Category Archives: Yachts

Avante / Avanti

Posted on by
4
Matiatia 1949/50
AVANTE/AVANTI
A message from the new owners.AH
We have recently purchased Avante – a motorsailer from 1946.
We are trying to find more history on her – if any of your members can help.  We found her Registered # carved in as 178442 and Nett Tonnage to be 2.02 tonne
What I have found out from Maritime NZ is:
Her registered name is Avante even though her plaque say Avanti
She was registered in NZ in 1949 and her registration closed in 2003 under Section 91 of Ship Registration Act
Her year of build was 1946 by Bruce Eady in Auckland.  She was designed by Brian Donovan,with a cutter rig and is double diagonal Kauri with carvel plank.
Construction started in 1939 by Brian and his boatbuilder brother Des but nothing was done during the war until 1945 when Brian sold her to Bruce Eady and Bruce put on the third skin and completed the job.
She was launched at Mission Bay in 1946 with a 4 cylinder Gray auxiliary.
Eady sold her to N R Sanson in 1954.
She was in the Sanson family for many years, at least until 1990.
She was stolen in 1973 for a while.
She has a registered length of 8.58 meters.
I have attached some photos of her as we found her in Tauranga – at present she is on our front lawn and work has started on her refurbishment.
Any info anyone may have would be great. Email Ann at
tobinhnz@xtra.co.nz
Note: Thanks to Harold Kid for input re known history
SIDEBAR 1(AH)
B/W photos,  just before launching, supplied by Don Currie , those dad worked with Bruce Eady on Avanti. Avanti was completed on an emptly section on Cogrington Crescent, Mission Bay, his father and Bruce worked on the boat in a partnership.  Don’s parents met through Avanti (one of his Mum’s aunts lived a couple of houses up the road in Codrington Cr), they are still together, and I understand they were right chuffed to hear that the boat is about to get a bit of a birthday.
SIDEBAR 2 (Ken Ricketts)
Photo added of Avante taken in 1949/50 in Matiatia when he was 12 years old
SIDEBAR 3 (by Bruce Eddy ex Ken Ricketts)
I and Graeme Currie worked on her together during the war.  Materials were scarce we had no electricity so everything was done with hand tools.  I remember carving out the original mast by hand what a job.
The correct name or the name i christened her is Avanti.
The two crew mentioned in the photo at Matiatia are John Kernahan and Vern DeGroot.  Graeme and I spent hours riveting and with his design brilliance, we installed a gray marine in the cockpit, reverse position driving a 2 to 1 chain reduction.  Petrol shortage made us build a heat exchanger to switch to kerosene.  The lead keel we moulded on site with firewood from scrape suffering many personal lead burns.  Originally I installed a small wood burner stove and we made our own style toilet.  The rig was my own design and given a good wind on a reach we would keep up with many yachts.
SIDEBAR 4 (by Ann Tobin, current owner, ex Ken Ricketts)
Currently she is sitting on our front lawn in Kaikohe – the photos on waitematawoodys are the day we hauled her out and had her trucked up in May this year.  She hadn’t been out of the water (or off her marina berth at Bridge Marina Tauranga) for 9 years.
We have found an amount of rot in her (mainly just the planks) and she is slowly drying out.  At present the interior is gutted – she had been leaking through the cabin top and the inside was completely ruined.
Avante is now powered with a Sole Diesel – which we have out and intend to have blasted and painted (at present sitting on our garage floor on a pellet) – The engine would not run – a starter motor issue we believe.  Steve (my husbands) father has worked on these engines so looking forward to getting it going.
I believe that the previous owner used her as a batch basically in Tauranga as he lived in Huntly.
I have attached some photos of her at home for you (added to the montage above AH) – you can see where we have started stripping paint and some of the areas of rot we have found.  There is also a couple of the cabin top which is now sealed and Steve has started to fiberglass.  It had a type of cloth over it which has split – never been repaired – and therefore was leaking like the proverbial sieve!
Sometimes I think we are mad – but others cant wait to see her back in the water.  Wooden boats are in my blood – Mum and Dad did a similar thing with “Isa Lei” back in the 90’s – we see she has just been resold by a guy in Whitianga.

