Margaret Anne

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Photo below as purchased in 2013

MARGARET ANNE

Todays post I think is rather neat on several fronts:

1. The owner of Margaret Anne took a very deep breath & made a decision to return Margaret Anne to her original configuration. That takes guts & deep pockets.
2. It amazes me that there are restorations taking place that are happening away from the eyes of the classic wooden boating community. We think we are well connected & then you open your email & up pops a Margaret Anne. Thats cool.
3. I know it sexist to point this out but what the hell – Margaret Anne is owned by a lady & she has done most of the work herself. Helena has a plan, she bought Margaret Anne in 2013 & what you see in the photos above was the 2014 part of the plan. Its what we call a rolling restoration – next step will be the interior & a re-wire.

Now some details – Margaret Anne was designed / built by Billy Rogers.  Helena spoke with Billy’s son Jeff who said he built her with his Dad Billy in 1956. She is a sister ship to Lady Diana & while not as high spec she is still made of top quality materials. Helena thinks she is the fourth owner, the last one, recently passed away & had owned her for 40 years. Margaret Anne is a wonderfully comfortable boat to cruise in – very roomy in the layout and with the galley aft, she does not suffer from the common launch fault – saloon cooking odors.

Any woodys able to add to the history of Margaret Anne ?

Arcturus – Sailing Sunday

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ARCTURUS

I snapped the above photos of the yacht Arcturus while anchored in Little Oneroa over the xmas / ny period. She is a 1930 John G. Alden (USA) design. She would have to be one of the prettiest vessels in the CYA.

Just need one of the ww yachting followers to chip in with more details on her.

Which they have (thx Rod Marler) http://www.classicboatcharter.com/history.htm

Lake Taupo Classic’s

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Lake Taupo Classic’s
photos ex Jason Prew
Over the xmas break Jason had the day boat Otira at Lake Taupo & sent in the collection of photos below. Jason commented that his photography was not 100%, as steering Otira and taking pix in a narrow river was a little challenging 🙂 They look pretty good to me Jas.
There is an impressive collection of old wood on the lake. Click photos to enlarge 😉

Maybe one of the Taupo ww followers can ID a few on the boats? They have see below

Update from Paul Drake. Check out the comments section for lots more info. AH

The vessel with the torpedo stern is MAXIE (Logan Bros,1903), ex Paremata,Wellington, where she received her Bruce Askew designed make-over in the early 1990’s. She has a Logan Bros builder’s plate. Has been at Taupo for 20 years. She is 36 feet by 7 feet. She is double skinned, the outer being fore and aft. This info from Wooden Boat Magazine, number 125, of July/August 1995, p.88. Article written by the then owner who did the make-over, which kept him occupied for 5000 hours over four and a half years.  She is neglected and hasn’t been seen at sea for many years. About 5 years ago she almost sank at her then Acacia Bay mooring. She deserves much better.
Other vessels in Jason’s photos, starting from the top: SEVERN (Logan Bros) featuring raised bow (good) and extension aft (bad). Then ADELAIDE, ex ADELAIDE V, (Collings and Bell, 1924),   built for Capt Charles Palmer. Twin screw – unusual for such a vessel. Then GYPSY, a fairly ordinary hard chine job, then an unknown small hard chine boat, then MAXIE, then MOERANGI (Logan Bros 1906). Then a Mason Marine Clipper, name unknown, then REGORDETTE (not sure of spelling), ex VENTURE, an ex Air Force launch. Then RUAHINE ex WHIZZBANG, and next to her to the left, BELL BIRD. Then ROMANCE (Bailey and Lowe 1914) then ALICE ex WATER WITCH (Charles Peers Simcock1879, Kaukapakapa, rebuilt at Taupo 1990 – 2000, wood fired steamer, currently for sale by overseas owner), then SIR FRANCIS, ex FAIRY (Collings and Bell 1916), then IRENE, locally built but wait, she’s steel, so what is she doing on a woody’s site! Then MOANA ROA ex MAUREEN M (Owen Woolley,1962), then OCEAN MIST (the middle one) but she is concrete! Finally SIMBA (Hartley). Featuring twin V8 petrol engines.
Quite a collection. Well done Jason.

