Category Archives: Working Boats

SOUTHERN ISLES – A Peak Down Below

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SOUTHERN ISLES – A Peak Down Below

Thanks to her trademe listing (ex Ian McDonald) we get to have a peek down below on the 36’ Southern Isles.

Built by Tom Wells at Wakatahuri, Forsyth Bay, Pelorus Sound & launched in 1953 she has a beam of 10’6” & draws 5’.

Her zoom zoom is via a 127hhp Gardner 6LX.

She was featured on WW before in Dec 2017 – link below, where you will find lots of history from John Wicks.

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Update ex Cameron Pollard – photos below show her in 1950, just prior to launching & in work – beaching the ship Matangi.

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20-08-2018 UPDATE – John Wicks just advised that he had recently run into the couple who owned her while she was in Clevedon. They told him they’ve just sold her to someone related (not sure exactly how) to the Wells family of Wakatahuri, and that she’s heading back down to where she was launched, which has to be a good thing.

Tasmanair

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TASMANAIR

The above photo is of the TEAL motorboat – Tasmanair on the Auckland Harbour & is dated January 1948. (photo ex Lew Redwood’s FB)

Do we know what became of the launch e.g. converted to pleasure craft ? renamed?

18-06-2018 Harold Kidd Input

TASMANAIR was built by Colin Wild for Tasman Empire Airways Ltd and launched on 24th July 1941. She was built to carry TEAL personnel at 20knots between Mechanics Bay and Hobsonville where overhaul work was done on TEAL’s Short flying boats. The Scott-Paine boats had been taken over by the RNZAF. TASMANAIR cost 2000 pounds, a small fortune in 1941.

She went to Lauthala Bay to service flying boats there, then to the Chathams to service the traffic there. Donaldson Bros of Owenga, Chatham Is, bought her and covered her in completely and then renamed her TASMANIA. She was 37’6″ x 9’4″ x 4′ and had a single 200hp Kermath. Don’t know what happened to her after the Donaldsons owned her.

photo below ex Ken Rickets

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Te Anau

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TE ANAU

I was recently contacted by Mike O’Dwyer in regard to boat that is currently visiting Napier, Mike’s home town.

It is called Te Anau, currently owned by Mike and Julie Trewern from Port Chalmers.

Designed by Henry Miller (Miller and Tunnage) originally as a trawler, Te Anau has been converted to a  now a very comfortable live-aboard measuring just over 50’ with a 13’ beam and a 6’ 6” draft.

Te Anau was launched in 1956 after being built at Scotts boatyard in Invercargill from Tallowood, an Australian native timber belonging to the Ucalypt species. It is a naturally oily timber with a high tannin content.

Scotts boatyard mainly used Tallowwood for their boat construction.

The vessel is powered by a 170hp DAF 6 cylinder diesel motor. Originally powered by a GM this engine was replaced by a DAF which after 55,000 hours was replaced by the current engine.

Forty-eight of theses motors were imported in the sixties to power the Chatham Island crayfish boats.

Mike and Julie are currently on a prolonged cruise and after leaving NZ in Sept 2016 have visited Queensland, New Caladonia, Vanuatu and Fiji returning to NZ in November last year.

They plan to cruise for another 18 months which may include another offshore stint.

 

 

 

 

Wild Duck

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WILD DUCK

The top photo shows the 1932 JB Jukes built motor boat Wild Duck back in c.1937/38 in Wellington in one of her previous lives as a flying boat tender, during what looks like a refueling exercise. ) photo ex Richard Easton’s FB page) You can read & see more on her at the link below.

These days the Wild Duck is the mother ship to the Tino Rawa Trust classic yacht fleet.

The photos below were taken by Dean Wright & show her at anchor in the Bay of Islands.

The duck is a rather wide bottomed girl – I have included a photo of her alongside Raindance for comparison.

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Glenlee

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MV GLENLEE

Glenlee is one of the historic Marlborough Sounds Launches, she was built around 1908 by Claude Wells for the McNabbs to service their Crail Bay guest house Glenlee.

In her time Glenlee has also been used as a mail boat and commercial fishing boat. Last two owners (approx 60 years) are both relations of the original builder
She is made from double skin kauri & measures 39’, with a beam of 9’. The zoom zoom comes from a 6 cyl. Ford diesel with pumps out approx. 120hp.

