Tag Archives: Caravel

LAKE ROTOITI 2023 PARADE OF CLASSIC & WOODEN BOATS – 150+ PHOTOS

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LAKE ROTOITI 2023 PARADE OF CLASSIC & WOODEN BOATS – 150+ PHOTOS

As has become my norm for Waitangi holiday weekend early on Saturday morning I pointed the car south and made my way to Lake Rotoiti in the middle of NZ’s North Island. 

2023 marked the 26th anniversary of the event and after a horror week of ‘once in a 100 years’ rain storms I had concerns that the parade might be postponed or cancelled. Well woodys as you’ll see from the above photo gallery, my fears were redundant.

The day started overcast with some light drizzle but this passed thru before the parade kicked off at 11am. Numbers were down a little from last year but conditions were perfect on the lake. 

Enjoy the gallery above – if you’re craft is featured above and you want a high res copy of the photo, drop me an email at the address below. Apologise if I missed your boat or if the odd photo is a little out of focus – just me in a run-about jiggling the throttle, looking out for other boats and holding the camera 🙂

waitematawoodys@gmail.com

My pick of the boat I’d most like tied up at my imaginary lake jetty is – ELLEN (#14), 26’ in length, built in 2004 in strip planked cedar from a plug taken off an old abandoned hull found in Kopu. Thought to be a ‘Milkmaid’ design by Bailey & Lowe. Powered by a 29hp diesel.  In my eyes just perfect. Photo below

Special thanks again to Dave and Glenys Wilson for the loan of a boat to get me out on the lake.

As always – click on photos to enlarge.

Lastly I never tire of the sound of big V8 (5.7L)  water exhausts. Shawn Vennell, the owner of Judy H, was lining me up for a prop shower – a few words of warning as to what my reaction would be, made him change his mind 😉

TURN THE SOUND UP

Caravel

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CARAVEL

Back in May 2020 we ran a story on the spirit of tradition classic launch – Caravel (link below), at the time the story would have broken the WW record for the number of people emailing me about a boat. Seems she ticked all the boxes for people considering doing laps of NZ in their retirement 🙂 Stunning photos ex Dean Wright at the link + the photo today is Deans also. https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/11/30/caravel/

We subsequently learnt that Caravel was built c.2004 in Picton, strip planked but using an unusual boat building timber – poplar. Fast forward 10 years and she was hauled out at Tauranga being re-skinned with double diagonal kauri and glassed, boat builder Alan Craig commented that she was now built like a brick-out-house.

Some details – designed by Bob Salthouse, 42’ in length, beam of 14’6” and draws 5’. Built by Miller and Tunnage, Picton.

Forward motion is from a John Deere 135hp diesel that gives her a comfortable cruising speed of 8 knots.

Caravel

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CARAVEL

Back in May 2020 the launch Caravel made an appearance on WW (link below) thanks to Dean Wright. At the time we new nothing about her and only covered that she was built in Picton approx 20 years ago. Built of wood, possibly strip planked, but using an unusual timber – poplar? https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/05/20/caravel-och-video/

Approximately 10 years ago Southern Ocean Marine in Tauranga did a ’number on her’ to address a leak issue – they re-skinned the hull with double diagonal NZ kauri, sheathed in glass. The boat builder, Alan Craig commented that she was now built like a brick out-house. In the photos above of Caravel, taken by Douglas Owens, we see her recently hauled out at Tauranga for some TLC.

WW would still like to know more about Caravel, so if anyone knows the owners – would you give them a gentle nudge and ask that they share some background on this rather appealing woody.

2021 Lake Rotoiti Classic and Wooden Boat Parade – 175+ photos & videos

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PICNIC

24th LAKE ROTOITI CLASSIC & WOODEN BOAT PARADE – 175+ PHOTOS & VIDEOS


As promised todays WW story is a doozy, we travelled down to the lake very early on Saturday morning and were hosted by the clubs commodore Dave Wilson and wife Glenys, who own the magnificent 1947 Colin Wild built bridge-decker – Haumoana. The launch is kept at the end of the lawn at their lakeside property (photos below) – More details on Haumoana here https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/06/05/haumoana/

Dave lent me is ‘fishing boat’ – the f/glass runabout seen the photo below, to use as a photo boat for the parade – fingers crossed no one got a photo of me at the helm 😉


Close to 80 classic and wooden craft of all shapes and sizes – power, sail, oar and steam participated in the days events – starting with a parade that snakes around the waterfront properties and vantage points. Post parade every one heads off to Wairoa Bay for an old school boating picnic – being lake based, no issue with tides or anchoring, people just nudge up to the shore – perfect for checking out each others woody.

