Category Archives: Working Boats

Nunui

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Nunui, Bulwer 1969 just launched 30 10 2015

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NUNUI

When woody Brynn McCauley was researching Wainui, his grandfathers 1950’s era Marlbourough Sounds fishing boat (now owned by Cameron Pollard) Brynn discovered the whereabouts of Nunui,  his grandfathers last working fishing boat. Nunui was/is….. a small clinker built c.1969 motor boat, that unfortunately has ended its days in Porirua, (photo below).
Brynn commented that he suspects she was originally a row boat that was used to row out to the scows from the shallow bays in the Sounds.
Its amazing that this was a working fishing boat that went way out into the Cook Strait. Those old seamen knew a thing or two and were pretty fearless.
The b/w photo is dated c. 1969 & was taken just after her launching. The colour photo is c.1978.

Do we know any more about her past?

Nunui at Porirua

 

 

Foam

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FOAM
On a recent walk-about Ross Dawson spied the above double ender moored amongst the grunty big fishing boats in Greymouth’s boat harbour.  Ross commented that it would be ‘interesting’ to watch her battling the rollers as she crosses the notorious Grey River bar!

You have to love the workmanlike rain cover on the exhaust!

Any of the WorkBoat woodys able to shed some more light on Foam’s provenance?

One for the OMG File
Sent in from an anonymous woody – the photo below will be kept for reference purposes to show the max you can accommodate in minimum waterline if looks are irrelevant 😉

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A Woody 100th Birthday

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A Woody 100th Birthday

I mentioned last Friday that on Sunday, Sierra the 1917 Joseph Fell designed & built motorboat would be celebrating her 100th birthday at the Panmure Motor Boat & Yacht Club.
Sierra’s owner Dennis Christopher (photo above) must have bribed the weather gods because the weekend was probably the best this year for classic motor boats. We made the decision to head to the Waiheke Island area on Saturday & then head over to Panmure on Sunday afternoon for the birthday party. Never made the party – see below.
Thanks to Baden Pascoe for the above photos & after speaking with Baden I can report that nearly 100 people turned up to celebrate the occasion, including members of the Fell family & the Andrews family (previous owners).
Its great to see these old work boats still being actively used & presented so well – I love the ‘beard’ on Sierra in the photo above.

Now the reason I didn’t make the party was Raindance had a mechanical oops, the 1st in 10 years that I have not been able to fix & we had to call Coast Guard for a tow. Hats off to the CC crew from Matiatia, Waiheke Island – they were on the scene pronto & had us back at Bayswater faster than I could have under her on steam 🙂 In fact the bottom probably got a good clean 😉
I spent Sunday morning cleaning 10+L of oil from the bilge – not my idea of a fun day.
A call to James Mobberley at Moon Engines will be top of the to-do list today.

(too many other classics out on the harbour to keep this below the radar – thanks guys for the txt’s 🙂  )

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There is always a silver lining – after we got home, decided to have a bbq & put a match to the lounge fire, first of the year.

Scows On The Waitemata

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Scows On The Waitemata
Late last year I was sent the two photos above by Ian McDonald whose sister-in-law was clearing out and old deceased Uncle’s stuff & came
across these photos.

Scows sailing goose-winged has a caption of 1920 Auckland Anniversary Regatta and, the other one is captioned Auck Ann regatta, 1900. Both have NZ Herald – Wilson & Horton stamps on the back. Both are about 12″ x 8″  in size.

Any of the serious classic sailers out there able to ID some of the Scows?

And a launch bonus photo today of Miss Helen on the beach at Russell c1950’s (photo ex Nathan Herbert exEric Lee-Johnson, Te Papa collection)

Russell,Te Papa, Lee-Johnson, Eric 1950's

Pania

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PANIA
Pania has had the same owners for over 25 years. She was built in 1973 using triple planked mahogany.
The get up & go comes from twin 90hp 6LW Gardeners & she measures approx. 50′.
She looks a very sea worthy vessel, no doubt one of the reasons her home port is Bluff, Southland.
Thanks to Ian McDonald for the trademe listing heads up 🙂

Can we expand on her details e.g. designer / builder & where was she from 1973 > early 1990’s ?

