On Friday Chris McMullen dropped me a note to say the 34′ steam launch was now running and had just completed its first sea trial. Chris commented the boat is doing hull speed at about 150 PSI but the boiler should produce 250 PSI, but needs some adjustment as the smoke is as a result of the burner not working properly. The hull floats as per the design and the machinery is all working as it should.
I have included below links to past WW stories on the project. If you are time poor, the 2021 will give you an insight into the project.
WW was recently contacted by Carol Jukes who is researching her late fathers fishing trawler – Pup, I’ll let Carol tell the story, below.
“My Father George Hemsley purchased the fishing trawler ‘PUP’ about 1933 from Akaroa, he fished out of Lyttelton with his friend Peg Gillard. Her registration number was LN 27. Pup was 25’ x 7′ x 3’ 6”. I have been able to follow the Pup’s life off and on to the present day, she is now on Stewart Island and has been so for the last few years. Along the way she had a name change and is now known as ‘TOPAZ’. At some time she was badly crushed by a boat in Dunedin, the damage was so severe that it must have been recorded at the time, unfortunately not having a date for this accident I have not been able to find a record of the event. A few years later the sad state of this boat was seen by a sympathetic boatie who bought her, and over the years did a fantastic repair job on her. Pup / Topaz was given a new lease on life. This boat must be around 100 years old.
I have managed to get some information from Papers Past, but there are holes in that. She was called into do a few heroic things so of course they are recorded.
I also have the name of the present owner and have spoken to the person who rebuilt her and have some photos of the rebuild, looking at the photos I think most people would have taken one look and run, I gather it had been sitting in it’s sad state for a few years before he bought it. I take my hat off for the rebuild. It’s actually a funny story, after my Dad died eleven years ago my brother took his ashes to Stewart Island, he decided to go for a ride on one of the boats there, he mentioned to the skipper about Dad’s boat, on the way back in this skipper pointed to a boat and said to David is this your Dads boat? As you can imagine David nearly fell overboard in shock because it was Dad’s boat, renamed Topaz.
It is since this incident that I have followed up and tried to find more about her history because at the time we knew nothing other than Dad had owned her. I am working away on a book on his life and this will be part of it.
Any information on this boat Pup / Topaz would be very much appreciated.”
In the first photo we see Pup on the dry dock c.1934 with owner George Hemsley. Photo two is her then named Topaz, after repairs.
UPDATE 15-06-2023 Photo below supplied by Carol Dukes
Todays woody is the trawler Annabella and the photo comes to us from the Carey’s Bay Boat Builders via Lew Redwoods fb.
The photo was captioned – ‘Beautiful trawler Annabella afloat at the builders sheds prior to being rigged with masts and sails in 1931. Otago’. In my eyes beautiful is an understatement 🙂
Can anyone enlighten us on what became of Annabella, hopefully still afloat.
UPDATE and photos below ex Cameron Pollard – Sadly Annabella broached on the Kawhia Bar during the 1970s and sunk. Russell Ward has also advised the year was 1977 and one crew member was lost.
The John Lidgard built launch – Kingfisher* was built c.1965, her owners Noel / Thora and son Gary Sparnon finished the boat off at the Lidgard shed in Glen Eden. With Noel being a cabinetmaker the fit out was to a very high standard. When launched she was 43’, with a beam of 13’6” and drew 3’6”. Her hull is 3 skins kauri with the 2 inner skins on opposite diagonals and the outer skin full length fore and aft + f/glass.
As launched she was named Avenger and kept at Te Atatu.The Sparnon family did not keep her long because by 1968, the family were living in Paihia, Bay of Islands.
Prior to Avenger there was Olympia II, also built to hull & decks stage by John Lidgard c.1962-63, with Noel S again fitting out the interior – link to previous WW story below. https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/10/15/olympia-ii-2/
Noel S also built the Avenger II after her, having bought a 42′ molded Cookson hull, onto which he added & completed all the varnished teak coamings & interior himself, at his daughter’s property in Avondale, Avenger II was later sold.
Noel S never actually kept any of his boats very long after they went in the water. Kingfisher was quite unique when launched having a fly-bridge styled in to her coamings making it visually part of the boat i.e. not appearing to be an add on or afterthought.
There are still some gaps in her ownership records, Ken Rickets has established that she was bought c.2015 off a policeman who had been living aboard her for an unknown length of time up to 2015, at Westpark Marina, by Richard & Bernadette Schofield. During their ownership they re-conditioned her Ford 120hp diesel engine and Borg Warner gearbox. She was sold c.2018 to her present owner, then Mangonui resident Brett Walford. Now retired Brett has moved to Great Barrier Island and has the boat for sale, still based at Mangonui.
Brett W also changed her name to Kingfisher*, he commented to KR he made the change because as she cruises around 8 knots and this is an ideal trolling speed to catch kingfish.