Waitangi Relaunch

Posted on by
Reply

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

WAITANGI

The big question around the waterfront was answered today when the 1894 Robert Logan snr. classic yacht Waitangi was re-launched following her recent ‘refurbishment’. As the photo’s shows, Henry Ford would approve – she is black. There had been some ‘debate’ as to whether W should revert back to the white that she sported for a large part of her life, while across the ditch in Australia. Personally I like the black & it makes her the only classic you can sight from a distance & say ‘there’s Waitangi’.

A crowd of over 100 assembled at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron on Sunday to celebrate & reflect on Waitangi’s history and the achievements made to ensure her future is preserved. The Classic Yacht Charitable Trust is a wonderful group of people & their vision, passion & tenacity for classic wooden boats is to be admired & supported. Check out their website http://classicyachtcharitabletrust.org.nz to view their fleet & the many ways you can become involved.AH

A pictorial record of her restoration can be viewed here http://classicyachtcharitabletrust.org.nz/gallery.htm?gallery_id=51

Cabin Fever?

Image

1

Cabin Fever?

Cabin Fever?

What a great day to get out for a walk, so head down to Auckland’s waterfront & take in the sights, grab a coffee or pinot in one of the many cafes & bars. Then stroll along to the CYA’s Heritage Landing & catch a look at the just re-launched Gypsy. She moved into Heritage Landing on Wednesday & is looking very sharp.

New Zealand’s Finest Yacht – Rawhiti

Image

Reply

New Zealand's Finest Yacht

Click the link below to view the magnificent restoration of the Logan designed & built – Rawhiti, . Article is as it appeared in the UK Classic Boat magazine. Click bottom left or right side of ‘pages’ to turn. Also clicking on the page will enlarge it (to read text).

http://content.yudu.com/Library/A1vnw3/ClassicBoatFebruary2/resources/30.htm

Polaris

Posted on by
2

POLARIS

Story & photos supplied by Russell Ward

Here is a very interesting little boat that has been out of circulation for a while. I have been looking after her since 2005 and she is a shadow of her former self, but in a stable state.

Polaris, a 25’ pilchard trawler was built for a local fisherman by the name of Pearce by H Pearn & Sons Looe Cornwall 1935. The main engine 2 cyl Kelvin with similar engine as port wing engine. Construction is larch and pitch pine on oak frames. As an economy, the planking was not caulked –just fitted well. Pearce employed crews for both his boats and Polaris fished out of Polperro Cornwall until 1947 when she moved to Penarth Wales –I have one of her life rings with homeport Penrath still visible painted on it. She suffered a bilge fire from wing engine exhaust which was dealt with by sinking the vessel.

She was taken over by a boat builder who converted her into a pleasure boat with a strange cabin. In 1950 she was bought by the coroner  Col Kenneth Treasure of Tenby Wales. We think the good Colonel had her rebuilt with a rather more aesthetic cabin and I have a copy of a post card of her in Brixham

1954 found her in the ownership of one Griff Board with a Lister diesel installed. Board took the ship to Brixham where, in 1956-7 she was spotted by Wally Sharples who had seen her when he went to Brixham to see the Mayflower replica. The vessel had an extensive overhaul.

1958 Sharples, his family and apprentice John Penney emigrated to Adelaide and Polaris was shipped as deck cargo on “Queensland Star” 1960  found Sharples and family with Penney in Auckland along with Polaris which was rigged with a gaff mainsail and moored at Bucklands beach. Sharples cruised extensively in the Hauraki Gulf, Bay of Islands and Whangaraoa. I can remember seeing her round the bottom end in the ‘60s looking as pretty as a picture.

In 1970 Sharples and his wife moved to Opua, Bay of Islands and Polaris was moored there. Sharples died onboard after a fishing trip and the boat passed to his apprentice Penney.  1993 Jack Barber and Faye Christian bought Polaris from Penney. They used her extensively but the years were catching up with the ship and she was brought ashore for extensive hull work. This was well under weigh with the hull timbers almost all replaced when Jack Barber died 30 September 2002.

The son of the first owner was in touch and emailed a picture of her in her original form. Some part of me says she should be finished off like that.

Not often a boat travels so many miles on other boats’ keels. Even more fun is the knowledge of a boat’s travels halfway round the world leaving a lot of people who fell in love with her.

Pond Yachts

Posted on by
Reply
POND YACHTS

Now I have a bit of thing for what the English call ‘pond yachts’. The one on the mantlepiece above, my wife rescued from a Devonport junk shop as a bare hull & in the halcyon days of the 1980’s, I paid a man to make the rig & sails for it, thank god I did not re-paint the hull, that would have halved its value. These days they sell on e-bay for really silly money but mines not for sale.

