Wanderer

Posted on by
12

wanderer3

Wanderer

WANDERER

Some times classic wooden boat owners get a little precious with their boats i.e. no fishing (too messy & smelly) but the photos above of the the launch Wanderer clearly show that to the original owners they were just a means to the real challenge – catching big game fish.
We have seen lots of photos of 40’+ launches hauling in large catches but Wanderer II would have to take the prize for small boat, biggest fish 😉

I understand that Wanderer these days resides on A Pier at Milford Marina, needing some TLC but still a float. Any of the woodys able to enlighten us on her life post the above photos from the Auckland Museum’s Tudor Collins collection?

These days I would be happy to catch what they have hanging off the stern as berley 🙂

Photos below of Wanderer 2015 at Milford Marina ex Ken Ricketts

Input from Russell Ward

How lovely to see her as she was originally. Yep. A real honey. The modern alterations are a bit of a miss-match of angles but have been like that a long time.  Capt John Watson owned her when my old man had Ngakiwa early -mid ’60s and we cruised together in the gulf. Had the cabin sides that she presently has. She had a petrol engine that was unreliable and I remember Len Heard (Kenya) lent John a headsail in case the engine really died. He put a Perkins in about the same time my father had Tracey Nelson put one in Ngakiwa. John sold her and bought Nohomoana (38′ Sam Ford) to keep up with the Wards when they got Naiad.
I met up with Wanderer at Lake Rotoiti a year or two back -she was a bit scruffy and heard that she came back up here.
Hope she gets that TLC s

22–05-2021 Input from Rick Rowarth – My grandfather, an Auckland surgeon Mr Frank Macky owned Wanderer for a number of years I think from the early 50’s to early 60’s and my introduction to the Hauraki Gulf was on the wanderer. What a wonderful introduction I got in my formative years. Frank just got too old to go off boating around the early to mid 60’s, and sadly had to sell her. He loved nothing more than to go down the harbour, often on his own and would usually end up at Woody Gully on Rakino or Days Bay at the bottom end of Waiheke where he had a smokehouse at his sisters house. He never came home empty handed, and back then if he caught a gurnard he would take it home for the cat. Back then Wanderer was powered by a 4 cylinder Universal petrol engine that was far from reliable, and the petrol tanks were filled by taking off the fuel tank caps “in the forward cabin”, and filling them up. How we never blew up I will never know, but we survived. The story about the missing porthole was down to a collision with (I think) a ferry, and the repairs were done I think by Percy Voss at Westhaven.

Waihora

Posted on by
7

DSC8

DSC2

Borrie Beachman & Marie Wilson + children
Rud & Joyce Nicks
(L>) Logan, Joyce, Rud & Pam Nicks
1963
Borrie Beachman, Wilson boy,Logan Nicks
Borrie Beachman @ Bland Bay 1986
Firth with uncle Rud Nicks

WAIHORA

Waihora has featured twice before on ww, once when I spotted her at anchor in Oneroa (Oct 2014) & when Jason Prew saw her moored up the Tamaiki River (2015), photos below.

Thanks to Murray Morrissey & Angela Te Wiata we now have a wonderful insight into her past, Murray supplied the details & Angela the photos from her late mother, Pamela Gilbert (nee Nicks) collection.

Firstly Murray’s background – Waihora was built by Brin Wilson and owned by the Nicks family of the Nicks Timber Company of Takapuna.  They had a big yard in Huron Street.  The Nicks family was well known identities in Takapuna.
Logan Nicks & wife retired to their beach house in Bland Bay – Whangaruru – Northland in the late 1960`s or thereabouts. Son, ‘Rud’ continued to run Waihora and the timber business.

Interesting to see Borrie Beachman & his launch ‘Endeavour’ in several of the photos, Borrie is the late uncle of CYA woody Paul Beachman. Borrie Beachman sold Endeavour & at one stage she was owned by Jack Matich & used for commercial fishing on the Kaipara Harbour. She was configured back then as a motor-sailer.  Endeavour is now back in the Beachman family ownership & looked after by Paul & son Brin.

