Kiwitea

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Kiwitea at Gulf Harbour 2013

KIWITEA

Story ex Nick Shea from the pen of his father Barry Shea who has owned Kiwitea for the last 24 years. (photo ex Ken Ricketts)

Kiwitea is a bridge decker. A solid old girl made of Kauri planks. I bought her in May 1989. After removing the rot I was left with only a hull and the cabin roof tops, what a job lay ahead!! After 9 months of work from 5pm until the early hours Kiwitea was ready for the water. I made the cabin sides out of Kahikatea clears laminated together giving a thickness of 40 mm. Thanks to Pete a next door neighbour who started to give me a hand and made it a lot easier. Next came the fridge, freezer, toilet and shower by brother inlaw Barry as he knew a bit about plumbing. At this time Cath (wife) would come down and clean while Anita  (7) would look after the new born Liz and Nick  (5) would be put on the job of cleaning the prop and rudder. (Just the right size to fit under there). The last thing was the calking which was rotten so out it came and week later the antifoul and relaunch with the bottle of bubbles.

On our travels people have come over and had a chat so I have picked up a bit of history which if anyone can add to this I would be greatful. Kiwitea was built about 1949 by Lidgard on Kawau Island for a person called Jack Algie. I think this would be the same family who named Algies Bay. At this time Kiwitea was a sedan not a bridge decker. We did a trip up to the bay of islands and stopped off at Tutakaka when someone came down and told us he used to go longlining on her and his Dad used to own her. I have also heard the navy had her but what for who would know.

In 1995 Kiwitea was showing signs of movement so time to refasten all the planks .After thousands of bronze screws I had to raise the waterline so decided at the same time to add and extend the boarding platform also including live bait tanks which have been filled many a time..She is a grand old lady and part of the family which we have owned for 24 years and is great to see all our children now take her out when they want.

A serious boat shed

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A serious boat shed

Greg Lee’s shed (Lees Boatbuilders) at Sandspit is the real deal, no concrete floor here, the tide comes & goes twice a day. You have to wonder how many tools have been dropped into the tide over the years.

The launch in the shed is CYA member Angus Roger’s ‘Mahanui’, built by Keith Atkinson & originally launched as Jacinta II – photo taken in Jan 2013 while she was getting a 9 month major makeover that included two new Perkins Sabre M135′s with Newage PRM gearboxes. That deep shine on the coamings is ex a tin of Uroxsys.

Their tug boat ‘Karewa’ (a CYA register boat) was built in 1951 by Lidgards for the Department of Works to push barges on the Piako river for the construction of bridges. From there she went to the Tauranga Harbour Board as pilot/survey vessel, finally coming to Warkworth in the early 1980s, where she has been working tirelessly since. In the photos above she along side Steve Horsley’s yacht Ngatira.

In the photos the number 8 on her side I assume is her ‘race’ number from when she won the Parry Trophy (tugboat award) as the Best Presented Survey Commercial Tugboat in the Auckland Anniversary Day Regatta in January 2008.

When I was there in 2011 I spied the very cool ‘Auck Motor Yacht Club’ sign, that should be in a museum – hang on, it is – The Lee’s Museum 🙂

Classic’s in Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island

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Classic's in Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island

Classic’s in Mansion House Bay, Kawau Island

Lots of classics on the bay – my attempt at ID’ing them – from left Menai, Safari,?,Trinidad (or Lady Crossley), ?, Coquette, ?, Rehia (or Talua) Wirihana?,?

Elsie Evans

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ELSIE EVANS

details & photos from Bob McDougall & the Timaru Herald

Timaru’s first pilot boat, the ELSIE EVANS, a 1901 Bailey (13m x 2.4m) has been relaunched into the Otago Harbour after a very long $500,000+ rebuilding / restoration project that saw her spend 59 years on land.

The ELSIE EVANS was built by Auckland firm Charles Bailey Jr, as the first pilot boat for the Timaru Harbour Board and as a replacement for its paddle-tug MANA.

It was launched on December 31, 1901, and named after the wife of the harbour board chairman at the time, William Evans.

The boat’s main tasks were to tow small craft, tend the big steamers, take the health officer out to deep-sea sailing vessels and carry the pilots.

Those were roles it continued until 1927, when it was sold to Captain Percy Moss, of the Portobello Railway and Ferry Co.

From 1928, it was used as a launch to tow barges, carry freight, and ferry passengers when the company’s other ferries TAREWAI and WAIREKA were out of service.