Currently moored at the Okiwi Bay South, Grove Arm, Queen Charlotte Sound, she is for sale on trademe. Thanks to Ian McDonald for the listing heads up.

Input & photos from Cameron Pollard– Glenlee had a Regal engine (see below) originally, followed by a Lister Blackstone, then a Detroit & a Ford

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Hero Photos of Luanda

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Trevor at launch

Luanda

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Hero Photos of Luanda

Following from yesterday’s story on Luanda, Mike Elliott sent in the above photos that show her in her finest, before her ‘enhancements’. These photos were too good to just add to the existing story. She was a quite a looker in her day.

Mike has promised to send us more photos on the Managh family boats.

I’ll give a WW t-shirt to the first correct reply in the WW comments section, as to the ID of the yacht alongside Luanda in one of the photos

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Update 02-06-2018 – interior photo below ex Nigel Brown via Ken Ricketts.

LUANDA below

 

Classic Woodys at Sandspit Marina

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Classic Woodys at Sandspit Marina

A couple of weeks ago I was up Sandspit way & spent an hour or so mooching around the new (ish) marina. Very impressive set up & with the yacht club’s haul-out facilities its a prefect spot to keep a woody. The real win win factor is the proximity of the ‘Greg Lees Boatbuilder’ yard, in recent years Greg & his talented team have rubbed the magic wand over some of our finest classic woodys. Just type Greg Lees in the WW search box to see the level of workmanship & perfection.

I have included a few photos of the motor camp where I stayed with my ex woodys boater – Chris Miller in this stunning motor home. 

A real bonus was the amazing meal & service we had at the Sandspit Yacht Club on Saturday night – I was expecting burgers & fries but no – everything – décor, service & the food was superb – check it out if you are up that way. The scallop entree was as good as anything you would get in Auckland City. Photos below.

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Update: I have been sent by Dean Wright the photo below of the dinghy ‘Tiki’ in happier times 🙂

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Mystery Tourist Launch

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Mystery Tourist Launch

Todays photo created some chat from Harold Kidd when it appeared on Lew Redwood’s facebook page. Harold commented that the location looked like Lake Rotorua & the launch could have been one of the Bailey & Lowe purpose built tourist launches, built in the 1900>1910 period for Robinson & McIntosh of Rotorua. Harold pointed out the steering position as the giveaway – “not open sea gear” were the words used.

I have enhanced the photo a little to show more of the launches features – can any of the woodys tell us anymore about the launch?

Update 31-05-2018 – I have been contacted by Alice Morrison who is moored beside the vessel pictured below in Tauranga. The vessel’s name is Presto and according to the owner, was built in 1898. She is approx. 40′ (that’s a guess) and made of kauri.  Alice is of the view that she looks similar to the mystery tourist launch above . What do the woodys think?

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The  Hottest Trend In Classic Boating?

The answer is ……… owning two boats 🙂

CYA launch dynamo Nathan Herbert (Lucinda) has now joined the 2 boat club. Photos below of the new addition – Pacific (photos below ex Nathan’s fb), being hauled out at Miford Marina. One of my bucket list classics. 

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Mystery Classics On The Waitemata

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Mystery Classics On The Waitemata

Steve Horsley recently sent me the above photo – it came from a collection of old albums that Steve has been loaned. The album photos cover – Auckland, Sydney & England.

The only one that Steve can shed any light on is the V-Class on the left (is the sail # 16 or possibly 36?). Her name is AVOO or AVDO?

Anyone able to ID the motorboats on the right?

Moata & Caprice

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MOATA & CAPRICE

Todays photos are from Bruno Redwood’s facebook page & show the 1937 Moata anchored in the Clevedon River c.1965, the river was ‘in flood’ at the time. The 2nd photo also shows the 34’ launch Caprice, built in 1916 by the Grandisin Bros. 

The last photo, just of Caprice c.1966, again on the Clevedon. 

You can view / read more on Caprice here https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/04/29/the-launch-caprice-silver-bay-waiheke-island/

And Moata here https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/04/04/moata/