07-02-2021 UPDATE – ex Angus Rogers – photographed Feb 2021. She was sold approx. 2 years ago and her new owners have undertaken a lot of work on her.

New Golden Hind at Kawau Island

Posted on by
2

NEW GOLDEN HIND Kawau c1940

New Golden Hind at Kawau Island – Sailing Sunday

Today’s photo is another from the Auckland Museum’s Tudor Collins collection, this one emailed to me by Ken Ricketts. It shows the ‘New Golden Hind’, designed by Chas. Bailey Jr. & built at the Deemings Opua yard. She is  anchored off Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island c.1940’s.

Any one able to ID the launches?
You can see more photos & details on her here   https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/06/22/new-golden-hind/

Leilani (Florae / Floray)

Posted on by
15

LEILANI (FLORAY)

LEILANI (FLORAE / FLORAY)

Leilani was built by building contractor & service station proprietor, Major Bailey, a friend of Ken Rickett’s family, on the Cnr. of Wheturangi & Green Lane Rds., & launched in 1949.
Currently owned by Jason Lockwood for the last 5 years. The previous owner had kept the boat at Coromandel for many years & eventually took her to Thames with a view to removing rot from the upper sections of the bow.
It was while at Thames that Jason saw her & bought her, then moved her to Kopu (photo above) – where she was for approx. 3 years. Jason moved her to his property at Thames town around  2 years ago.

When purchased she had a 6cyl. Ford diesel & was fitted with a shoe rudder prop & shaft, however whilst at Kopu these ‘disappeared’.
Jason had removed her paint & started a re-caulking process as part of a major refit / repair & refurbish, looking at the photo, taken by Ken (April 2016), this appears to have stalled & the coamings have reached the stage of disrepair, to the point where they will have to be demolished as they are semi collapsed.

Can we expand more on her history – design, past owners etc. Ken recalls that she was a late 1940’s build.

13-08-2016 Harold Kidd Input

She was built as FLORAE (Latin for “flowers”) not FLORAY. I think Lidgards built the hull and Major George Bailey finished her at his Wheturangi Road home. It was PERCY Coutts who owned her until he died in 1960. He bought my father’s business and renamed it Coutts Motors and was very successful importing fine cars, now part of the Giltrap empire on the same site in Great North Road.
As LEILANI she had numerous owners after Percy Coutts, including A.G. Sibun of Bleakhouse Road, Ken Archer who was active in Coastguard with her, followed by B.J. Craies,  and finally a spell in Coromandel where I photographed her in 1999. She’s not the game boat LEILANI that was at Mangonui, run by Don Lightband of course. In fact I can’t vouch for the fact that the LEILANI owned by Sibun and Archer is this one and may well be the game boat.
No doubt WW spotters will pick that up and put me right with relish!

Max Carter Memorial Service

Posted on by
1

Max Carter Memorial Service

The family of the late Max Carter invite Max’s friends, past employees and Carter design admirers to a memorial service to celebrate Max’s life and achievements, details below.
Venue:  R.N.Z.Y.S  Dinghy Locker Bar
Date:    Sunday 21st of August
Time:    2 pm

It would a nice gesture to have one of Max’s designs or builds (modern or classic) on the dock outside the squadron. If someone is able to help with a boat, please contact Max’s long time friend, Tony Barclay on 022 1079689 .

Could you please help spread the message out to anyone that you know, that would be interested in attending. Bar (cash) will be open.

Stella

Posted on by
3

Stella

STELLA

Today’s launch photo was sent to me by Scott Taylor & is ex the Takapuna Library & appeared on the facebook web site Takapuna / Devonport / Bayswater & Beyond Past & Present.
The heading stated the launch was ‘Stella’ at Hall’s Beach, Northcote. You can see the  Baileys yard in the background.

Any of the woodys able to confirm the boat, a date  & add any more ?

