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?

Anyone able to ID the launch?

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Anyone able to ID the launch?

Mary E Taylor Painting

Image ex John Burland

Painted in 1990 by Devonport painter Mary Taylor, titled ‘Houses & Boats’.
Anyone able to ID the launch, bottom left. Looks a little like my girl – Raindance – but not her.

14/04/2014 Some feedback (ex Rod Marler) from the artist, Mary Taylor.

“Re: the launch in the art piece. This pic is based loosely on a launch I saw that day. I don’t know what its name was but the boats I selected for my pic were based on craft that I liked the look of. They appeared in reality in a bit of a jumble, so the challenge was to place them into a pleasing composition and to simplify what was there.

I was in the Torpedo Bay area looking back to the land”

Anodes – yes/no ?

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Anodes - yes/no ?

Anodes – yes/no ?

If you wanted some visual proof that some form of anode protection is desirable on some vessels (covering my ass here……..) – look no further than the above photo. I’m told the sump was worse.

Usual story – boat left on mooring unattended, bilge pump not working, a ‘wee’ bit of water in the bilge & as James Mobberley at Moon Engines said when I showed him the photo, the engine was performing the role of anode 😦

Timeless / Daphne Dee

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Timeless

TIMELESS

photo & info ex Baden Pascoe

The new owner (Peter Clausen) of Timeless, a 44′ launch based in Nelson is looking for any history on her. They have been told she is (possibly) a Laurent Giles design.

The details passed on were that it was built in Auckland by Eric Gibson a local boatbuilder over a number of years and launched 1998. She is kauri planked and her design looks to be from the 50s or 60s. The builder died soon after it was launched, then it was fitted out in Tauranga,. She has been in Havelock for the past 8 years.

Can anyone add to or clarify the above?

10/02/2015 Update
Peter has advised that the launch was renamed Timeless in about 2002 when the builder sold her. Prior to this she was named ‘Daphne Dee’.
I have attached below a couple of photos passed on from the previous owner taken around 2002 of the boat.
Peter can be contacted on email manaroa11@gmail.com

01-04-2020 Further Input from Peter Clasen – Being the present owners of Timeless I can now provide a bit more history on this boat, we posted the enquiry back in 2014 for information on her and have since got a bit more of her history.
She was built in Te Atatu Auckland by Eric Gibson a boat builder and his wife Daphne in their back yard.
The build was started around 1960 but due to poor health in the 70s and 80s he was not able to complete topsides. In 1998 hull and decks were taken to Colin Silby boat builders were the wheelhouse was fitted and other finishing work done.
She was launched 1998 as Daphne Gee and sold onto Craig Littlejohn and Jenny Peace from Tauranga after Eric passed away 2002, they extended the wheelhouse and fitted out the interior.
We purchased her from Walter Elsey in 2014 and keep her in the Nelson Mariner.
In 2016 we circumnavigated South Island and 2019 the North Island.
She is said to be a Laurent Giles design, 44ft LOA , is planked in 1 5/8 inch Kauri, powered by 6 Cylinder 120 hp Ford 2715e. She cruises at around 7 knots at 1500rpm burning about 7 LPH, reduction is 3:1. Displacement 18 tons.

Valmarie

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VALMARIE

details & photos ex Ken Ricketts, Martin Bertold & trademe

Built by Francis Wells of Wakatahuru in the South Island, for himself & was built of double diagonal planking in kahikatea, started in July 1951 & launched in 1960.
Whilst originally built by Wells as a work boat for himself, as you can now see, she is a beautiful, very comfortable, heavy displacement pleasure craft that could go almost anywhere.

Wells owned her until 1981 & after he died in August of that year she was sold by his estate to Murray Harris of Nelson circ. August 1981. She passed to Eric Jacobson between 1985 & 1987, who renamed her Evangeline & brought her to Auckland. In May 1993 she was sold to Brent Haslet & Carol Rush of Auckland who sold her in 2003 to Craig Burrow of Taupaki, West Auckland.

She is presently owned by David Brown of Auckland who advised that the large chrome throttle controls came off the previously destroyed Fairmile Mana.

She is driven by a matched handed pair of Gardner 8L3 eight cylinder in line diesel engines. The motors were originally from the island trader Rana which Brown traveled to Rarotonga to remove, at the end of her life & then bring them to NZ for installation in Valmarie. She had a cruising speed when new of 9.5 knots & top speed of 11 knots.

She has been returned to her original name, somewhere along the way & is currently for sale on trademe.