Input from Dick Hall

‘Pania’ was built by Jack Morgan for Rex Baldick of Picton off the extended ‘Hawaiki’ design. She was launched with a single Allis-Chalmers diesel that came out of a local fishing-boat but later when back to Jack and converted to twin screw with two four cylinder Fords. You can see the original strut with shaft hole through it in underwater photo. Rex had the Baldick families ‘Prima-Donna’ before building ‘Pania’

SIERRA 100th BIRTHDAY DAY

Sierra was designed and built by Joseph Fell of Kohukohu (Hokianga Harbour) & launched 3 May 1917. If she was a human, Sierra would be getting a letter from the Queen – as the old girl has just celebrated her 100th birthday. Owner Dennis Christopher is having a wee party for her this Sunday at  the Panmure Motor Boat & Yacht Club, 104 Kings Rd, Panmure.
Sierra will be alongside the jetty from 2.00pm on-wards. It’s a just drop-in event & any one is welcome. So woodys, if you are out & about on Sunday, call by. (photo below ex Tom Kane).

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Equinox – Lyngrae

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EQUINOX > LYNGRAE

I spotted Equinox hauled out earlier in the year (Jan2017) at Milford Cruising Club’s slip. No on around so couldn’t gather any info on her. Can anyone enlighten us on her? Those oblong shaped ports could be a give away but I will not jump to conclusions.

21-05-2017 Input & Photos ex Graeme Sapwell (edited by Alan H)

I knew Equinox as ‘Lyngrae’ (Lynda and Graeme).
She was built as a 32ft, triple skin kauri, my mum was the dolly hand for all the copper nails and rooves. The boat was sold early 1970 to which we lost contact of her until this year when I spotted here on trade me. My mum died last year at 101 and up till then had always asked had we seen Lyngrae. Unfortunately I wasn’t in a situation to buy her back then. It’s quite weird how she has now ended up in the Milford estuary where her journey started back in 1963. A mate and myself took Lyngrae to Mt Maunganui in 1969 where family had moved to. We (the family) did a lot of weekend cruising around the gulf over the years and had been in some pretty rough seas to which she handled perfectly. The portholes were probably done by the same person who modified superstructure and undertook significant alterations.
 
Shall continue following her journey now we know what it looks like now.

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KARERE
Keith Murphy in Dunedin sent me the photo below of the 1/12th scale model he built last year of the Vos designed & built boat, Karere. Very impressive & it appears to be radio controlled 🙂

Karere

Seacraft Woodys

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SEACRAFT WOODYS

I was recently contacted by Chris Laird & his first words were “are you guys interested in small woodys?”. My answer was ‘if its wood, its good’ 🙂

The above photographs show two dinghies that Chris restored  a couple of years ago. The 12ft 6in Seacraft Tuna has been stripped back and had new rib sections, one or two splines to cracked planks, seats, foredeck trim and beltings before being painted up to original Seacraft colours with original badging.

The varnished 12’6″ Brin Wilson has been stripped back, seats  etc removed, some rib sections scarfed in, several splines to cracked planks and varnished / painted up to original colours.
Chris commented that it is a lovely boat to row.

Also included are photos of a 6hp Norman and original cone clutch that is in a 16′ Seacraft cabin boat that Chris is currently rebuilding. I have asked Chris to send in photos of that project.

OOPS THAT IS EMBARRASSING
Over the Anzac weekend a lot of the classic fleet headed north to Kawau Island. Anchoring room near the Kawau Boating Club is always at a premium on long weekends & no one likes a long row in the dark……….. but even the old salts can get it wrong – the crew on the  1905, Logan Bros, ex pilot boat ‘Ferro’ must have been in a hurry to make the KBC as they anchored rather close in. As it turned out, too close in – the below photo was 1/2hr before low tide & mid Sunday morning – would have been a long / embarrassing day waiting for the tide 😉

Ferro @ Kawau April2017

Bondi Belle – Relaunched

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BONDI BELLE – Relaunched

A couple of days ago I was alerted by Baden Pascoe to the recently relaunched Bondi Belle, ww readers may recall that back in February 2014 Baden alerted us that her owner at the time Ted Carter was looking to sell the old girl. Well she was bought by Dan Abernethy, the photo below of her resting on the poles was taken on the day Dan bought her from Ted at Sandspit.

