I was out west Auckland on Sunday and dropped into the Te Atatu Boating Club yard for a nosy. Sad to see that the rather pretty x1934, Cox & Filmer built launch Robyn Gas is still hauled out and looking for a new owner. Given the 4sale sign points people to the yard office, I would suspect its being sold to re-coup yard fees.
There appears to be some ‘average’ hull work done to her, but at $6k, its a very low entry to a worthwhile project. Surely someone will step up and take her own. Make the TBC an offer, you might be surprised.
For no fault of her own other than bad timings, the boat has been crying out for a passionate woody owner for a number of years – see previous WW stories below.
The 45’ (49’ overall) bridge-decker – Thetis was built in 1955 by Lanes on the Tamaki River, Auckland. Built from single skin/fore and aft kauri planking, her beam is 13’ and she draws 4’.
Twin Greymarine 6 cyl. (1960) 120hp diesel engines give Thetis a comfortable cruising speed of 8+ knots.
Thetis is an exceptionally well built launch and is presented in near original fit-out, which is always a good sign that the designer / builder got it first time. Her subsequent owners have chosen to maintain her as intended and with some modern upgrades, followed by routine maintenance she will continue to be one of the most admired woodys in our classic fleet.
I say this about very few classic boats – but Thetis is one of those boats that attracts admirers both at anchor and as you can see from the above photos – even when she’s hauled out.
INPUT FROM OWNER – The print below of Thetis in turbulant water was the work of a retired Hollywood artist, rather effective Most wives would say they were glad not to be aboard that day!
Book author and publisher – Jenni Mence (she will hate me using that intro, but its true) whose last book was the uber cool – ‘K CLASS – The Hauraki Gulf’s Iconic Racer Cruiser’, has committed to another mammoth publication. This time focusing on the Arnold Francis (Bill) Couldrey design and boat building bloodline.
Currently in the final research phase, Jenni has called out to WW readers for help identifying the boats and discovering / confirming things like – the boats built and when, the current owner and/or anyone (owner or otherwise) who has a story to tell about the boat. Jenni would also love to talk to anyone who has memories of Bill himself.One has to assume many of the boats won’t have lasted the distance, however there may still be stories or family photos hanging around of them. To help keep things semi organised we have broken it into loose categories
# Pirimanu # Kereru # Cleone # Manunui # Reremoana # Tirimoana # Lisa Ann
# Rag Doll # Natalie # Cabaletta (may have previously been called Latitude) # Deborah Ann
Any further information anyone has on any of these boats – or other Couldrey boats we may not yet have identified would be really appreciated.
As a reward for your input, everyone that helps out will go into the draw for a copy of Jenni’s K CLASS book + the best photograph submitted (judged by Alan H) also goes into a draw for a another copy of the book. Thats 2 Copies To Be Won. Draw Close off date is August 1st – just in time for Father’s Day
Yesterday the 30’ 1978 Roy Parris built launch – Waikaro, slipped back into the creek at the Slipway, Milford, looking very smart post a lot of work both in and outside. A Jason Prew paint job and 15+ coats of uroxsys were just the icing on the cake + lots of work on her systems and ‘lets keep the water on the outside’ eg new windows etc.
No sooner had Waikaro vacated the cradle, the 38’ 1937 Sam Ford built launch – Menai (below) was climbing into a warm bed. After a lot of deferred maintenance work, Menai had been ’settling down’ eg taking up on one of the Milford marina berths before getting her final top coats. The new bow-thruster certainly made manoeuvring in the creek easy.
UPDATE 12-07-2022 back in the water after the JPPJ at The Slipway Milford.
We followed the refit of the 26′ Colin Wild 1925 built launch – Little Tasman extensively on WW, links below will give you a great insight into the project undertaken by Colin Brown and Josh Hawke at the Omaha Yard.
The other day I uncovered a very cool video put together by Kauri Classics that gives us an overview of the project.
Post re-launching Little Tasman was relocated to her new home in Wellington.
