BUFFALO BILL & WAIATA
Photo ex Harold Kidd of Buffalo Bill (nearer the camera) & Waiata. Both were built by David Reid of Drake St Freemans Bay.
Note the boy on the cabin top of Buffalo Bill with a .22 to ward off orcs (or seagulls).
Enter Buffalo Bill in the waitematawoodys search box to learn more.
LADY CROSSLEY
photos ex David Cooke
Sunday 15th Dec (2013) saw another of the CYA’s classic launch fleet re-launched after sending the winter at Opua under the care of Opua master boat builder Craig McInnes. Colin Wild designed & built Lady Crossley in 1947 & if he was looking down yesterday he would have been a very happy man. Lady Crossley is simply magnificent & her owners Margo & Jamie Hudson launched in a style that Col Wild would have approved of – canon fire, lots of flag & lots of champagne.
Lady Crossley was built for the Seager Bros who were the agents for Crossley diesels. She was sold to Vic & Rob Sanders in 1956 & they installed new Gardner 6LW’s into her in 1957. Which I understand she still has to this day.
Congratulations to Hudsons & all the craftspeople that have worked on her – Colin Wild boats are special, this one is now VERY special.
It almost goes without saying that the wow factor came out of a Awlwood MA (Uroxsys) can 🙂
WAIHAPE
colour photos ex Dean Wright – info ex Ken Ricketts
b/w photo ex Harold Kidd ex Keith Munro
Ken thinks Waihape was the last boat Johnny Wray built in the later 1940s > early 1950s. He lived on her for many years, based at Surfdale, Waiheke, although he did sail around NZ & the Pacific in her fairly extensively. She had a fairly distinctive aft wheelhouse/doghouse which instantly “clicked” when he saw Dean’s photo.
Ken is certain he recalls seeing her in the mud at Surfdale on the L.H.S side of the bay coming in from the sea. There is even a mention of her in a write up “fun map” of Waiheke on a website Ken discovered.
Can anyone confirm this was in fact Johnny Wray’s last boat?
Harold Kidd Update
She certainly looks like the 44 footer WAIHAPE which Johnny Wray launched in December 1948, the last big boat he built. He put some unusual features into her. From his RNZAF experience she was fitted out with an aircraft-type control panel and had twin engines, small Kelvins I think. She took him to Tonga and back a couple of times and had a fair spread of sail.
14-05-2016 – A message from Helen Lee
My name is Helen Lee and as a teenager I had several cruises on Waihape with Johnny Wray, my parents Cynthia and Jerry Wilcox, my brother Michael Wilcox and once with my cousin Mike Lambert.
I have wonderful memories of these trips [early1960’s] and a few treasured photos. I realized when i saw the ww photos of Waihape that mine are all taken on the boat, not ‘of ‘ the boat. However you may like to see them.
Johnny was a long time friend of my Dad’s as they were both living in Lucerne Road as young men and Dad had worked with Johnny when he was building his first boat, Ngataki.
The photo below taken at Mansion House, Kawau Island, is Johnny trying to look like the coconut he is holding.
MISS PICTON
Built by Collings & Bell, St Marys Bay, Auckland for a Mr. M. Steele of Picton, she replaced the launch Tinopai which was destroyed by fire.
She was used in the Marlborough Sounds for excursions & tourist services. She is seen here making a call at the small settlement of Portage, located on the narrow neck of land dividing Pelorus Sound from Queen Charlotte Sound, about six miles by launch from Picton.
Harold Kidd Update
She was launched on December 7 1933, a welcome job for Collings & Bell in the depths of the Depression. She was motored down the East coast to Picton. In 1953 she was renamed MITRE PEAK and used for tourist work in Milford Sound.
TRINIDAD
CYA members Barbara & David Cooke have had 52′ Salthouse built Trinidad hauled out for the last 4 months in the boat shed at Lees Boat Builders, Sand Spit.
The original intention was to take the cabin top back to bare wood, replace all the glass & give her the Awlwood MA (Uroxsys) treatment. As happens, the to do list grew just a little & just about everything that could be painted, polished or re-chromed was given a birthday. The attention to detail & workmanship from Greg Lees & his team has impressed every classic boater that has passed thru the shed. The end result is simply magnificent, but you would expect that from Barbara & David as they set a pretty high bar when it comes to Trinidad.
She slipped out of the shed yesterday (12/12/13), with a little help from the little classic work boat ‘Karewa’. At 56′ Trinny was a tight fit & the shed sure looked bare post launching.
My photos will give you a good idea of the ‘new’ Trinny but there were more camera’s there than on a Japanese tour bus so there will be better ones to come.
