Skipjack

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SKIPJACK

Now if the above launch looks a little familiar thats because she has appeared here before under the name some ‘Sea Devil’.

Owner Greg Billington purchased Sea Devil from Brent Gribble, who, with his father Peter, owned her this past 8 or so years. Sadly Peter has passed away and Brent was ready to return to his passion, which is sailing. Now the name Sea Devil we are told is the English for ‘Dea De’il,’ which is Gaelic for Sea Devil – as she was named by the original owner in 1918. Vern Tonks of Whangarei named her for the English name when he began her refurbishment around 2000. Refer link below to view her during the 2000 restoration & read more expanded details about her.

Sea Devil

Over the past month (August 2016) Skipjack has been given a further refit which has involved a new muffler, dry riser and fuel tank sight glasses by Moon Engines; new propeller by Bri-ski and shaft extension by Kevin Bradley to ensure a good match with the engine and transmission; removal of the radar mast, and electrics overhauled by Roger Crabtree; hull and hull fittings, engine box insulation, new stove etc restored or replaced and bilge keels fared by Glenn Burnnand, Eberspacher heater fitted by Blair Hannay, and new steering fitted by Grant Henry.

I have to say the loss of the radar mast has been a big improvement to her looks. Now if the photo of the bilge keel is post faring, they must have been very agricultural before this 🙂 I would question the size & positioning of her bilge keels, I have studied & spoken to numerous boat builders about them & these ones appear to be very short & mounted high to the water line. I am seriously considering removing the ones fitted to my launch, Raindance – its a double edged sword, they will have a negative effect on boat speed but is that offset by their ability to reduce roll – I suppose there is only one way to find out…………

In the above photos we see her in the Burnnand boat shed at Ngapipi Rd, on Orakei Marina and in Circular Bay.

Kahu

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KAHU

I took the above photos of Kahu moored in Maitiatia, Waiheke Island over the 2015/2016 Xmas cruise period. I put my hand up & say I know nothing about her. She does look a very sea worthy vessel, possibly having ex commercial origins. Can anyone enlighten us on her pedigree & past? I’m assuming she is a woody ?

p.s. hopefully one day a kayak manufacturer will take to market a plain royal blue or taupe coloured kayak. I have seen some horror examples e.g. a bright pink one lashed proudly atop a wonderfully restored classic launch………………………. 😦

COMING UP
I will have some great stories to share over the next few days – have a boat re-launch on Saturday & have just been sent a wonderful story & photos by Janet Watkins (nee Pickmere, the daughter of AH Pickmere) of the families 1923 summer cruise aboard their launch the 32′ KiaKoa, a 1906 Bailey & Lowe double ender. They were accompanied on the cruise by Alberta, the 1913 flushdecker built by H.N. Burgess.

24-02-2018 – Spotted Kahu anchored at Motiuhe Island today.

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Nancibel

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NANCIBEL - 223 -1940s- MANSION HOUSE BAY - T. COLLINS COLLECTION EX MUSEUM - I.D PH-2013-7-TC-B517-08

NANCIBEL - 223 -1940s- MANSION HOUSE BAY - T. COLLINS COLLECTION EX MUSEUM - I.D. PH-2013-7-TC-B683-01

NANCIBEL - 223 - 1940s- MANSION HOUSE BAY - T. COLLINS COLLECTION EX MUSEUM - I.D PH-2013-7-TC-B808-02

NANCIBEL - 223 - 1940s- MANSION HOUSE BAY - T. COLLINS COLLECTION EX MUSEUM - I.D. PH-2013-7-TC-B808-07

NANCIBEL

The above photos of Nancibel are from the Auckland Museum, Tudor Collins collection, emailed to me by Ken Rickett’s. They show Nancibel leaving Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island c.1940’s. Back then she was in use as a passenger ferry to & from Kawau Island. Harold Kidd advised that Nancibel was built by Bailey & Lowe in 1920 for Dodd & Gibbons of Thames. L. Rolfe of Matakana owned her 1935 and sold her to F. Herring. Gubbs Motors owned her 1941 to 1951 at least, painted red and green. Geoff Brebner also commented on ww that in the later 1950’s, (pre harbour bridge opening), Nancibel was on passenger run from Auckland city to Upper Harbour.

Ken Rickett’s is on record in a previous ww story saying that she was powered with a 4 cyl 4-53 GM Detroit & painted bottle green.

The photos show a group of very well attired people enjoying a fun day out. If we fast forward to 1972 Nancibel had a new life as a dive charter boat working out of Tauranga. Unfortunately on a charter trip to Mayor Island with 30 passengers (skin divers) aboard Nancibel hit a submerged rock & very quickly sank in 45′ of water, everyone aboard was saved. A second boat was dispatched by the insurance assessors to dive on the wreck to survey & photograph it, sadly one of the divers, Henry Laison, died of the bends after surfacing from a deep dive. You can view below an article & photos that appeared in Dive Magazine Vol 11 No3, of 1972. Details & the article were sent in by Don Macleod.

