Tag Archives: Billy Rogers

CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – LOLENE

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CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH – LOLENE

Yesterday WW was contacted by David Evans regarding the launch LOLENE. The launch was owned by David’s parents – Val & Joan Evans, who purchased LOLENE c.1975 and spent approx. 20 years cruising from the Far North to the Mercury Islands, with their many friends and David’s younger sister. David commented that this mother was devastated when in 1994 the family sold her, as Val wanted a yacht. During their ownership LOLENE was berthed at Half Moon Bay marina.

Back in April 2014 LOLENE made a brief appearance on WW, link below. At the time we learnt from Harold Kidd that Billy Rogers built LOLENE for himself around 1963. Certainly she was first registered in his name with APYMBA at his then Wiilliamson Ave., Grey Lynn address. Billy had owned the 28ft keel yacht LOLOMA as a young man and was deeply fond of her. As a result some of his boats and children had the letters LO and LOMA in their names eg LADY LOMA in 1949. Close sister ships were IOWANA (I1966) built for Dr. Kreichbaum and still in the hands of the Shorty Sefton/Pollard family and LADY FLORENCE (1966) built for Hedley Kendall. 
Subsequent owners of LOLENE have included K.D. Orell, Takapuna (1973), John Cossar 1989-95), Gary Hogg (1995) and Ken and Rhonda Blakie (2001).
WW April 2014 https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/04/08/lolene/

In the last photo we see David’s mother and father with their great friends who they cruised with a lot. From left. Betty Russell, Joan Evans, Harry Russell and then Val. (Valintine) Evans.

Affordable Classic Boating – 1/4 The Cost

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Affordable Classic Boating – 1/4 The Cost

Today I want to touch base on an newish trend in the classic boating world – fractional ownership. Sure there are lots of two owner eg 2 buddies  or 2 linked family partnerships, but with the raising cost of marina berths more and more boats are having multiple owners. And thats a good thing, maintenance and berth-age costs are affordable, new owners are entering the classic community at a younger age  and best of all – the boats are being used more.

One such partnership centres around the 36′ 1953 Billy Rogers built classic sedan launch – Margaret-Anne. There is a link below to a 2017 WW story on the launch. Some boats are lucky in their owners – Margaret Anne has had two very passionate classic friendly owners who have restored her to a better than new condition  – then moved on to bigger craft.

Margaret Anne is now in the hands of 4 parters and one of the ’shares’ is now available to purchase, the buy in includes access to a Westhaven marina.

So woodys if you and your family are looking to get afloat in a stunning classic wooden boat – contact Sonia Garica for more details songarcia@yahoo.com

WW April 2017 storyhttps://waitematawoodys.com/2017/10/23/30737/

RSVP – waitematawoodys@gmail.com

MILADY – A Peek Down Below

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MILADY – A Peek Down Below

Todays woody is the Billy Rogers designed and built launch – Milady. Milady was launched c.1955 , approx 38’ in length she is powered by a Ford 130hp diesel engine. In recent times she underwent an extensive refit, in my eyes a tad too modern in places, but certainly a very well presented craft.

Thanks to Ian McDonald spotting the tme listing we get to have a gander below decks. 

Previous (Aug 2015 WW story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/08/31/milady/

Lady Diana

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LADY DIANA

Woody David Cooke spotted the 1950 Billy Rogers designed and built 36’ launch – Lady Diana earlier this week in Parekura Bay, Bay of Islands. From the photo she appears to be in good hands – looking very smart.

Lady Diana made an appearance of WW back in 2014, link below to view more photos. https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/04/18/lady-diana/

To view Lady Diana’s sister ship – Margaret Anne – click below https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/01/12/10429/

Can we get an update on what she has been up to in the last 8+ years.

Happy Hours V13

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Photo below taken when Happy Hours was collected ready to transport to Alan Craig’s shed.

 

HAPPY HOURS V13
 
I have been contacted by Alan Craig from Craig Marine looking for he next owner of the18’ mullet boat – Happy Hours V13. 
Built by Billy Rogers in 1949 to an earlier Logan design, she was a copy of Secret  (V3) but is a much fuller boat so must have been modified during building. She was first owned by Billy Rogers’ brother in-law and then by Lieutenant Commander J. Lennox-King.
 
Happy Hours is currently sitting in one of Alan’s sheds waiting to be finished. But Alan commented that he has not been near it in a couple of years, he is a very in demand wooden boat builder and the current work schedule is very motor-boat focussed.
The yacht was acquired from the NZ Traditional Boatbuilding School before being passed on to Alan. 
I understand that Alan’s exceptions in terms of a price are not great, he is more interested in Happy Hours going to a good home.
Alan has the mast and rudder plus fittings etc for it too.
 
So woodys – anyone looking for a classic wooden boat project?
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23-09-2019 Input from Robin Elliott

Owners:
N.C. Wensor 1949?/52+?; F. Simkins 1955?/56+?; Peter & Frederick Boyle 1958+?; R.D. Wood 1959?/60+?; Lt.Cdr J. Lennox-King 1961?/68+? ; Dean Herbison 2007/16+?; Alan Craig ?/2019+?

Happy Hours was built for Noel Wensor (billy’s Bro’ in law) in 1949. Lennox-King did not own her until the early 1960’s. Dean Herbison bought her in 2007 when she was hauled out at Okahu Bay.

