I’m back

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I'm back

Well I’m back – I hope the sudden absence of ww posts was not too much of an issue. I’ll make it up in the next few days., I have a couple of monty tales to share with you. I was enjoying a non boating holiday at a place called Akitio, a coastal settlement on the lower east cape (Nth Island). Other than some tarsal on a few of the roads it has remained almost untouched in the last 100+ years. The photo above, taken by our host David Plummer, shows how wild & otherworldly at can be. A special place that delivered on my holiday wish list – dog friendly, beach walks, open fire, driftwood to collect, great food & nice company.

Went to an amazing country hotel , the Pongaroa Hotel, we missed the local ‘Hunt’ by a day, but I have included below a photo of a previous year. They get 800+ hunters entered & the main street is just lined with the kill. Not a good event for the vegetarians out there 🙂

The 9 1/2 hr drive was draining but it does keep the day trippers away 🙂

ps For Baden Pascoe, I include a photo of a Lister engine that was center stage at the pub.

Gone Fishing

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Gone Fishing

Gone Fishing

I’m off for a few days to a spot that is completely off the air – so WW might be on hold for a few days.

If you are reading this & thinking that there will be a big whole in your life (yeah right) – a few suggestions:

1. Use the WW Search box to check out your favorite designer, builder, period, location – there are over 700 posts in the WW library. Even easier is using the categories & tag sections on the right hand side of the WW page, by clicking on a word/s you can search by any topic & see a summary of articles linked to that topic.
Only last week someone in Ireland over a 24hr period viewed all 700+ of them 🙂

2. If you are not using the WW ‘Follow’ tool – do it today – all you have to do is click on the ‘Follow’ tab that appears at the bottom of you computer screen on the right when you have the waitematawoodys page open. You then enter your email address in the box that appears & then you will be able to:
(a) receive an email advising you when new articles have been posted or updated. Means you no longer have to check in all the time.
(b) allows you to make comments on articles that have been posted.
It astounds me the number of regular, high frequency visitors to WW that are not using the ‘Follow’ tool.

3. Lastly – have a hunt thru your photo albums for any wooden boating shots, then email them to waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Have a great Easter, travel well, be safe & I hope the Easter Bunny finds you.

Cheers Alan Houghton

p.s. I have a great series of posts coming up on the rebuild / restoration of Dick Fisher’s Akarana

Lady Diana

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LADY DIANA

photos & details ex Ken Ricketts

Phil Seabrook had Billy Rogers design and build the 36 foot Lady Diana for him in 1950 and fitted her with an Austin Skipper 100 from new, replacing it with a 155hp Nordberg sleeve-valve engine in 1956 shortly before he sold Lady Diana to Monte Winter. She performed better with the Nordberg than she did with the Austin.

Ken was aboard Lady Diana several times at Kawau Island during Christmas 1950.

She is still around today & still fairly unspoiled, as per the above photos, except for the lovely original varnish work, on the combings, which unfortunately has long since gone.

She also has an almost identical sister ship called Margaret Anne (photo below), which apart from a flybridge & varnish, is also fairly original, as per the photo.

MARGARET ANNE POST 2000

Why would you moor off Devonport YC?

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Wee bit of a blow this morning – a trimaran moored off DYC broke its mooring & ended up on the beach at Windsor Reserve. Bounced off the sea wall first & amazingly the wall came second. The (un-official) mayor of Devonport, Simon Gundry was there directing operations & CYA member Chris Leeche’s son Daniel, came to the rescue with some lines from the Navy to secure the vessel.

Further proof of the blow (50+knots) was the flag pole on the downtown ferry building (photo ex David Plummer)

Lady Ethel

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LADY ETHEL

Built in 1963 by Brin Wilson.Designed by Billy Rodgers and is what the owner calls a classic ‘Sounds’ launch.
At 34ft and built of triple diagonal kauri planked.
Powered by a 72 hp Mercedes 4 cylinder diesel engine, she will cruise at a comfortable 7-8 knots.
Currently residing in Motueka and for sale on trademe.

Anyone know how she ended up in the South Island & what of her life in between?