Given that Tauranga divers went out and salvaged the Gardner engine from the Nancibel the week after she sank, I’m assuming she remained in Davey Jones Locker – can any woodys confirm this ?

Nancibel _ DIVE Magazine

Harold Kidd Input

She was issued with number 223 in February 1940 and would have carried it throughout the war for reporting to the defence boom at Auckland. During this period she was run as the Kawau-Sandspit ferry by Gubbs Motors.
I think it’s Sir Cyril Newall too. I understand he was sent to the colonies to get him out of any sort of RAF command after the Battle of Britain.
I remember when my father attended an Anzac Day Parade of old diggers at Taumarunui in 1942 where Newall spoke. I asked him what the GG said. “Just ‘haw haw haw haw haw'” Dad replied, imitating the upper class accent and lack of content. Mind you we were expecting the Japs at any moment and weren’t expecting any help from that quarter.

Lidgard 42′ – Tuarangi >Silver Fin

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LIDGARD LAUNCH – Tuarangi > Silver Fin

We are told (trademe) the above boat was launched in approximately 1950. Her specs are 42’ x 12’1” beam with a 2’11”draft. She is powered by twin 110hp Hino’s. She is well set up for recreational diving with a compressor in the cockpit bilge for dive bottle refilling & customized multi dive bottle storage in the cockpit. As with most broker listings they have omitted to include the vessel’s name…… so I omit to include theirs 🙂

Any one able to put a name to the launch & provide more details on her?

Lots of details in the comments section + some history at the link below. A little sad that she has ended up looking like the above 😦

Tuarangi

 

Pilot

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PILOT

PILOT

Now while the vessel in todays story is a woody, the location is certainly not the Waitemata 🙂
The motorboat in the above photo is another from the Auckland Museum, Tudor Collins collection & was emailed to me by Ken Ricketts.

Are any of the woodys able to ID the location, date etc & possibly ID the vessel? Coconut palms in the background, islanders* helping with the loading – could be Suva, Nukualofa, Avatiu, Apia.

* not sure that islanders is a PC word, maybe I should have used ‘PI’ (Pacific Islander)

Yesterdays Survey
ww ran a survey yesterday around what classic wooden boat activities would appeal to you. Many thanks to everyone that completed the survey- BUT it’s not too late to do the survey, only takes a minute, so go on, just do it. Its anonymous  😉
Scroll down to find it.
Many thanks. Alan

The Building of Ngarunui

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Ngarunui & Fierycross 1962

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The Building of Ngarunui

I was recently contacted by Frank Young, son of Jim Young, who designed & built Ngarunui in 1954 > 1955 for a Mr. Burrell, a strawberry farmer in Birkdale.
Ian had read the Ngarunui story on ww & wanted to record the facts not guesswork surrounding the vessels early days. The below is based on personal experience and knowledge as Jim Young’s son.
“Ngarunui was originally designed for regular trans-tasman trips with a high economical cruising speed, heavy weather capability, long range, and reliability. Power was to be an 8 cylinder Gardner diesel and she was designed around that with regular crossings to Sydney intended. The smaller auxiliary was not part of the original design or construction as can be seen in the photographs at the time. It was apparently added later with the change in main engine plans.
Construction started in 1955 at the J H Young Boats Ltd Little Shoal Bay boat shed using kauri planking and ribs, and pohutukawa knees.  When the hull had been completed and closed in she was launched without machinery or interior work done. On launching she immediately listed 45 degrees due to no ballast or internal engineering. That caused some trepidation among those attending the launching party. Interior work continued with the boat in a cradle next to the slipway but there were increasing problems with payments. The strawberry crop that year was apparently very poor and the money ran out. The partially finished vessel was then sold by Mr. Burrell to a company he had taken a stake in and the building contract revised. Northern Hygienic Fishing Supplies was to use her as a fishing “Mother ship” towing a number of 16 foot dories from which gill netting or long-lining could be done. Design details were changed and work commenced on installing large ice boxes in the hull and two 16 foot flat bottom punts were built as part of the fishing dory plan, with more to follow. One of those dories became the “Nancy Barbara” owned by the Hayman family at Great Barrier Island for many years. Then the money dried up again and Northern Hygienic Fishing Supplies was liquidated. With no money coming in, Jim Young in serious financial straits as a result, and an uncertain future outcome for Ngarunui in a part finished condition she was left in the cradle by the slipway at the Little Shoal Bay boat shed where the interior work had been continuing. Holes were drilled in her bottom to allow the tide to flow into the hull so it could not potentially be removed or stolen while legal and financial issues took their tedious course. She languished there untouched for about a year.  She was the subject of an arson attempt during that period but perhaps due to the wet interior the fire did not take hold. 

