In this story Harold Kidd commented that translation in Maori of Moeroa is ‘Long Sleep’ and that in the past during a paint scraping exercise the name – Wikaro was uncovered.
She recently popped up on tme (thanks Ian McDonald), so we now know a little about her – 32’, built c.1912>15 and powered by a Nissan TD23 70hp diesel engine.
The listing states that the boat has suffered some damage to the bow (timber and capstan) and that the photos are from earlier when her paint had been ‘refreshed’, so needs some TCL.
Home is on the Manukau Harbour, so a wee lift and road trip would be required if the Waitemata was an intended home.
A very salty looking woody that deserves a new life / owner.
Almost 2 years ago the Wooden Boat Bureau found a new owner for the 1960, 40’Jack Morgan designed and built launch Kokoru. At the time she was calling Picton home and her new owners bought her north to Auckland and almost immediately hauled her out and into a shed. Kokoru was a very well maintained boat and in great presentation – but plans were afoot.
Yesterday I got a peek at the project – still a few bits and pieces to be signed off so today you just get to see her exterior and the new twin Yanmar 75hp engine installation (below)
The design and workmanship is faultless and very soon you’ll get to see the complete boat.
WW has followed the restoration / refit of the 32’ launch Waione since 2016, links below to the 3 stories tracking her progress.
Current custodian is Daniel Taylor, the 3rd generation family member to enjoy Waione. Daniel and his father Steve, have been at the helm of the 20 year project.
While mooching around the Mahurangi regatta I spotted Waione at anchor – she looked very impressive and I’m sure Daniel’s late grandparents, Jack and Missy McCabe – would approve 🙂
Daniel shared the photos below from the launch day and her sliding into her temporary waterfront home for final fit out.
The launch Contessa is another launch that was owned by Peter David’s father and recently popped up on Peter’s fb. Designed and built by John Lidgard in the early 1960’s.
Can we shed some light on Carla and what became of her?
Built in Wellington in 1929 by B.J.L. Jukes in Balaena Bay. Jukes had built in 1926 two sister ships – Vagabond and Nereides. Ruapani was commissioned by the NZ Govt Tourist Dept for use on Lake Waikaremoana, to carry passengers from Hopuruahine to the Lake House Hotel.
When the hotel closed in 1965 she was sold to Peter Ash’s company – Waikaremoana Launch Services. Ash replaced the original 40hp Thornycroft petrol engine with a Perkins 84hp diesel and operated her on the lake for another 11 years.
In 1976 Ash sold Ruapani to her first private owner, Noel Tong, who sold her in 1984 to her present owner – Ken Menzies, that woodys is 38 years ago, very impressive.
Menzies initially kept her on the lake, but in 1990 trucked her to Evans Bay, Wellington (his new home). The move was a very lucky break for Ruapani as Menzies engaged well known Wellington boat designer – Bruce Askew to undertake a major rebuild / restoration of Ruapani. The work involved redesigning the above deck area to a style similar to Nereides, below deck the engine was shifted aft to accommodate two large cabins forward. The change to salt water necessitated upgrading a lot of her ‘hardware’ and the addition of freshwater tanks – life on the lake equaled a permanent supply of fresh water.
These days Ruapani is berthed in Picton Marina and is a wonderful boat for cruising the Marlborough Sounds. Ken Menzies commented that Ruapani was maintained very well by the original launch master Frank Smith and she remains in sound condition after 92 years.
The gallery of photos above date from when Ruapani was on Lake Waikaremoana in the early 1930s, thru to approx 2004. The top photo is a recent shot and perfectly shows what a magnificent woody Ruapani is. And a lucky woody to have had 38 years of continuous ownership at the hands of a devoted owner.
The photos were shared with us by Ken, and the details I have extracted for numerous WW comments and newspaper clipping.
A Helping Hand Needed
Alice Morrison is the owner of the classic woody launch – Taurima (WW link below) which is currently in Tauranga. Alice has been trying for months to move her to Whangaroa, or at least Whangarei but due to weather and availability she has not yet been able to. So woodys – anyone out there that could help Alice relocate Taurima? Alice is prepared to pay, but is short on intel on who could / would do this. You can comment in the WW comments section or contact Alice direct at alice.morrison3@gmail.com https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/02/13/24919/
Saturday was a milestone day for the Lake Rotoiti Classic and Wooden Boat Association – the 2022 parade marked the 25th running of this spectacular event.