Florence Rose – Launch Day

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FLORENCE ROSE – Launch Day
 
As part of a recent email exchange with Mark Powell, Mark sent me the above photos from the launching of Florence Rose launching at the Chas Bailey and Sons yard.
In a previous WW post Gil Littler confirmed that Florence Rose was designed by Billy Rogers and built at Bailey’s in the 1960’s while he was serving his apprenticeship there. Gil was given the job of lofting her out and making up the frames before Kenny Hitchens (and other tradesmen) became involved in her construction. The hull was built on the mezzanine floor before being brought down to the slipway level by a large forklift to be finished off. 
 
Gil believes she was built for Harry Rose, which we now know is correct, in the photo below we have Mark Powell’s mother, Joan Powell, with Mark in short pants and the gent on the helm is Harry Rose.
 
I took the 2nd photo below of Flo Ro in October 2013 in Station Bay, Motutapu Island. 
My beautiful picture
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Maewa > Isaly II – A Peek Down Below

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Maewa > Isaly II – A Peek Down Below
Back in 2015 we uncovered some of the history around the 1956, 33’ launch Isaly II, formally named Maewa, now thanks to a trademe listing (ex Ian McDonald) we get to have a peek down below.
You can see / read more on her past at the link below – don’t forget to check out the comments section – lots of chat there around her provenance.
She is powered by a 2L, 60hp Nissan diesel that gets her along at 7knots.

Margaret Anne

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MARGARET ANNE – For Sale

WW has followed the progress of the 1953, Billy Rogers built classic launch Margaret Anne for several years & as we all know; some boats get lucky & land the perfect owner – Margaret Anne is one of those. When Helena Willes bought her back in 2014 she committed to undertaking a bow to stern restoration that included taking a chainsaw to the fly bridgeJ Over the following few years Helena transformed Margaret Anne into the magnificent classic you view above. Given all the time & dollars in the restoration, I was surprised to get a call from Helena advising she was selling Margaret Anne to up roots & head off blue water cruising (yacht).

So woodys another classic is available for sale – in turn-key condition i.e. step aboard & go cruising this summer. I have summarized below all the work done to her. A snap shot – 11m long, 1.2m draft, powered by a Ford Lees 80hp diesel, steading sail, sleeps 5, cruises 8>9 knots.

Helena has asked that interested parties contact the broker she has appointed to handle the sale – Steve Rhea at Vinings 09 376 6737

New since 2014: All new fresh water system including deck wash foot switch fitted and new hose. All wire stays and through bolts are new. New sheets, blocks and lines. Deck light fitted. Stanchions repaired and painted. Bow rails repaired, epoxy sealed and 10 coats of varnish. Hull painted. Entire electrical system is new with state of the art control panels and connections. 2 new deep cycle house batteries (2016), 2 x 150w solar panels, regulator and controller fitted. 800w inverter. Fly-bridge removed, old canvas stripped and brought back to bare wood. Entire roof fibre-glassed and 2 pot epoxy sealed, painted white and then added KiwiGrip for nonskid. New mahogany hand rails fitted, epoxy sealed and varnished 10 coats. Cabin sides stripped and varnished, window beadings removed (rotten) and replaced with Sikaflex. 
Full interior re-paint. All floorboards sanded, filled and oiled. New custom made inner sprung mattress, forward hatch refurbished and epoxy sealed, new hatch light, new toilet & 20L holding tank (all seacocks replaced), new shower head/hose, new taps. New fridge installed. New squabs and covers in saloon and galley. Full exterior canvas cover system, blackout curtains in saloon. Bilges cleaned, red leaded. Rudder post serviced, re-packed. New hydraulic steering ram installed (a spare steering pump and wheel are part of the sale). New steering station panel and instruments: tachometer, depth/fish finder, monitor (solar etc.) Gas locker fitted with two 10kg bottles, solenoid/gas detector and isolation valves. Engine regularly serviced by Moon Engines, new heat exchanger, gear box serviced, new hoses, new lift pump, new exhaust to manifold fitting, new exhaust pipe. Oregon boom fitted for shade and dinghy lifting mechanism. Flagpole renewed. Two new stainless rod holders. New vinyl in galley. All seacocks replaced with plastic. 90L plastic fuel tank system with isolation valves fitted. New fuel line to primary filters. New 50m anchor warp spliced onto chain. The boat has been hauled and antifouled yearly with kiwi prop applied.

TAURIMA

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TAURIMA

I was contacted recently by Alice Morrison with the news that she had just bought a 1960 (circa) Billy Rogers sedan launch named Taurima. She is 36′ & constructed of double diagonal kauri. Unfortunately the previous owner didn’t know much history about her so Alice is hoping that some of the woodys out there can shed some light on her?
She is obviously a sister ship to Margaret Anne  https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/10/03/margaret-anne-2/ , both very lucky boats as they both have lady owners 🙂

So woodys can we help Alice?

14-02-2017 Update ex Alice M – She has a 110hp Lees Marine Ford. The previous owners were Kevin & Bryce Thorne from Whangarei but the vessel has been moored in Opua or Jacks Bay in the Bay of Islands. I have asked Bryce to find the contact details of the owners before him. All he knew was that it used to be in Auckland where the owner used it to take him from the city to Waiheke all the time.

Margaret Anne

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Margaret Anne
Designed & built by Billy Rogers in 1956, she has appeared on ww before during her restoration by owner Helena Wiles. But we never saw the interior. She is 34′ with a 12′ beam, so a very roomy launch.

Helena has done a wonderful job on her & deserves a medal – when purchased she sported a small block of flats 🙂
More details & pre restoration photo can be viewed here https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/01/12/10429/
Photos ex trademe so it would appear MA is looking for a new owner.

C.2000 photo below ex Ken Ricketts

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