Both of the last 2 owners have spent collectively large sums on maintenance and upgrading of the interior and equipment, hence she is in very good condition and more or less just as KR remembers her when launched. Keen to fill in any ownership gaps, in particular Noel Sparnon’s son, Garry Sparnon, who may still be in NZ and hopefully he gets to view this story and might be able to embellish it more. (Update – have been in touch with Gary Sparnon , he is still in NZ, father Noel died 3 years ago aged 96. Gary was very happy to read todays story, but has nothing to add. He will however keep a look out for any old photos. AH)
(Thanks to Richard and Bernadette Schofield, and Brett Walford and wife for providing access to the data and images and Ken Ricketts for pulling this story together – edited a lot by Alan H)
The 1953 A Couldrey designed, Brin Wilson built launch – Endeavour , under tent, is coming to the end of her refresh – most impressed with the new name board on the stern – nice touch. The gent in the photo is Luca Beachman, the great grandson of her original owner, Borrie Beachman and has been beavering away on the project – no doubt securing his future path to ownership 😉 More on her here https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/01/27/endeavour-gets-a-birthday/
Just across the yard at the Milford Cruising Club slip – the launch Ngahi, photo below, was being relaunched after an extensive re- fit/refurbishment – hopefully we will see interior photos soon. More here https://waitematawoodys.com/2023/04/10/ngahi-gets-a-makeover/
The 39’ launch Wanderer II was built in 1965 by Owen Woolley in his boatyard on the Tamaki River.
Powered by a 100hp Ford diesel, she cruises at 8 knots. Current home is the Bay of Islands and thanks to Ian McDonald spotting her tme story we get to have a gander below.
At the risk of ruffling Cam Pollard’s feathers – I include the two photos below to show / support my personal view on varnished coamings and the addition of a fly bridge 🙂
Yesterday I came across this amazing photo / plan on Lew Redwoods fb – it originally appeared in the NZ Herald on 7th December 1955.
Up there with the ‘how come we missed out on a waterfront sports arena a few years ago – probably see answer – stifled by small minded Auckland City Council bureaucrats.
In 1955, plans were being discussed to turn the Meola Reef, Westmere, Auckland area into, well, basically the Western Springs version of the Wynyard Quarter.
Shipbuilding firm Roy Lidgard Ltd proposed to the City Council and Auckland Harbour Board “a beautiful marine base in the Waitemata Harbour between Westmere and Pt Chevalier.
There would be no big boat building on the site, and buildings put up to service yachts and launches would be of pleasing design, surrounded by trees, shrubs and lawns.” There would have been American-style jetties, parking for 220 cars on the peninsula, at least six tennis courts, a club pavilion, and a small beach on the opposite side of the boat installations.
It fell through, of course, and has wound up in the collection of “Ideas that never quite made it off the drawing board” in Auckland’s history.
Proud owners of proxy. 40 historic and classical boats from all over the South Island gathered in Queenstown at the weekend for the inaugural Southern Lakes Classic & Historic Boat Event, which included a mass cruise behind the TSS Earnslaw.Click out this ODT link to view / read a report on the day https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/boat-event-lake-wakatipu-%E2%80%98huge-success%E2%80%99
The 46’ launch Marinus was designed by A. Deeming and built by Barr Brown (Wellington) in 1946. Over the years she has undone several rebirths, starting as a bridge decker and the most recent one has in her owners words “converted it into a modern style displacement cruiser’. Lots of time and $$ have been spent on her and she presents these days as a high-end wooden launch.
The level of the work and presentation probably helping her be the fastest selling woody in the last 12 months – less than a week on the market.
Some specs- 46’ x 12’4’ x 4’ – her hull is heart kauri, carvel planked and in the 2019 refit play/glass has been utilised. Marinus is powered by twin Cummins 85hp Diesel engines.
As sold she was very highly spec’ed and in my eyes excellent value for a vessel her size.
Todays photo comes to us from the AKL Library Heritage Collection and is tagged ‘Colourised image – Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island, 1939′
Think I can confidently ID the three launches in the middle of the photo, being – Amakura II > Rehia > Atalanta. (correction – more likely to be Marguerite/Lady Una. Thanks Patrick O’Mera for the heads up)
The launch Carlotta Anne was was designed and built in 1972 by Roy Parris, powered by a For 6 cyl 140hp diesel engine – WW doesn’t know much about her other than that world x Kiwi boat designer – John Welsford owned her for 7 years, so she must have been a well behaved woody for John to have kept her that long.
The top photos were taken by K Ricketts in May 2021 when she was being hauled out for some TLC at Gulf Harbour Marina.
The photos below are dated Jan 2016.
Can we learn more about Carlotta Anne.
17-04-2023 INPUT ex Dennis Boggs – I spent many years cruising in company with this boat in the Bay Of Islands and know it inside out.Her build was commissioned by Ray and Anne Simmons and spent her earlier years in Hauraki Gulf.For some of that period was based at Waiheke.From memory she was brought to the Bay of Islands in 1996 and I met Ray and Anne as near neighbours in 1997.The original power unit was a Bedford 330 C.I. diesel and was re-powered with the Ford which gave a cruising speed of 9 knots @ 9 litres of fuel per hour.Ray and Anne sold the boat about 10 or 12 years ago and took to a life of roaming the roads.Ray must be in his early 90s now.
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