During last years classic yacht & launch show at the viaduct, Baden Pascoe popped below on his launch ‘John Dory’ & surfaced with his pond yacht – built for him 48 years ago by his father Howard. She is built from spruce, an off cut from a mast Howard built for the C class keeler ‘Florence’. Baden has restored her & as I witnessed on the day, she is lighting fast under sail.
The Pascoe family have a 100+ year tradition of model building – but that story & photos will have to wait for another posting.

Scamp Sailing on the Manukau – April 1946

Image

Reply

Scamp Sailing on the Manukau - April 1946

Scamp Sailing on the Manukau – April 1946, when owned by Jim Jenkin.

photo & words ex Robin Elliott

Built by Roy Parris while working at Shipbuilders during the war from off-cuts from the Fairmiles c.1943/44

The yacht registrations were a bit of a shambles during the War and no record has yet shown up stating that Scamp was ever issued with V-28, but I have no doubt that she was. In 1945 with the Auckland register in a shambles, a serious attempt was made to clean it up but no official list was published until the winter of 1946, by which time Scamp was on the Manukau (carrying sail V-28).
V-28 was issued to Stormbird in 1927, Memutu in 1932, Witch in 1944. Macushla in 1946, Coronet in 1950 and Raven in 1958.

The Manukau yachting administration kept its own register, so the sail number of an Auckland yacht sold over there (or further outside Auckland) became vacant and was available for re-issue. The smaller fleets on the Manukau usually meant that an ex-Auckland boat could keep its existing sail number, e.g. V-28 for Scamp, V-90 for Jeanette rather that be given a totally new number. Later on, if the boat returned to the Waitemata, it was re-registered with Auckland, and if its original number had since been re-issued, then it was issued with a new number e.g. Scamp to V-45 in 1947.

Neptune

Posted on by
1
NEPTUNE
The Nelson based CYA member that owns Neptune is offering her up for sale to allow him to move onto a classic vessel better suiting his lifestyle. The good news is, it will be a launch & a rather nice one. He has a strong desire for Neptune to go to someone who appreciates classic boats.
You will see from the photos that Neptune is presented in immaculate condition, you do not see many classic’s in this condition & just as importantly so tastefully done.
Her owner can help with delivering Neptune to Mana where she could be trucked up north from.
All reasonable offers considered 
Contact owner on lioncruises@hotmail.com or phone 03 5465030
 
Details
Neptune was built by Fred Lidgard on Kawau Island of full length N.Z. Kauri and launched in 1956.
Length 30ft x 10ft 6″ x 4ft 6″ draft.
Re powered in 1994 with a 90hp Ford 2722E diesel engine and Newage hydraulic gearbox (1990 hrs) plus new stainless steel shaft and new keel bolts.
2.5li/hr @ 1250 rpm @ 5.5 to 6 kts.
A number of items of equipment are new or near new.
Raymarine auto pilot linked to a chartplotter.
Full repaint October 2012 

 

Scamp

Posted on by
Reply
SCAMP
(another stunning yacht project that I just had to share)
Scamp was designed and  built by Roy Parris for his own use in 1943 while he was working at Shipbuilders building Fairmiles for the war effort. She was sold not long after and taken over to the Manukau by Jim Jenkins and consequently lost her launching registration number of V28 as Manukau boats couldn’t then be registered in Auckland. On Scamp’s return to the Waitemata she was re registered as V45.
I don’t have much history but know she was owned by Glen Trainer at some stage before she eventually went north to Tinopai on the Kaipara Hbr and sailed there for several years by Rod Neels. Ironically when I was looking for a restoration project I discovered her back in Auckland and owned by John Tattersfield and brought her back here to Tinopai. I knew Rod at the time but was totally unaware of the connection until he casually mentioned one day that he has once owned an 18 footer……….snap!
Early on I decided there wasn’t enough original boat left to consider a restoration so the project began as a  four year rebuild. Scamp was relaunched at Tinopai in Jan 2013, seventy years after she first touched water down on the Waitemata
Anyone interested in more detailed information on the rebuild or with any further history on Scamp is more than welcome to contact Greg Schultz  itzgreg@xtra.co.nz
Story & photos ex Greg Schultz
Footnote: Greg is looking for an N-Class to restore, if anyone can point him in the direction of a ‘good’ one, contact him at the email address above.