I’m pleased to be able to report that she has undergone a very sympathetically rebuild at Pine Harbour & looks wonderful. Dan asked that I give a special mention to his brother-in-law’s father, John Waterman, seen in one of the photos above. John’s has spent numerous hours on the boat doing all filling and fairing and spray painted the boat. Happening this week will be the addition of her mast 🙂

Bondi Bell was built as S.S.Whakapara, at Whakapara (North of Whangarei) by Charles Bailey Jr. for the Foote family who were saw millers at several Northland locations . Launched in 1901, initially she was a steamer and was converted to diesel in the 1920’s. You can view / read more details on her past here https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/02/17/bondi-belle/

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15-11-2024 UPDATE – photo ex John Sloane below of her hauled out at Half Moon Bay marina for some TLC

Primadonna

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PRIMADONNA

Primadonna is a 36′, 1905 whale chaser built by Lanes for a family with a farm in Tory Channel. Was used as a whale chaser until the end of the whaling era and then became a farm transportation boat for the same family who owned her till her current owner bought her.

She is built out of double diagonal kauri and powered with a 72hp Ford. Cruises at about 8 0r 9 knots at 1500 revs. She has accommodation for 2 and a small wheel house which you can steer from inside of the weather goes bad. Currently 4sale on trademe- thanks to Ian McDonald for the heads up.

Harold Kidd Input
There’s a bit of manufactured history here. Ernie Lane didn’t come to Picton until 1907 and doesn’t appear to have built PRIMA DONNA. Most authorities say she was built by Alf Baldick between 1910 and 1915 for himself and Derbyshire as a whalechaser to compete with the Peranos. She remained in the ownership of the Baldick family until at least 2001.
She’s been on WW before; see https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/02/27/welly-woodys/

PS the “second generation” of whalechasers used by the Baldicks were SUSSEX and PEERLESS, in competition with the Peranos’ CRESCENT, BALAENA and CACHALOT. Ernie Lane built SUSSEX and PEERLESS for the Baldicks in 1916. Lane built the Peranos’ CRESCENT and BALAENA but CACHALOT was built in 1916 to a design by Chas. Collings by Kensitt at Picton. She was the THIRD generation of whalechaser and had a 130/150 hp Van Blerck, typical Collings’ concave-convex hard chine planing hull.

Update 24-05-2020 photos below added ex trademe listing

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Wairangi

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WAIRANGI

Wairangi has appeared before on ww (link below) but has recently had a big dose of TLC. The above photos are a mix of some taken by owner Owen Foster (via KRickets) while anchored at Rakino Island & mine that show her over Easter anchored in Man o War Bay, Waiheke Island. The newly varnished cabin/wheelhouse looks stunning & combined with a lot of other work, she looks very special – in fact I would be happy to call her mine 🙂

Also looking very smart in one of the photos is Safari, her owner Neil took the below photo of Raindance during the Sunday afternoon squall that hit the bay mid afternoon – rain, hail, wind = boats dragging their anchor all over the bay – fun & games but no damage.

Wairangi – heads north

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11-08-2018 Update – Photos below taken by Owen Foster using a drone, while at anchor at Oneroa, Waiheke Island. emailed in by Ken Ricketts

Update 19-07-2019 ex model maker John Whyte

Back in February I was contacted by John Whyte seeking info on Wairangi, John was doing the drawings of Wairangi for model maker Paul Berntsen (Havelock North). Earlier today John sent me the photos below of Paul’s finished model. John commented that the wharf behind it is a 1.34 scale model of the Opua wharf which measures just over 6 metres in length. John plans to build a lower wharf for the pilot boat with a ladder coming of the higher wharf.
The boat measures around 450mm long and 110mm wide.
Paul is obviously very talented, I struggle maintaining my own boat – building  something like this would be a recipe for disaster for me 🙂
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