Tag Archives: Astrolabe

CLASSIC WOODEN MOTORSAILER – ASTROLINDA

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CLASSIC WOODEN MOTORSAILER – ASTROLINDA

WW was recently contacted by Matthew Montgomery regarding his 34’6” motor-sailer – ASTROLINDA, and whether she passed the classic woody test – short answer yes.

ASTROLINDA is an Athol Burns design, built for charter at the Morgan yard in Picton in 1966. Matthew has owned her for approx. 8 years.
Matthew commented that he doesn’t know if ASTROLINDA has been north of Wellington, but there are charts of Otago on board , so maybe she’s been south.  Matthew bought her ex Nelson, at the time her exterior was in reasonable condition but a worn interior and an engine bay that was a nasty rusty mess and engine not working.

Current home is Waikawa marina, but there are plans to get to Northland and Auckland later in the year.

Matthew has good woody credentials being a past owner of PIKO in the 1970’s in Auckland , KORAMA in the 1990’s (brought to Picton). He was also a broker at Vinings in Picton and sold THETIS to Paul Harris in the late 1990’s, who asked if Matthew would use her to keep her functioning while he was away flying airplanes for Royal Brunei, before relocating her to Auckland with  Paul.

INPUT ex MARK MCLAUGHLIN – Below is a design article by Athol Burns from Sea Spray for Astrolinda. She was built to the alternative configuration by Jack Morgan:

INPUT ex JOHN GANDER (via Dean Wright) – ASTROLINDA was designed as stated by Athol Burns for Trevor Johnson of Wellington. Built by Jack Morgan and launched as MANUTAI in 1966.

In about 1970 she was purchased by Bill Rutherford and Jack McMath who petitioned parliament for a law change regarding surveyed vessels to enable them to hire her as a sail yourself charter vessel, the first vessel to do so in New Zealand. Her survey certificate was for 15 passengers but reduced to 6 when hired to an uncertificated master.

Wife Bev and I together with Frank Derbyshire,  purchased her in 1973 and along with the yacht ASTROLABE ran our business as ‘Charter Yachts Ltd.’ 

When launched ASTROLINDA was fitted with a Coventry Godiva 4 cylinder 30 hp engine, we changed the engine for a Volvo Penta in about 1975.

There are many boat owners around who’s first boating experience was on ASTROLINDA or ASTROLABE.

HOW MANY MORE SUMMERS WILL YOU LET SLIP BY WITHOUT A BOAT …….

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HOW MANY MORE SUMMERS WILL YOU LET SLIP BY WITHOUT A BOAT ………

Waitematawoodys has a sister  – its called the Wooden Boat Bureau and we sell classic wooden boats – launches, yachts, big and small. We like to fly under the radar, as do most of our clients. Someone asked me what I did the other day – below sums it up (sounds a bit fluffy, in reality I just sell boats.

Inform and enthuse interest in the joys of owning and sailing traditional and classic wooden boats. And we do this by promoting partnerships between the boats, the sellers and the buyers, for the benefit of all. At the end of the day – its all about the boats, as most will out live their current owners.

To view a sample selection of classic woodys berthed at the virtual Wooden Boat Bureau dock, click this link –  https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/10/17/buying-or-selling-a-classic-boat/

Myself and David Cooke (MV Trinidad) are almost always available to offer advice to sellers and buyers – in the interests of marital harmony – in the first instance email to the below

waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Astrolabe At Sea

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Astrolabe At Sea

Late last year we featured the stunning 51’ 7” Bruce Clark designed, John Salthouse 1974 built sloop Astrolabe and got to take a peek below. The WW link below will take you to the story – have look, she is a very impressive yacht that has done some serious blue water sailing.
Since then her owner has found the above photos of Astrolabe. The sailing ones were shot from a helicopter and the out-of-water / shed photo (below) was taken when her mast was being overhauled.
When the first story run on WW her owner was considering finding a new owner for her, after a Christmas break – the decision has been made – “sell her, but only to the right family”. So woodys – after a summer cruise or sitting on the beach looking at the boats anchored in the bay – who is considering either up grading their vessel or returning to the fold? Yachts like Astrolabe do not come on the market very often. Interested in a viewing? Initial contact to waitematawoodys@gmail.com.
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YESTERDAYS MAHURANGI REGATTA BROKE ALL RECORDS FOR WW VIEWING NUMBERS – OFF THE RICHTER SCALE AND BIG OFF SHORE INTEREST – THANKS FOR MAKING ALL THE HOURS OF EDITING WORTHWHILE 🙂
Graph below shows the last months daily viewing numbers & the scale of yesterdays performance (red column)  😉
Second image shows the viewing by country ranking – just can not crack the UK scene. FYI, a lot of the Asian readership comes from Kiwi ex-pats working overseas and super yacht crews. I sell a lot of WW t-shirts into this area.

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ASTROLABE – A Peek Down Below

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ASTROLABE – A Peek Down Below

I had the pleasure recently to inspect Astrolabe, the 51’ 7” Bruce Clark designed, John Salthouse built 1974 sloop. As you would expect from any craft from John Salthouse’s hands, she is a work of art – 1 3/8” kauri, splned and glassed. She has had a serious amount of blue water under her keel and has enjoyed 27 years of continuous ownership.
Sadly her owner has reached a stage in life where he would like the yacht to have a new caretaker – not just anyone, you would have to be a passionate woody to be in the running for stewardship of Astrolabe.
I post todays story to give you something to think about over the Christmas break. The boat was not ‘dressed’ for photos, these are  just ‘snaps’ from my iPhone.
If you are a serious woody looking for a classic cruising yacht that ticks all the boxes – looks, designer and builder creds, blue water capable and maintained for the last 27 years to an extraordinary standard – in the first instance,  contact us at the email below. waitematawoodys@gmail.com
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