Being a professional photographer, BOI woody Dean Wright is seldom without a camera near by, which is a bonus for us. Over last weekend (Kings Birthday) Dean was out enjoying the bay on his classic woody – ARETHUSA and took the above photos.
First up is a stunning open day boat that Mike mentioned that he had seen out a few times on the Kerikeri River and at last got close enough to take a photo.
The Gladden yacht – is WINTERLUDE, owned by Bram Cone. I’m told she is as impressive down below as what we see in the photo.
Lastly the very smart Salthouse launch – TAPUI, owned by Mike and Robi Quilter. Mike is a life member of my good bastards woody club, having taken a chainsaw to the flying bridge that was on TAPUI when purchased . See and read more here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/09/04/tapui/
Now do not be confused with todays woody – it is IONA as spotted in the weekend by Jason Prew at the Motuoapa Marina in Taupo. Jason commented that she is a sster-ship to IONA II that currently sits on the hard at {the} Slipway Milford.
Photos below of the work happening on IONA II. In the last photo below we she IONA II’s room mate – REHIA which has a fast approaching re-launch date. More on her later in the week.
Back in November 2021 we ran a story on the 43’ ex workboat – MANURERE, at the time we learned that she was designed and built by Miller & Tunnage, Port Chalmers and launched in 1937.Constructed from 1 1/2” kauri planking over spotted gum frames.
In her early days ( see b/w photo below) she fished commercially (cod and crayfish) in the Otago and Stewart Island areas, and later in her life was converted to pleasure use.
At the time of the 2021 story she was looking for a new custodian.
As I’ve mentioned many times on WW some woodys get lucky in terms of owners, MANURERE is one such boat, over the next 3 years her new owner continued to undertake a rolling refit. In fact when purchased MANURERE was effectively set up as a day-boat, her owner undertook to re-equipped and updated her to be able to undertake passages to isolated areas and provide crew comfort for extended periods. As the photos show MANURERE presents in better than new condition. Roll forward and her owner has made the call to return to a life of sail and have asked {the} Wooden Boat Bureau to find a new owner to take over the vessel. So woodys best we tell you more about her –
MANURERE’s hull, engine and ancillary equipment are in very good condition. The interior was recently restored, ‘in keeping’ using native timbers. Powered by a Iveco 120hp marine diesel, she uses about a litre of diesel per nautical mile at 8 knots. Recently work included the injectors being tuned, new water pump and starter motor and a powered second alternator fitted, upgraded bilge pump and system. Modern electronics fitted including AIS. , 230V power with power points throughout. Smart charger charges the 3 battery banks simultaneously.
MANURERE is rigged with steadying sail, main and mizzen. 2 x 2 speed winches. Anchor operated at wheel house or deck. Life raft, heavy duty Coppin’s drogue, second CQR with spare 50m 10mm chain, EPIRB, VHF etc. Hot and cold pressure water, shower on rear deck. Electric toilet, holding tank and LectrSan sanitation unit (use optional). Gimballed hob in wheel house with barbeque rear deck. Dometic fridge freezer (24v/230V) under wheel house seat. Near new 2.5m RIB with 3.3 Mercury. And being a southern lass she has a diesel heater – we like that 🙂
Whats especially compelling about MANURERE is that she’s ready to use – now. So, if your looking for an exceptionally well built and maintained classic motorboat with plenty of life left in her, to have your own adventures, this might be it. We do not normally include pricing on WW stories but I predict that MANURERE will find a new owner very quickly. Why? Because at $136k she would be the best classic on the market in terms of size, condition and functionality + cool factor.
During the week WW was contacted by Patrick Crawshaw with the news that the launch – LADY CAROLE had returned to the family ownership. Patrick’s great grandfather – Albert (Chappy) Baldwin owned her in the 1950s and she later passed on to Patrick’s grandfather – Pat Smith. LADY CAROLE left the family ownership in 1994.
In previous WW stories there has been speculation that she was designed by L. Couldrey but at the time Harold Kidd commented that her name didn’t appear on the list of Couldrey designs, but she may well have been inspired by his designs 😉
LADY CAROLE has recently been re-located from the South Island and now resides in the Far North. This week she has been hauled out for a two stage restoration / refit.