Mystery Launch – With Clues

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Mystery Launch – With Clues

photos & details ex Harold Kidd

Todays post is a goodie – lots of photos & some insights that might prove helpful in ID’ing her. Remember – click photos to enlarge.
We have a series of photographs of a neat little sedan from framing up to launching.
Harold doesn’t know what she is and is looking for input from ww followers.
Clues are
1. The images come from Charles Beresford Madden (1898-1974) who was an Auckland yacht and launch broker in the 1920s and 1930s and it may have been his own boat.
2. The backs of the pics yield only one clue, “Nov 1935”, on one of the launching pics.
3. The builder was not on the Waitemata waterfront, therefore a crane launch from what seems to be King’s Wharf.
4.The builder’s shed has room for two boats on the go at least, so it was a professional operation away from the Waitemata in 1935.
So what was the launch and who was her builder?
Possibilities as to builder are Sam Ford? Les Coulthard? Fred Mann?

You have to smile at the transport, people fret these days about their boat going onto a purpose built transporter, back then it was a little ‘she’ll be right’.

I’ll put up a ww t-shirt to the first woody that gets it right (in HDK’s eyes). The budget at ww is tight, its the same t-shirt I offered up earlier in the week, no one got it 100% right + the potential winner (closest), Lindsay Brebner our Cook Islands follower, suggested we offer the prize up again – good man 🙂

Update from Harold Kidd 12/01/2015

Well, that’s all terribly interesting. The fact that there were two distinct but highly similar boats in seemingly identical circumstances was a great trap. In fact I hadn’t spotted that one was without its prop. Well done! However, the images all came together and I think the two launches are basically the same design and from the same builder.
I thought that the chap in the felt hat in the truck pics was very like Sam Ford who would have been only 40 in 1935. I’ve been out of town all weekend so didn’t make the trip to Arthur Street to check out the geography. I hope Nathan has done or will do that.
Late 1935 was just before Sam started promoting and building his “standardised cruisers” like MEANDER, MENAI etc.
I get the feeling that Madden may have played some part in promoting Sam’s work.

Ethel Clare

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 Ethel Clare
photos ex Baden Pascoe
Ethel Clare is currently on the hard at Te Atatu, post a wee trip to the bottom. Her subsequent hauling out revealed a ‘few’ bits missing. Lets hope this time she gets the attention she deserves & needs 😉

To read more & see her afloat click these links:

ETHEL C (Ethel Clare)

Ethel Claire

Kawe

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KAWE

Spotted her at Oneroa last week. Kawe is a permeant Waiheke Island resident, splitting her time between Matiatia & Oneroa where the owner has a house. She featured a while ago in the magazine NZ Life & Leisure & from memory is a big day-boat with the ability to convert the stern area into a double berth.
She is a modern classic but ticks a lot of my boxes.
Anyone able to supply more details?

Belle Isle > Belle IIe

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Belle Isle > Belle IIe

An update on Belle Isle (now renamed Belle IIe) as you will see in the above photo she has entered a new stage in her life. Better has a Beehive restoration i.e. a box of matches > fire & I’m told the owners wee son loves her – thats good enough for me 🙂

To view older photos & details on her click this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/07/04/belle-isle/

And Jason Prew –  b4 you comment – no I don’t have the room in my backyard for Raindance 🙂

Mystery Launch 05/01

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Mystery Launch 05/01/15 (Westering)

photo ex Harold Kidd

OK woodys lets see how good you are at ID’ing the above launch. The 1st to correctly name her & builder gets a waitematawoodies t-shirt 🙂

T&C’s – only one name per reply, so Ken R. you cant list 20 boats e.g. its XXXX or possibly XXXXX, if not XXXXXX, I’m confident its XXXXX 🙂

More details  – from a chat today between Harold Kidd & Bob Salthouse

Actually the full story goes like this; Wally Brebner came across Bob Salthouse and Keith Stick out on the water in their yachts around 1964. Over a convivial chat Wally floated the idea of getting himself a launch. Bob sketched out a 28 footer on the back of a cigarette packet but later drew it out properly at home, but stretched to 32ft, for which Wally was later very grateful. Wally got Vince McGeady to build the hull and cabintop and finished her off himself, fitting her with a 60hp 4 cylinder Ford diesel. Around 1987 Keith Stick pondered getting a launch. At that time WESTERING came up for sale. Bob contacted Wally and, after another chap’s option expired, bought her for himself and Keith, running her for some years.
Salthouse Bros built the design several times later and produced it in fibreglass.