Harold Kidd Input

STELLA was built as ROVER in April 1911 by James Reid for G. Fraser of Northcote on the lines of his 32 footer SEABREEZE, a smaller version of SEABIRD. She was built on the moulds of WOLSELEY, another SEABREEZE clone.  The name ROVER lasted only briefly.
She had a flat-twin Beilfuss 10/12 hp marine engine built in the US. She was moored in Little Shoal Bay.
I lose track of her in 1922 when she had changed hands and was hauled out on the VCC slip at Freemans Bay. No doubt she had a name change which I haven’t figured out. Possibly too she is the STELLA that turns up in Wellington later in the 1920s. WOLSELEY had been there since 1913, later renamed DAPHNE.
Visible on the shore at Hall’s Beach in this great pic is the boat shed of Bailey & Tyer, still in existence.

 

 

Nautilus

Posted on by
20

IMG_1922

NAUTILUS

Now I might be having another ‘blonde’ moment but I have no recall on the history of the above launch. Baden Pascoe sent me the photo & said she was a Collings & Bell & named Nautilus & currently being restored at the Maritime Museum.

Can any woodys confirm, supply more details etc.

ps Baden is the worlds worst speller so maybe he has the name wrong 😉

Harold Kidd Input

The facts are that NAUTILUS was one of two local launches on the Hospital Ship MARAMA which arrived in the Med AFTER the evacuation from Gallipoli was over. MARAMA never got anywhere near Gallipoli. MAHENO had been at Gallipoli and had two other launches aboard, one of which had a stray Turkish Mauser 7.92 x 57 bullet through her hull while on davits, the only actual war damage ever suffered by any of them despite the yarns.
Taking these 4 launches on the two Hospital Ships was a great idea but they were hardly ever used because they had deteriorated badly on the long sea voyages and were a liability in the end.
I wrote an article on these four launches in Boating NZ for April 1915 but obviously it wasn’t read at the Maritime Museum, nor did they read Gavin McLean’s “White Ships, an excellent history of MARAMA  and MAHENO by one of our greatest historians with whom I collaborated for my article.
No further comment.

01-09-2016 – photo (ex Colin Brown) below on relaunch day (2016) – emailed in by Ken Ricketts

NAUTILUS relaunched 2016

22-11-2016 Photo below sent in by Chris Leech – taken during the NZ Navy 75th Review (Nov 2016)

ah-query

 

2018 Photo below

Nautilus

 


2026 INPUT ex COLIN BROWN  Photos below of plank ends that Josh (Kauri Classic) and I fitted back in 2013 2014 along with a complete re-rib. The museum should have all the photos of the restoration. I also found a porcelain  cuff link when I lifted out the toilet plintail of which they have. I don’t know the date of that. Also photo of cutting a new stern post.

Resolute

Posted on by
8

Resolute 2008-0010

Resolute 2008-0007

Resolute

RESOLUTE

Today’s story on Resolute starts a few years ago at the Devonport Yacht Club – I had Raindance hauled out for the winter & was giving her a big dose of TLC. Nearby Nathan Herbert was working on the classic yacht Kiariki (for the Brookes) & in front of us was this rather big 1938, Dick Lang built, tram-top, straight stem launch, called Resolute. At the time she was getting very OTT paint job, I had never seen a classic receieve as many coats of undercoat & sanding. Her owner Graeme Cooper was a perfectionist . After re-launching, she motored to a berth at Bayswater & to the best of my knowledge has not moved off that berth since.
Now fast forward to the present day & Graeme contacted Nathan & advised he wants to find a good home for his boat. Nathan commented to me that she is quite light for her size & fast.
I have had a nosy around her recently at Bayswater & yes she requires a lot of TLC but as the architects say ‘she has good bones’ + all the big stuff has been done, just needs a good clean, some money tossed at a good wooden boat builder to complete her interior + a paint job & you would have a very smart, quick classic.
The asking price will be very fair & realistic – in my view a VERY good buy for someone wanting a project but not wanting to have to do a re-build. If any woodys are interested in Resolute, contact me initially at waitematawoodys@gmail.com & I we forward to the owner.