Stage one being to restore the exterior back to as she was in the 1950’s (refer 2nd photo above b/w)
Stage two will be a complete restoration of the interior layout and finishes. The last photo is c.1970’s and the location is Whangaroa Harbour , Northland. Patrick has agreed to document the project and keep us regularly updated. She was a rather fine looking craft so we very much look forward to this project.
During the week we were sent the above photo of a very neglected launch, as seen above. The location is on the Tamaki River just north of Panmure Highway Bridge.
The sender of the photo is keen to know if anyone has information on the boat eg design, history and ideally current ownership + anything else about her.
UPDATE – Photos below ex John Bullivant sent in by Ken Ricketts. There is speculation the bay maybe named Delray
Todays woody is very much a mystery boat – the photos were shared with WW by a potential new owner, not sure if the ownership transfer actually happened.
All we know is that its claimed she is a 1902 ex pilot boat. There is a nice hull beneath that more modern looking cabin addition.
Reviewing the ‘duckboard’ addition that can be viewed in the photos, it does look vaguely familiar – one of the few negatives of the WW site is the search section works on exact wording eg if in a previous story I didn’t mention the words – pilot boat, it wouldn’t show a link.
So woodys can anyone enlighten us on this vessels past.
06-11-2024 UPDATE ex John Bullivant – an update on the boat in the storage yard, by the North Shore airfield. Still there, (now on its’ lonesome) and with a big for sale sign painted on the side. Haven’t heard anything more from the guy who was trying to buy it. Looks like a lot of work but maybe good for someone wanting an older style hull as a starter.
Back in Oct 2016 Frits Schouten send in a photo of the – SOUNDS RANGER at anchor in the Bay of Islands, over the next few years we uncovered some intel on her history and movements.
An ex owner Tim Whelan advised that she was originally named – ENTERPRIZE but her name was changed to SOUNDS RANGER when she was acquired to ba a ranger boat to serve the lighthouses in the Marlborough Sounds. In Jan 2017 Davey Jones supplied some great intel on her past in the Comments Section, advising that his recollection was that she was built c.1932 by ER Lane, Picton. Link here to that story https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/10/19/sounds-ranger/
In March 2021 Penny Krone let us know that the vessel was sighted in Pahi on the northern Kaipara Harbour (west coast of NZ). Then in Feb 2022 Dave Stanaway sent in photos of her hauled out at Dargaville.
Then yesterday WW was contacted by Norm Judd an ex Havelock based ranger. In the WW Comments Section Norma posted the equivalent of ‘War & Peace’ – it was just too long for a comment and to good to be hidden away there.
So today woodys thanks to Norm we get to get a peek back in time and share some correspondence from the Chief Ranger (Marlborough Sounds Maritime Park) – Kerry Johnson to Norm regarding how to access and start the – SOUNDS RANGER. I have reproduced it in full below as supplied by Norm. Enjoy, I did 🙂
The following description by Kerry Johnson of the “Sounds Ranger.” is from the unpublished NZ NATIONAL PARKS AND RESERVES RANGERS’ ARCHIVE – a collection of written and taped memoirs of Lands and Survey rangers between 1952 and 1987. Kerry was Chief Ranger of the Marlborough Sounds Maritime Park from the 1968 to the 80s.