Also David Waddingham (Mr Uroxsys) commissioned marine photographer Gareth Cooke to film a mini movie of the complete Uroxsys process, so once that has been edited I will post that on ww.
if you enter Trinidad into the ww search box you can view previous posting on her, including a peek down below
JOHN DORY
photo & details ex Baden Pascoe
How it used to be done in the old days – want to bet the trailer was not registered 🙂
This is a classic kiwi shot taken c.1998 after Baden & his father had done a big refit on John Dory. The tractor is a early 1940’s CASE. John Dory was launched down this same road in 1970, the only difference is that it took 3 hours with greased ways & a local tow truck to get her to a spot where she would float for the first time.
(Baden looking very ‘trim’ in his triathlon days)
NGAIO
Yesterday (10/12/2013) saw the 1921 Arch Logan 36′ motor launch Ngaio relaunched after a extensive re-fit & you will note that she has returned to her original colour scheme, a dark (black) navy blue 🙂 To view Ngaio pre-refit click this link to view a youtube clip from the 2013 CYA Riverhead Hotel Cruise. You cab also view more background by searching the word Ngaio in the ww search box.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU8zPAsrGa4&feature=youtu.be
Her owners Ian Kohler & wife are CYA members & Ngaio is a spectacular addition to the classic launch fleet in Auckland.
I again quote CYA duty chairman Bruce Tantrum on Ngaio “Her beauty out of the water, as one would imagine, is complete, simple and beautiful. The hull’s multi layered accumulation of many decades of paint has been removed revealing the symmetrical artistry of master craftsman Arch Logan’s full length bare kauri planking, all in absolutely perfect condition. In the next few days, she is going to be splined and fibreglassed above the water line to preserve her.
Never again will this particular definitive testament of material, form and craftsmanship be seen, never”
I myself have a soft spot for her as she has such wonderful lines, but she is a Logan & they were rather good at knocking up these things of beauty.
Boats are like houses & everyone has their own sense of style & taste – & sometimes thats a worry, but I can happily report that the Kohler’s have enhanced all the original features in a way that Arch Logan would have approved of. As you will see from the photos, as she sits on the marina, she is still a work in progress but only needing the final touches to complete the project.
Well done.
WHIZZBANG
waitematawodys has been contacted by Graeme Johnson, the grandson of Harold White, a previous owner of Whizzbang, who is seeking more information on her past & current whereabouts.
Graeme was able to supply the sepia photo above of Whizzbang from his grandfathers photo collection, the only image he has of the boat.
Harold Kidd believes that Whizzbang is now ‘Ruahine’ & like Graeme is keen to shed more light on the old girl.
I have also included below some photos of Whizzbang on Lake Taupo.
Harold Kidd Update
A few thoughts, probably wrong.
1. Because of the name, I guess Harold White was a returned soldier with experience of the German shells popularly called whizzbangs in the trenches in France.
2. There was a 25ft x 6ft 6in launch hull plus 17-25hp Sterling engine for sale by auction at Collings & Bell in June 1922 at the instructions of the “Taupo Steamship Co. Ltd”. Could this be WHIZZBANG?
3. If so, who built her, Collings & Bell or Bailey & Lowe who would have at least supplied the Sterling? Either builder is a possibility from the look of her, although I would pick Collings & Bell.
Update from Paul Drake (11/12/2013)
WHIZZBANG is going strong at Taupo, as RUAHINE, and is in the marina at the north end of the lake. She is in very good order. She is almost unrecognizable, having had a bow lift and new cabin some years ago – about 1960 – and was sold to Taupo man Ray Perry in the early 70’s as an abandoned vessel by the local boatyard to defray storage costs. Presently owned by local man Rod Campbell. My father used to tell me that the name WHIZZBANG related to her single.cylinder engine and the way it sounded.
Currently (15/03/2014) for sale on trademe
Sterling – Launch Race Winner 
Sterling – Launch Race Winner 
Strathalan – 2nd Place Launch Race 
Kumi – 3rd Place Launch Race 
Moanalua 
Lucille 
Rorqual 
Maggie 
John Dory & Tuna 
Kailua 
La Rosa & Strathalan 
Lillian 
Lillian 
Alpheus 
Lucille & Raindance 
Iorangi 
Unknown 
Jeunesse -won best looking launch in the bay 
Maggie & Summer Wine 
Hayden Afford looking very happy (r Michelle Knan)
CYA Patio Bay Race Weekend / Xmas Party
A fantastic weekend – as always – nice boats, nice weather & nice people.
This year we had approx. 60 classic’s in the bay & over 200 people went ashore for the post race CYA Xmas party at Bert & Margaret Woollcotts bach.
In the launch race (mark-foy start) the placings were – 1st & winner of the Rudder Centennial Cup – Sterling (Brett Evans), 2nd Strathalan (Keith Munro), 3rd Kumi (Hayden Afford)
I’ll let the photos tell the story of the weekend.
Enjoy
More great photos from John Bertenshaw here
Mystery Boats 08/12
One is easy – who ID the others
photo ex Keith Munro
An early photo of CYA member John Wright’s launch Jeunesse hauled out – can anyone ID the other boats ?
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