I have reprinted part of Graeme’s note to Nathan, that tells some of the history behind Resolute & why she is now for sale after 18 years on ownership.

“I thought I would send you a couple of photo’s of Resolute taken on launch day after her last major refit in 2008 and give you a bit of back ground information.
As I mentioned I am sad to part with her but owing to lack of time I am unable to put the time in to keep her up to scratch and I hate seeing her deteriorating. Its time for someone else to ensure she is preserved for the future.
Resolute is a 34’ by 10’6’’ beam cruising launch, built by Dick Lang and launched just before Christmas 1938. She is powered by a 130 hp S 6 Perkins built around 1952 and driven through a Paragon hydraulic gearbox. she will cruise happily at 9.5 knots and I have clocked her at 13 knots by GPS.

During the above mentioned refit myself and a shipwright friend ( John Mitchel ) replaced a section of keelson due to electrolysis. We built and fitted a new rudder ( the bronze one was cracked ) fitted 2 new 200 litre custom made plastic fuel tanks, 2 new 200 litre water tanks of the same construction. I built and fitted a rimu fridge cabinet which is cooled by a 12 volt fridge unit and rebuilt the main cabin bunks and a rimu chart table with 2 large drawers. The cockpit dodger was modified to improve visibility and fitted with safety glass. A local boat builder (Charlie Webley) fitted a walk through transom and new cockpit covers were made. My wife striped all internal paint from main cabin and bilges and these were everdured and repainted. The prop was also re-pitched and balanced.            

I also carried out a major refit in 1999/2000. The hull was completely stripped of paint, re-corked and the seams filled with Sika 296, the prop shaft was upgraded from 1.25 bronze to 1.5 inch 316 stainless . I  also modified the stern tube and fitted new bearings and upgraded the stern gland to a maintenance free type and installed hydraulic steering. All windows were removed and new ones fitted (not safety glass ) the boat was also completely rewired (some finishing to be done)

The boat will be sold complete with: 8 foot fibre glass clinker dingy and 2 hp Evinrude outboard (hardly used), 30 Lb. plough anchor and warp, smaller danfourth and warp, spare warp, life jackets, fenders, Lowrance 6000 c colour GPS/plotter, Lowrance sounder, Panasonic VHF, gas stove/oven, steadying sail, engine manual and Stanley Bay Devonport swing mooring. and a host of receipts from both me and the previous owner. There is undoubtedly stuff I have forgotten.

Although the boat currently looks sad, the reality is that it is the inside that needs to be completed, the main cabin is pretty much done, but from the bulkhead forward needs work. this includes galley, heads and for’d accommodation, the outside just needs a repaint. You can see that no expense has been spared on her maintenance, I would estimate I have spent in the region of $50,000 plus the original purchase price in the 18 odd years I have owned her. I am not looking to recover these costs but by the same token do not intend giving her away, I am very realistic about her current value and would entertain all offers. Most importantly for me and my wife, is that she goes to someone who is dedicated to her restoration and on going maintenance.

Having written this I am extremely sad at the prospect of selling this lovely old treasure, but I guess its time to move on and let someone else get some fun out of her.”

Harold Kidd Input

RESOLUTE was actually launched on 22nd December 1937 at St Mary’s Bay for Sam Chorley of Onslow Road. Somewhere there’s a photo of me sitting on my father’s shoulders at the launch although I don’t remember it. We lived at London Street and attended most of Dick Lang’s (and C&B’s) launches.
Peter Maxwell of Devonport owned her for many years after 1973 and kept her meticulously (as he did anything he owned). Graeme Cooper assumed the mantle after Peter. She had a Universal 6 petrol engine post war, replaced about 1990 by that Perkins diesel.
 