WAIMANA – AK77 You have to love the upfront honesty of someone trying to sell their boat when they open with this line – “Waimana is not a gin palace but a public bar, so a bit rough around the edges, so she needs a bit of TLC”. That line gets them a plug on WW 🙂
She was built by the Percy Vos yard out of 1.5” kauri planks over double hardwood frames for Sandfords in the 1940’s and converted to a live aboard pleasure vessel in the1980’s. Length is 55’ and her weight is roughly 35 ton. She has two forward cabins and a side berth sleeping 6 in comfort with a further 4 berths in the saloon. Powered by a 6L3B Gardner diesel using 5-8 litres per hour and 7 knots @ 700rpm on a 3/1 reduction box with a 40+” prop.
A quick search in Baden Pascoe’s excellent book – ‘Launching Dreams – Percy Vos, The Boats & His Boys’, tells us she was 51’ and built in the 1941>43 period for Waitemata Fisheries. Built of single skin on sawn frames and while under construction the US Army requisitioned her in Oct 1942 but later cancelled the requisition. Waimana was completed in 1943 and fished out of Auckland and Onehunga into the 1970’s.
Any of the work-boat crew able to tell us more about the boat?
Looking For Some Woody Boat Parts
One of the WW readers is having a tidy up and the items below are excess to needs – xxx would prefer one clean sale, but who knows……. Contact Al on 027 200 0057
The build of the 30’ launch – Pearl Diver was started in 1960 by Ken Rickett’s friend Lloyd Burnand. She was built in an old corrugated iron shed, at his parent’s home, in Ngapipi Rd Orakei. Lloyd bought the boat as a kit set off Shipbuilders, who supplied a good number of kit sets, all between about 28′ to 34′, during the years 1960-66. Over nearly 6 years Lloyd assembled / built the boat. At the time he was in his early 20’s (photo above of Lloyd outside the shed). Being somewhat of a perfectionist Lloyd put only the best of everything into the build and the launch was his pride & joy between 1965 to1982.
She was built of 3 skins of kauri, on opposite diagonals, held together by ‘Epiglue’, a very strong adhesive, this combined with through fastened copper nails, made her like a proverbial brick outhouse. The coamings were fibre-glassed over marine ply, with a very distinctive, futuristic for the day, window styling, which was partly created by Lloyd purchasing and having professionally cut up, a windscreen from a 1950’s Chev Impala car, and using the 90 degree rounded corner sections of the windscreen glass of this, for her front screen corners. The rest of the boat was finished with a product called ‘International Poly 707’.
Original power came from a 6 cyl. 100 h.p. intermittent and 86 h.p. continuous rating Ford diesel, which drove through a 2 to 1 Borg Warner gearbox & reduction gear, to a 20 x 22 Henley propeller. This engine was replaced c.1994 with a 180 h.p. inter-cooled artificially aspirated Ford diesel, which she still has today.
Lloyd was a keen aqualung diver from way back in the very early days of the sport i.e. the mid1950’s. He even fitted a portable 3000 p.s.i. petrol driven, aqualung compressor on Pearl Diver. The boat was named after his passion for diving and his wife named Pearl – a habit of many ’smart’ boat owners back in those days 🙂 The launch was kept at several locations during Lloyd’s tenure – Westhaven, Bayswater and the Tamaki River, but her best home was at the bottom of Llyod and Pearl’s waters edge home in Birkdale. There she would sit on a wooden cradle for winter maintenance. Note: click on photos to enlarge
Ownership Timeline
• Lloyd owned her until c.1982, when she passed to Pearl & her second husband Steve Lomax, kept on a swing mooring at the Sandspit, Warkworth. • Sold in c.1987/8, to a Mr C Bradshaw. For how long unknown – anyone able to confirm timings. • Late 1980’s or early 1990’s appeared for sale with a Titirangi phone number – price $50k • Mid 1999 she appeared for sale again with a Northland phone number. Price $75k, (new 180HP engine fitted). The ad photo shows a fly bridge added. The owner was Graham Eastgate of Tutukaka. • Eastgate sold her to Doug and Raewyn Marsh in July 1999 and they relocated the boat to McLeods Bay, Whangarei Heads. • July 2004 the Marshs sold the launch to Barry and Julie Spencer. The Spencers relocated the launch to Doves Bay, Kerikeri in August 2004. • Present owner, Reb Aplin, inherited Pearl Diver off the estate of Barry Spencer, Barry was in his 70’s, when they bought her and for a number of his later years Reb mostly cared for her, on his behalf, as age prevented Barry from doing much of her maintenance. When Barry passed away, late last year (2021), at age 89, he bequeathed Pearl Diver to Reb, who took the boat over a couple of months ago, and is going through her, and bringing her right up to the minute, in every respect. Hopefully considering removing the block of penthouse. She is still moored at Doves Bay, Kerikeri.