Eventually the Auckland Official Assignee (coincidentally Jim Young’s father)  who was responsible for the liquidation of Northern Hygienic Fishing Supplies sold Ngarunui in as is/where is condition to Messrs Spicer and Pollard. Henderson and Pollard was a well known Auckland timber merchant company and Ngarunui was then completed using their resources. The originally intended Gardner diesel was never installed. At a price then of around  3600 pounds it was far more than the price of the rest of the boat (or even the price of a house) so the much cheaper, and lower power, option of a (single) 175hp GM diesel went in.

Ngarunui finally became a well appointed Auckland launch in 1957 or early 1958 after a somewhat difficult early life. Messrs Spicer and Pollard put Ngarunui to great use and they were active supporters of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Ngarunui became well known for her role in various high profile activities of the RNZYS, and acted as flagship for many events with the Governor General or other notables aboard.”

2016 photos of Ngarunui can be viewed here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/06/03/mystery-boat-03-06-2015/

4 Classic Yachts – Sailing Sunday

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4 classic yachts #

4 Classic Yachts – Sailing Sunday

How many of the above can we ID ? they are all still afloat. Photo is from the Mac Taylor collection.

REMEMBER – MAX CARTER MEMORIAL TODAY @ RNZYS 2.00PM

And if you need some motivation to get the sandpaper & varnish out – click the link below & check out this line up of 33 beautiful classic yachts at Les Voiles de St Tropez. My eldest daughter (23) is currently in St Tropez, leaving on Tuesday for Sardinia on a 260’+ monster super ‘yacht’. Oh to be young & carefree again 🙂

Lidgard Run-About

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Lidgard Run-About

The photos of the above Lidgard run-about were emailed to me by John Pryor, a friend of whose is hoping to uncover some details on the boat. She measures 14’3″, with a 5′ beam. All her new owner knows is that she came up to Mt Albert from the Coromandel in the condition you see her in above & the trailer was built back from army surplus and the coil springs are apparently from an Indian motorcycle.
She’s in need of quite a restore but given her Lidgard pedigree is worth saving. The bonus is she’s small enough to be tucked in the garage & worked on i.e. no expensive yard fees

So woodys what do we know about these small Lidgard run-abouts – the year(1940’s?) model, possible owners, copies of the plans etc. Anything would help / encourage her owner to commence the project 🙂

25-08-2016 Input from Roger Guthrie

6x4

You posted a picture of an old boat on a trailer the other day. It was in severe need of restoration. Above is a very similar one we had at Silver Bay Waiheke. It was about 1951. It had a steering wheel and seat at the front. We had the popular 4H.P. Seagull outboard and had to steer from the back. There was a steering wheel but dad never connected it.

We called it the speedboat but there was no speed about it. It did however serve us well for family picnics to Man’o’War Bay and Ponui Island. Neither I or my brother Graham can remember the make. We had the usual collection of clinker dinghy’s which we rowed and two of them had centre board provision and sails. The largest one was 12ft. long and good for going to Connells Bay for the milk and supplies but this to us was the start of something new. This boat was varnished marine ply.

Shown in the boat photo – Ivan Guthrie (my father), myself and sister Prue. The boat was very near to the beach hence dad sitting on deck ready to pull up the motor. Them was the days………and they were wonderful days too.

Mirella – bugger!

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JEWACK Sunk

Mirella – bugger!

Now I do not like to make fun of someone else’s misfortune but the above & below photos ex the Auckland Museum, Tudor Collins collection & emailed to me by Ken Ricketts was taken a long time ago – so woodys today we will have a little competition –  I’ll give a waitematawoodys tote bag (see below) to the woody that comes up with the best caption 🙂

The photo file gave the location as Gart Island, but that draws a blank with me – can anyone help here, the vessel is listed as being ‘Jewack‘. Since ID’ed as Mirella .

Entries close 12pm 19-08-2016. You can enter as many times as you like, the judge will be Nathan Herbert – why? because he already has a ww tote bag 😉

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Input from Harold Kidd  – the vessel is MIRELLA (photo ex Paperspast ex NZ Herald 27 May 1932)

VALUABLE AUCKLAND FISHING LAUNCH SUNK AFTER STRIKING A SUBMERGED ROCK. Owned by Mr. J. Wilson, of Auckland, this 32ft. launch Mirella sank afte% striking a rock off Goat Island, near Cape Rodney, on Tuesday evening. The three members of the crew made their escape in the dinghy. Little hope of salvaging the craft is entertained.

Mirella sinking off Goat Island