I’d like to record a huge thank you to the committee members that insured the parade took place, I understand there were some who wanted it canceled – you would have to ask why? , all of the 70+ vessels were kept well spaced out, it was held in the great outdoors and no land based activities were held.
We had a mixture of sun, overcast and then drizzle – but everyone had a ball and the extended parade route took in all the bays, so a much wider audience got to see the event.
The motor-salier Mana-Nui has made two appearance on WW before (links below), resulting in us getting an insight into her past and recent-ish refit. Today we getting a better look down below, thanks to her owner sharing the above photos taken during a recent lift and wash.
Yesterday I was at the Lake Rotoiti Wooden & Classic Boat Parade (North Island) – so many photos to edit, tomorrow’s WW story will be a goody.
Sad to have to advise that the South Island (Nelson Lakes) Lake Rotoiti Antique & Classic Boat Show for 2022 has been cancelled. Another covid casualty 😦
In my eyes their promotional posters (below) are the best woody event posters in the world – simply stunning.
Regular visitors to this site will be familiar with my enthusiasm for the uber cool website – offcenterharbor.com (screen grab above), last year the crew behind OCH during CV-19 lock down pulled together a world first, an online virtual woody boat show and today I can advise that its on again in 2022. With a slight twist – this year access is complimentary thanks to the generosity of the OCH founders. Details below
And because I couldn’t not give you a woody treat today – check out this link to a great OCH video, it is one of my favorite videos, I’d be a little embarrassed if I told you how many times I’ve watched it 🙂 Its titled ‘Live Well: The Cruising Smack STORM BAY with Tim Phillips‘
The Show is a completely online event from February 18th-27th, which means you can enjoy this gathering of the world’s best classic boats from wherever you are (without leaving the comfort of your favorite chair).
Our friends at Off Center Harbor have used the power of the internet to put nearly everything in the world related to classic/wooden boats on one big interactive Google map…
WHAT’S “ON THE MAP” AT THE SHOW?
The Map – Everything related to classic boats is on one interactive Google map
Boats – Over 1,000 of the world’s best classic boats (with photos and details)
Organizations – Explore festivals, boatbuilders, clubs, museums, schools, etc.
Live Presentations – Inspiring presentations featuring experts on a variety of topics
People – Connect with other attendees anywhere in the world (right on the map)
YOUR BOAT COULD BE IN THE SHOW:
You can submit your own classic/wooden boat to be in the Show! Again, the Show is entirely virtual/online and will be open February 18th to 27th at ClassicBoatShow.com, and…
Woody Dave Nicholson was recently in Wellington visiting family and had a pleasant surprise when he pulled back the curtains, an impressive view of the Evans Bay Yacht and Motor Boat Club hardstand.
Dave was able to ID two of the launches – the little white and blue launch is “Ajax” (obvious as it’s name is seen in the pic). And to the left of the big bridge-decker is the Sam Ford Rehutai. The two mystery launches are the small flush decker in the far row, and of course the rather imposing bridge-decker – can we name these two woodys?
Calliope was built in 1951 and is a rare breed – the Chris Craft company introduced the 19’ RR (Racing Runabout) model in 1948. They were powered by a big block M series engine, as is Calliope with her Hercules 336 cubic inch (5.5L) straight 6, 158hp MGL engine. They were and still are today highly desirable craft, the production ‘hotrods’ of the day. And in their day they were the fastest Chris Craft built. Calliope these days exceeds 70 kph.
Calliope, a two owner boat, was restored in 2006 having spent most of her life on Lake Weston, Connecticut, USA. In 2008 she was judged 2nd in her class at the prestigious Lake Tahoe Wooden Boat Festival.Calliope sits on a brand new alloy tandem trailer. Imported into NZ by a serious collector who is running out of space so has made the call to pass Calliope onto a new owner.Interested parties, initially to contact waitematawoodys@gmail.com
What Would You Do If You Owned Calliope
You would attend events like this weekends classic and wooden boat parade at Lake Rotoiti (Nth Island) and I’m sure be judged best woody there. So woodys if you are anywhere near Lake Rotoiti this Saturday at 11am, park the car and take in the annual parade – over 75 classic boats will be mooching around the lake. Best viewing spot is the reserve (good parking and grass bank) just down from the Okere Falls Store, State Highway 33. Movie below from the 2021 Parade
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