In 1944, it took over from the TAREWAI and regularly sailed the 2.4 kilometers between Portobello and Port Chalmers, carrying up to 37 passengers.

It was a role it continued in until 1954.

Life for the old launch took a turn for the worse after that. While several owners had big plans for the boat, nothing happened and it was sitting in a paddock when the South Canterbury Historical Society bought it for $1200 in 1997.

B/W photo above (ex Bob McDougall ) show ELSIE EVANS being brought to Dunedin’s Birch Street wharf from its long-time mooring at Ravensbourne, on 1 September 1962, and taken by road to Waihola, where it languished there and later with other owners/other places, for decades.

It is planed that passengers (exact number subject to a stability test) would be allowed on ELSIE EVANS by January after she has passed her survey

View TV news article on the launching here

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/century-old-boat-back-water-video-5527794

Check out in the posting below this post, of the 2011 mini movie by Simon East backgrounding the history & restoration, stunning footage of the Otago Harbour.

Elsie Evans – Timaru’s first pilot boat

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ELSIE EVANS

Check out this 2011 mini movie by Simon East backgrounding the history & restoration of the ‘Elsie Evans’, the 1902 Charles Bailey Jnr. built Timaru pilot boat. Some stunning footage of the Otago Harbour.

Then read the posting above for more details + relaunch photos.

Linda

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Sea Spray April ’74
Sea Spray April ’74
Linda @ Salthouse July 2013
Linda @ Baywwater

LINDA 1927 Colin Wild

You would not know it by viewing her today but in the mid 1980’s Linda experienced a major fire that almost was the end of her. Enter Robert & Russell Brooke who rebuilt Linda to the magnificent classic launch she is today. I came across (classicboatingnz) a copy of the April 1974 edition of Sea Spray, which featured Linda pre fire & then 51 years old. Text might be a little hard to read (click image to enlarge) but the photos are interesting. For comparison I have also attached a photo of Linda on her marina berth & a July 2013 photo showing Linda post her recent lick of paint & Uroxsys.

A Classic Sailing Dinghy

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7’6″ – Selway Fisher Redshank Clinker Stem Dinghy

CYA member Alan Good (MV Lucille) has been busy over the last 12 months delivering this little beauty into the world.

Alan started the project at The NZ Traditional Boatbuilding school & then moved her home for the final fit out. Still a few more tasks on the list in regard to the sailing rig. I will update this post with some sailing photos when available.

The mix of timber is amazing – Kauri, Jarra, Dumari, American Ash, Kwila, Hoop pine, Kavalu, Hoduras Mahogany, Kahikatea, Yellow oak.

Well done Alan, I look forward to seeing her in a bay 🙂 AH

Yachts ‘versus’ Motor Boats

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Yachts ‘versus’ Motor Boats 

29 Jan 1953 – the day it all turned to custard

Now its commonly accepted that a lot of yachties do not hold motor boat owners in very high regard, hopefully its a little different with the CYA members, but even to this day, fathers are telling little Johnny that he would have won the local yacht club Opti race if it had not been for that bl_ _ _y launch that went past.

I think Harold Kidd summed the situation well in the book ‘Southern Breeze’ (published 1999) – extract below:

“Launches were originally considered an integral part of the sport of yachting and civilized it, providing comfortable, safe & (initially) segregated accommodation for the former yachting widows & the children.

Soon, yachtsmen assimilated the new order. Launch owners went out of their way to render assistance to yachts in distress & provide a welcome tow home in flat calms. The relationship, however, between yachtsmen & launchmen was always a little flawed by the affected superiority of the yachtsmen who deprecated launches as ‘stinkpots’, but the truth was that most of the crews were interchangeable, well-know to each other & experienced in both branches of the sport. That situation prevailed during the ‘classic’ period to 1960, but the advent thereafter of fast planing craft in the hands of often totally inexperienced owners diminished to some extent the mutual respect between yachtsmen & powerboat owners”

 In my search for cool photos for waitematawoodys I have uncovered photographic evidence that it happened 7 years earlier than Harold thought, evidence of the exact day & event it all turned pear shape – 29 January 1953, Auckland Anniversary Regatta.

See photo above, the displacement launch in the middle of the photo is all good, the speed boat in the bottom right……………. you can just imagine the language aboard the yachts 30 seconds after this photo was taken.

From this day on we were all tarred with the same brush 🙂