“Reading my note to Norm Judd, Havelock based ranger, re starting the Sounds Ranger brought back memories about those early days when I took over, among other things, the care and operation of the vessel. I wasn’t impressed with its overall condition. There was need to bring the launch up to Marine Department standards as soon as possible. The problems included batteries not set up properly to provide backup if one set went flat, the stern tube the tail shaft went through contained a heavy oil for lubrication but would not function properly and no matter how much advice and effort I could muster this thick oil would ooze into the bilge. A few months down the track while cleaning the accumulation of grime from a circulating pump it literally fell apart. Thank goodness the boat was safely in her berth in Picton then! Many improvements were eventually made but there was one incident that occurred one night when I think I was away. Late one rough, wet evening my wife received a call from the Harbour Board patrol to say the Sounds Ranger’s engine was chugging away in her berth with no sign of anyone on board and the doors securely locked! Now there has to be a logical explanation as to how this happened but I was never able to clearly identify the cause and that’s probably why the battery leads had been removed as mentioned in my note to Norm. I’m not superstitious and while I learned later the same thing had happened once before, you can’t help thinking that there must have been some free spirit lurking about that stormy night and was about to take the “old girl” for a cruise in the gloom! “Stranger things have happened at sea.” Thank you Norm for holding on to a note many (including myself) would have discarded long ago. As a friend commented recently when talking about recording family history, “even the milking cow’s name is important”. Here’s the note “Now a few directions in case you should be asked to take out the Sounds Ranger. Batteries have been disconnected – under seat on starboard side, crescent spanner in tool box near batteries. Before starting engine remove bucket from top of funnel – open hatch to engine room, light switch is on a beam just inside the hatch opening, that is if you stand on the engine room floor looking forward, the switch is on your right hand side on the back of the beam that forms the front section of the hatch opening. Move under the exhaust pipe along to the front port side of the motor. If you look around the actual front of the engine you will see a small wheel with finger grips around the outside (about 3” or 4” diam.) This is the wheel that engages the bilge pump by simply screwing or rotating the wheel clockwise or in towards the engine. It should be in this position now, so to disengage the pump, just screw the wheel very slowly out. Do not on any account force the wheel too far out, or for that matter too hard in, otherwise it will stick hard. The pump has to be primed before it will start, this done on the starboard side of the engine. There is another light there with the switch by the light bulb, you will find an old kettle with water in it. You will see towards the front, a tap with an opening for the water to be poured in on the top. With the engine at low idling speed, turn the wing tap to vertical – pour water in slowly. I hold my thumb near the hole and when the pump looks like starting I block the hole with my thumb then turn the wing tap to horizontal. To start the engine use the starter button on a beam in front of the light on the Port side of the motor, but you should only have to use this one when the engine is cold. It also pays to use the overload button on the fuel pump (when the machine is cold only) the button is on the front of the fuel pump.” (Here there was a small diagram that showed the location of the overload button on the fuel pump.) “Button should be pushed up, at the same time pull back the rack. Push the starter button until the engine starts. Be sure to turn both lights out, on leaving the engine room. To stop the motor just pull a string that hangs on a nail beside the top of the steps that lead into the forward cabin. Normal starting can be done by using the starter button by the compass. (This for some reason has given trouble in which case I have used the engine room button.) Push throttle lever up to 1100RPM after about 20 minutes. I doubt whether it will be necessary for you to use the boat, and if you do, I don’t think the bilge will have to be pumped out. There is a hand pump in the engine room, the valve is on the side is off. If you have to use this rather that the pump on the motor please be sure to turn the wheel mentioned earlier to off position. Remember that the motor is only 60 HP and will not pull up as quickly as the PR (Pelorus Ranger – Havelock based vessel) in other words take her quietly and don’t get into shallow water or you will get into trouble. Hope this makes sense?” “P.S. Key to door lock is under bucket by gas cylinder rear of wheelhouse.”
(All of this made sense but just being up with the detail didn’t necessarily mean I was any less concerned with the implementation! – Norm. My recollection is that SR drew about 6 feet and was 45 feet at the waterline.)
01-06-2024 -INPUT ex LINDSAY WRIGHT
Hello – I delivered Sounds Ranger from Picton to Tauranga many years ago so she could be taken further north to work for a box netting outfit somewhere in Northland.
She was powered by, I thought, a 5L3 Gardner, but my memory is a bit fuzzy these days and it could have been a 6LW. I believed, at the time, that she’d been used to service a Christian camp in Queen Charlotte Sound.
The dockside dawdlers in Picton cautioned me that she had rolled over while servicing the Brothers Island lighthouse while called Enterprise. All her fuel was in a big steel tank on the port side of the engine room, so, with the tank full, she had a residual port list. I took down the hefty wooden derrick and lashed it along the starboard bulwarks and put a 200 litre drum full of water on the starboard side too. That fixed the list.