Special thanks to – Ken Ricketts for pulling the bones of this story together and the following people for their time, knowledge and sharing of photos – Pearl Burnand-Lomax, Warren Burnand ( Lloyd’s son), Val Schmidt (nee Burnand, Lloyd’s sister) and present owner Reb Aplin. Story edited a lot by Alan H
Karakia is another classic woody that Jason Prew recently spotted at Motuopa Marina, Lake Taupo. She was designed and built by Roy Parris in 1968, but as they say – has had some work 😉
Back in Feb 2020 I wrote on WW that launches like Katherine would be the future of classic / spirit of tradition boating – in a nutshell – stunning looks, voluminous interior and low maintenance. Katherine was built is 2013 by Robertson Boats, her design lead by Conrad Robertson. But her roots go back much longer than that – back to the Hokianga Harbour where a workboat played its trade, the hull of which ended up in a farm shed. The hull was moved to Robertson’s yard in Warkworth, where a mould was taken off the old hull, as an aside – the old hull was refurbished and repurposed as a charter steamboat.
When you view Katherine, her lower hull is glass and from the green section up she is wood – the best of both worlds in terms of water ingress and maintenance. Katherine was purchased in Jan 2018 by accomplished professional boat builder Allan Hooper who immediately started reviewing and enhancing the launch, this included designing and adding the rig and a lot more mods. I challenge anyone to show me a sub 40’ launch with more internal volume, with the same standard of fit out, there is even sound proofing built in 🙂
Some specs – 38’ in length, 9’6” beam and draws just 3’. Forward motion is via a Lombardini 60hp diesel engine, new in 2013, this gives Katherine a comfortable cruising speed of 8 knots. A consideration in these days of raising fuel prices, Katherine only sips 3.5L an hour. Fuel capacity is 330L and water 750L. An added bonus is the 6’6” headroom. WW has good readership amongst the serious woodys on the USA WoodenBoat Forum, one of the WBF guru’s once commented on Katherine – ‘Like that, vertical stem, raised deck, spoon stern. What else would you want’.
The Wooden Boat Bureau is looking for a new owner for Katherine, interested parties seeking more information – contact waitematawoodys@waitematawoodys
After a long career earning her keep across multiple owners in and around the Waitemata Harbour, the ex work-boat Phyllis has been up north in the Bay of Islands in recent years. Sadly her owner pasted away and his 3 daughters inherited the boat.
I’m sure that the likes of Russell Ward and Baden Pascoe will be able to enlighten us further on the vessel. What we do know is that she was built by Harvey and Lang c.1913 and was up until recently (2013) the oldest working tug boat still in survey.
Woody John Wright and cohorts have taken over Phyllis and last week steamed her down from the B.O.I. to Auckland on one engine – took 23 hours, and with only on board.
Already she has been hauled out at the Te Atatu Boating Club and been given a freshen up.
Call For Help – Phyllis has one dud engine, so the guys are looking out for a Ford 120hp – so if you have one in the basement / under the bench etc – Phyllis would be a very good home for it 🙂
UPDATE – READ THE COMMENTS SECTION – LOTS OF CHAT
INPUT EX CAMERON POLLARD – photos below from her Auckland working days for Blue Boats etc
12-04-2023 Update – new photos added.
Sad video below of the 162’ schooner Eleonora E being hit by a commercial ship – she later sank. Happened in the Port of Tarragona, the offshore supply vessel – ‘Punta Mayor’ had an issue with being locked in reverse and t-boned the Eleonora E.
waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news - updated daily - 15+ million views 