000,000 Views

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NIGHTINGALE + waitematawoodys hits 5,000,000 Views
The 55’ trawler cruiser started life in 1925, in Invercargill as a sailing ship, Later owned by the Leask family (Stewart Island) who strengthened and converted her to a trawler ‘ fright ship in the area for many years. In 1987 she was taken to Nelson and converted to a pleasure cruiser. In recent years (last 10) she has seen timber replacements and modernising too systems.
Her trademe listing (thanks Ian MacDonald) describes her as a floating bach and that is a good description of the life she has had in the Marlborough Sounds. Sleeping for 8 people and all the home comforts aboard (42” TV) would make for enjoyable Sounds cruising.
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Her beam is 11’5” and she draws 5’5”. Power is via a Detroit 671, that has her cruising at 7 knots.
Any one able to tell us the designer / builder?
Waitematawoodys Gets 5 Million Views
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At some stage last night or early this morning the waitematawoodys.com site clock clicked over the 5 million views mark – I got the biggest buzz when it hit 5,000 and then 1,000,000 – these days its a freight train – just keeps on rolling 24/7.
Why do I do it? – the #1 reason is to motivate people to use their wooden boats more and to enjoy the classic wooden boating lifestyle.
Some of you have been around since day one and stayed the distance, some are what I call ‘flirters’ you come and go and that’s all good.
The back library is very impressive – over 1/2 the daily views these days are people using the site as a reference tool eg searching for details on a particular boat. Sometimes the odd story  might be a bit lame but it gets into the WW system and over time can grow e.g. someone searches the boats name and next thing we have a new (better) story on the same boat and it kick starts the old story.
It is always try to be to be entertaining and informative. I also try very hard to be factual but if we get it wrong – tell us and if you are in fact right, we will correct it.
I never started out to create an encyclopaedia of classic wooden boats – the idea was to create some good chat around what’s happening in the classic wooden boating community.
I also never intended for the stories to be daily, but the appetite was there and I soon discovered there was no shortage of content out there.
Sometimes, not often, after some moron has sent me a nasty email, I question why I do it, but then I have some chat (on-line) with cool people that make it worthwhile e.g there are a lot of blokes that have spent their life in and around wooden boats and these days reading WW is a highpoint in their day. I like that 🙂
I encourage you to use the comments section.
To those of you working on woody projects – send us updates / photos, we love projects. Send to waitematawoodys@gmail.com
Thank you for your support ‘flying the WW flag’ via wearing the WW t-shirts – they pop up all over the world.
Best Regards
alan houghton – waitematawoodys founder
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Waipawa – A Peek Down Below

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WAIPAWA AK83 – A Peek Down Below
 

The ex work boat (Waitemata Fisheries) Waipawa has made a brief appearance on WW back in 2016 (WW link below) Now thanks to Ian McDonald’s road trip in the Far North we get to have a look down below.

The photos above show her on the hard at Opua, in mid October.  The 50’ Waipawa was built by Percy Vos and her owner Pete McIntyre, understands she was launched in 1940).

She gets around, having recently been up to Fiji & Tonga, And to Fiordland / Stewart Island.
 

Thames River Rats

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Thames River Rats

Last month I did a quick trip to Thames and called into the ‘marina’. The tide was out in the estuary so you get to see the marina looking it finest.
Lots of old girls there, resting up, contemplating life.
If you’re down that way The Wharf bar and Thames Wholesale Fisheries shop are ace. Same owners, so they deliver your newspaper wrapped dinner to the bar – we like that.  Worth a visit just for a cold one & the snapper & chips.

Off to check out another river today – the Wairau River, Clevedon – David Cooke and myself are doing a recky for the upcoming Woody Classics Weekend BBQ cruise (Nov 16>17th). Via car 🙂

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RSVP   waitematawoodys@gmail.com