We had a good run – with her fine forward sections she punched into a sea beautifully. The wheelhouse was spacious and comfy. I’d planned on going into Gisborne for fuel but in the event, when I sounded the tank, she’d hardly used any, so I kept on going.
In Tauranga I checked all the fluid levels in the Gardner and topped them up, closed the seacocks and left a note to that effect on the dashboard so the new owner would know when he picked her up in a couple of days time. And flew home to Picton.
A few days later the broker rang and said the new owner had rung to say that I’d run the engine out of oil. It made a ticking noise when he started it and there was clean oil in the sump.
But he didn’t know Gardners – they often make a ticking noise on starting and the clean oil was what I had added before I left her.
I suggested to the broker that he tell the new owner all this – and that he tell him to take a running leap off the stern….and wondered about such a good boat going to an unappreciative owner.
A few days the broker rang back and said the new wowner had been in touch to apologise. Perhaps she had gone to good people after all.
Retired boatbuilder Kerry Lilley sent in the photos above of the 52’ workboat – TE KAUIA, which he built in 1978 in Panmure. Kerry built TE KUIA for Harbour Transport, Tauranga which at the time was part New Zealand Forest Products. Her role involved ferrying workers to and from Matakana Island, towing log barges, and other duties and the occasional fishing charter.
TE KUIA was later sold to Hugh Ensor in 1989, who then operated her as a charter fishing boat based at Tauranga. Later Jack Elliot converted TE KUIA to a passenger ferry. At the time the cabin roof was extended.The vessel is powered by a GM 6/71 Detroit diesel engine.
In 2023, the Bay of Islands ferry – WAITERE was involved in collision off Russell and.suffered major damage, and was a write off. TE KUIA was purchased as a replacement in June, 2023 for the Pania > Russell run.
Back. In October 2022 we reported that the Bruce Askew designed 36’ launch – IONA II had been sold and relocated from Nelson to the Milford Marina in Auckland. INOA II was built in 1994 so slips comfortably into the ‘spirit of tradition’ category of classic wooden vessels. At the time the story she was hauled out at the Slipway Milford for some maintenance – link to that story here – https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/10/04/iona-ii/
Fast forward to yesterday and IONA II is back at the yard booked in for a serious dose of TLC. Total refresh of everything other than the engine , a 60hp Nissan TD23. Should be a great project to follow.
UPDATE 09-08-2024 – Lots of activity at the yard, loving the custom bow / anchor sprit
UPDATE 29-08-2024 – new cabin sole undrway
11-09-2024 UPDATE – New windows going in, liking the green tint ✔️
01-10-2024 UPDATE – Get close to re-launching. First coat on the topsides and interior waiting for the varnish brush. The replacement duckboard brackets are a big improvement from what was there 🙂
04-10-2024 UPDATE – 2nd coat of paint on and some very impressive engineering work on the electric motor installation from Cam Malcolm at the Slipway Milford.
09-10-2024 UPDATE – getting closer, the shiny stuff is going on 🙂
Back in early January 2024 we ran a story on the ex workboat > 50’ motorsailer – SILVER SPRAY, at the time we only had a few photos and we were fishing for more details on her past life. Thanks primarily to Paul Drake we uncovered a lot of intel on her. Link here to that story, make sure you read the comments section https://waitematawoodys.com/2024/01/04/the-motor-sailer-silver-spray/
The readers digest version is that she was built c.1943 by Jack Guard , Wellington, for a Wilfred McManaway and operated as a fishing boat in the Cook Strait, later sold in the 1960’s.
Sank (struck rocks) in Marlborough Sounds (date unknown but in the last 15 yrs). Salvaged and converted to pleasure use at Mana Marina.
Currently powered by a 180hp GM 6/71 Diesel engine that gives her a cruising speed of 8 knots.
In recent years SILVER SPRAY has resided in and around several Auckland marinas.
Today thanks to Ian McDonald we get to have a gander down below.
INPUT ex RON ROLSTON – My wife is the grand daughter of Wilfred McManaway the original owner. The image below was taken from a framed photo belonging to a relative.
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