 

Manana III

Posted on by
6

MANANA III - OTEHEI BAY c1940s

MANANA III

We have not had a pure game-fishing boat story in a while so when I was sent the above photos of Manana III from the Tudor Collins collection at the Auckland Museum, emailed in by Ken Ricketts, they got the ww fast track. In the photos above we see her off Cape Brett & alongside the wharf in Otehei Bay in the Bay of Islands c.1940’s. (apologies – two of the photos are very poor quality)

What can the woodys tell use about the boat, obviously not a local boat – the ‘Manana III – Miami FLA’ on her stern tells us that – who bought her to NZ, when, how successful was she & did she stay here or head off-shore again?

As a bonus today check out the amazing collection of nearly 100 photos on the salvage of the classic yacht ‘Penlena’ – not sure of the location, but thanks to John Bertenshaw for highlighting it on his facebook page 🙂

Click this link   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.509586369227283.1073741869.100005277724237&type=3

Penlena

The Restoration of My Girl

Posted on by
8

Screen Shot 2016-08-06 at 9.24.24 AM

.THE RESTORATION OF MY GIRL

While there are few of us with the courage to even consider a project of this scope, there are even fewer with the skill set to do it. That makes Jason Prew a tad special in the classic woody boating community. A lot of us would be worried that a restoration (re-build) project like this would grind to a halt 1/2 way thru – well folks I can tell you this one won’t & as proof check out at the bottom of this story, Jason’s last project – Wairiki, his 34′ 1904 Arch Logan designed gaff rigged classic yacht.

Mr Prew is a member of the fastest growing group in the CYA – woody’s that own a classic yacht & classic motor-boat.  There are a lot of photos today but I really wanted to get across the magnitude of the job Jason has bitten off:-)
Whilst I did not pickup a hammer or a piece of sandpaper during my visit to Jason’s workshop, I have contributed – a while ago I was gifted a pair of very cool bronze nav lights & as I’m a big believer in the ‘pay-it-forward’ concept, these will be gracing My Girl on launch day 🙂
My Girl was built in 1925 by Dick Lang for C.B. “Tui” Waldron of the Wade River who commuted with her. Her square bilge design was based on one by W.H.Hand. Waldron later took her to Whangarei & she was in NAPS as Z32 out of Whangarei in WW2.

Jason purchased My Girl from the Davies  family of Te Atatu, West Auckland in December 2014, Derek & his Father Trevor were long term caretakers of My Girl, keeping her in the Whau River for many years.  After a spell on the hard where she fell into dis-repair, Jason finally persuaded Derek to part with her.

When launched she was powered by a 6 cylinder 90hp Scripps engine & was capable of over 18 knots. When purchased by Jason she had a BMC Commander engine of dubious health.  When re-launched she will be powered by a 100hp Volvo Penta, so she should be a bit of a zoom zoomer 😉

The work to date has seen 76 ribs in, 3600 copper rivets riveted, 5 new floors and 2 engine beds. As you will see in the photos there is still lots of hole filling, sanding & painting in the near future.

You can read & view much more on the restoration project at the links below – the ww one has some historical photos & the mygirl link has the whole story so far. Make sure you click on the Archives link to see everything. https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/12/12/my-girl/           http://www.my-girl.co.nz/mygirl/Welcome.html

Below is a peak at Jason’s yacht Wairiki, his last restoration project. Click this link to view more http://www.wairiki.co.nz/Wairiki1904/Welcome.html

Input from Jason Prew

Thanks for the injection of smoke up the posterior Alan but I can’t claim too much credit for Wairiki, Marco Scuderi did the bulk of the work. I was mostly the destruction/wrecking department.  My Girl is also a collaboration, especially the ribs stage.  Nathan, Steve, Andrew, Tom, mostly my brother Daniel, either holding dolly or doing the peening. Robert Brook and Paul Tingey for always being encouraging on the end of the phone when i was having an OMG I can’t work this out day, (which is quite often)  I don’t have a moaning chair perse, but i have a squab that gets utilized a lot to do the same job.

P1230027

Image 1

Trinidad > Raindance > Wairiki

Dec 2016 Staring to look like a launch again versus a canoe 🙂 Bit worried about the headroom.

img_2803