06-11-2015 Chris McMullen Input edited by Alan H

Morrie Palmer of Devonport built the hull and Mr Neil Wilson finished her off. Not Brin Wilson.
Mr Neil Wilson (I believe an ex Joiner) was the owner and manager of the Auckland University Maintenance Department. He wanted no Butt blocks in his new boat and scarfed the planks himself while we built the boat.   She may have been 34 Feet but was not triple diagonal planked. (That was later corrected.)
I started my apprenticeship with Morrie 16th of January 1961 and transferred to M C Carter Ltd  30th of August 1963. I worked for Morrie two years seven months.
When I started he was working in his backyard at Point Chevalier. He was finishing Basl Kelly’s raised deck Stewart 34 Pania. I recall a huge launch hull on his section painted with red lead. I am not sure but it may have become the “Lady Argyle”. I never worked on her.
Soon after, Morrie moved to #15 Clarence St Devonport. (see the Cara Mia site for more https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/01/17/caramia/ )  Cal Crooks joined us. Morrie and Cal had both worked for Colling’s and Bell and were very competent workers. I was only the apprentice boy. It was high productivity and had to be as boatbuilding was a competitive cut throat business. At Devonport at least five major builds took place Cara Mia, Lady Ethel, Venture, Oranoa and the Stewart 34 Phoenician. All that, along with repair and insurance work all done, by three people (average) in just over two and a half years. Sure they were hull only or hull, decks and super structure. Mostly the owners finished the job. “Oranoa” was the exception and largely complete and later launched from Devonport wharf
Morrie had very little machinery. It was measure and cut once boatbuilding, nothing fancy just get the job out.  His call at the end of lunch break was. “This won’t Grace the Harbour”  Lets get on with it.
Morrie owned and cruised with his Family the twenty Six Foot Mullet Boat “Omatere” previously owned by Basil Kelly. It may have been a trade in on the Pania.
Morrie was very keen on Mullet boats and encouraged me to build one. She was the last planked Mullet Boat. The 22 Foot “Tamatea”. I built her while I worked for him. I bet he later regretted his action. I was building the boat after hours in my parents back yard and it must have affected my work.

Bayswater In Its Prime

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Bayswater In Its Prime

Bayswater In Its Prime

Not sure of the year but most likely when the Takapuna Boating Club used to haul members’ boats on the northern land that is now a park (of sorts). Russell Ward says it was a lovely little place to work on boats and he hauled a few there before the Bayswater Marina developer and Takapuna City Council conned TBC out of it.

Speaking of being conned, do not start me on the control TBC has over the building on the foreshore, that is a con job 😦

Harold Kidd Update

The building has an interesting history. The Takapuna Boating Club was formed in 1914 to promote mainly centre board sailing in Shoal Bay and, of course, made its mark on New Zealand yachting history by commissioning Bob Brown to produce the design of the “Takapuna” 12ft 6in monotype “flattie” for competition by boys and girls, which became the “Zeddie”. About 1920 the club’s members secured the lease of the site at Bayswater and bought a tannery building at Panmure which they transported by barge and rebuilt into a magnificent three-storeyed clubhouse.
Very popular dances were held on the street-level floor every Saturday night. During my youth Benny Levin was the bandleader but rock and roll wrecked the music/dancing scene in the late fifties. I did get to sub on string bass with the band from time to time and it was a swinging group, mainly using stock orchestrations.
Later the dancefloor was taken over by Shore Sails as a loft.

Luana

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Luana

LUANA

photo ex Harold Kidd

The above photo of Luana shows her with one of the most famous warships of all time, HMS Hood. In 1924 Hood visited Auckland with another battleship, HMS Repulse as part of a 38000 mile circumnavigation. HMS Hood is seen at Princes Wharf.

At 860 ft she was for many years the largest & most prestigious warship in the world, with a top speed of 31 knots what a sight she must have been.

Sadly on the 24th May 1941 she came 2nd in one of the most famous surface engagements of WW2 – the German battleship Bismarck sank Hood in 3 minutes with only 3 of the 1418 men onboard surviving.
There was at the time much controversy into the speed of her demise & the exact cause of the loss of Hood still remains a subject for debate. Whether a shell from Bismarck king hit Hoods armory or a fire detonated her own torpedoes will never be know.

On a happier note Luana is still with us & a quick entry in the woodys search box will reward you with some great photos.

Young-Old Man’s Blather.

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Russel Ward aka Mr Steam + boat builder Joe Wheeler

Today’s post is to quote the writer (Russell Ward) a ditty on his teenage boating years & sheds some light on the Bayswater boat builder, Joe Wheeler, who is largely unsung but deserves attention.Click the link below to view/read the story/photos.

Harold Kidd knows more about Joe and can be sure to chip in on this one.

Pour yourself a cup of tea & enjoy the story 🙂

Click this link (blue text) to view Young-old man’s blather

Russell in his element

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Joe Wheelers last boat built -seen here at Stillwater

joewheelerlatsboat

Aotearoa II

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Aotearoa II

AOTEAROA II

details & photo ex Ken Ricketts

Aotearoa was the ‘night launch’ for many years before the Harbour Bridge, which used to take North Shore folk home through the night from the launch steps in town, after the ferry services stopped around midnight, & was operated by Eric Harrison, who after the Harbour Bridge went in to service, moved Aotearoa to Kawau. There she became part of the ferry services to the Sandspit & also did Auckland to Kawau trips. She was bought off Harrison & owned for a short period by Rick Brown, who onsold her to Gordon Brown, (no relation as far as Ken knows). Gordon Brown also ran her as ferry service to Kawau fo a few years & was ultimately squeezed out by Harry Julian who tried to totally control Kawau logistics for a number of years.

She was originally powered by 2 x 100hp 6cyl. naturally aspirated Fords which were later replaced by Eric Harrison with 2 x 6 cyl. turbo 165hp Volvos.

Ken suspects she may have been built by R Lidgard, can anyone add to this or confirm?