The afternoon activities had something for everyone – adults and kids activities (egg throwing, bucket diving for sweets etc) + lots of cool prizes to be won.Without a doubt its the best organised and executed boating event I have been to – very slick and the bonus – lots of nice friendly people – we like that 🙂


Enjoy the photos. As always – click photos to enlarge 😉 If I missed your boat, sorry but one boat and one camera can only be in so many places at one time  – next year.


Caravel + OCH video

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CARAVEL

The photos above of Caravel come to us via the camera of Dean Wright and are ‘lock-down’ discoveries. Dean commented that he wasn’t even sure if Caravel was a woody, but she is a looker and there is enough wood on show for me 🙂
 
Can anyone tells us more about Caravel?
 
GLASSING A WOODEN BOAT – Yes / No / Maybe
When it comes to the restoration of a classic wooden boat, one item draws the most discussion / debate / arguments and that’s the topic to splining and fiber-glassing the hull. Amongst the majority of woodys its long been considered sacrilege – but sometimes it is the only option that saves a boat from a ‘Beehive’ restoration (a box of matches).
Thanks to your friends at Off Centre Harbor, today we join expert boat builder and OCH co-founder Eric Blake explaining how – and more importantly, why – he fiber-glassed his 75-year-old wooden lobster boat, Charlena. LINK below to view video.
Screen Shot 2020-05-19 at 5.11.53 PM
 
 
 
And woodys, the WW special 8 weeks NZD$5 membership to OHC is still live – so jump at it below, the best $5 you will ever spend. Detail below –
 
Off Center Harbor has created an 8-week membership with full access to the entire website for just $5 NZD. They’re also including an optional upgrade to an annual membership at the end of the 8 weeks at 50% off.
So if you haven’t already joined, now’s definitely the time to jump aboard this premier classic boat video website to start learning from leaders in the field how to build, paint, or restore a boat… or step aboard some of the best boats in the world (including in NZ) and hang out with the owners (from the safety of your favorite chair at home).


See the details and get the membership here and enjoy full membership privileges for 8 weeks. That means you’ll have access to over 1,000 videos and articles full of inspiration and know-how.

Which Boat Today ? Revisited

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Which Boat Today ?

If your names not Tony Stevenson that’s not a question many of us ask ourselves. When I picked up the Jan/Feb issue of the uber cool kiwi lifestyle magazine – NZ Life & Leisure, I discovered that there is someone else out there that’s been bitten by the classic boating bug, big time 🙂 Enter Charlotte & Richard Stevens, their menagerie of boats includes – ‘D’Urville’ a 70′ kauri, Laurent Giles designed motor boat, built by McMullen & Wing in 1975 – ‘Mickey Mouse’ a 1967 Ford 10 powered Albatross Motors speedboat – ‘Carvel’ their exquisite 1962 Norm Keen designed & built lake boat – a Frostbite, a Lazer, numerous canoes/kayaks & paddle boards AND a 45mph V8 powered ski boat. That ww followers is an impressive collection.

The article is a both a great read & a wonderful visual insight into the life & boats of Charlotte & Richard & we thank them for sharing it with us.

Todays post has been reproduced with the permission of Fairfax Media. The spectacular photos are from the camera of Tessa Chrisp & the words from the typewriter of Rebecca Hayter (NZ Boating editor). Check out the magazine at their website     http://nzlifeandleisure.co.nz

Note: if the images above are a little hard to read – you can view it here as a PDF file, click the blue link 😉

Lake Rotoiti

Which Boat Today ?

Posted on by
4

Which Boat Today ?

If your names not Tony Stevenson that’s not a question many of us ask ourselves. When I picked up the Jan/Feb issue of the uber cool kiwi lifestyle magazine – NZ Life & Leisure, I discovered that there is someone else out there that’s been bitten by the classic boating bug, big time 🙂 Enter Charlotte & Richard Stevens, their menagerie of boats includes – ‘D’Urville’ a 70′ kauri, Laurent Giles designed motor boat, built by McMullen & Wing in 1975 – ‘Mickey Mouse’ a 1967 Ford 10 powered Albatross Motors speedboat – ‘Carvel’ their exquisite 1962 Norm Keen designed & built lake boat – a Frostbite, a Lazer, numerous canoes/kayaks & paddle boards AND a 45mph V8 powered ski boat. That ww followers is an impressive collection.

The article is a both a great read & a wonderful visual insight into the life & boats of Charlotte & Richard & we thank them for sharing it with us.

Todays post has been reproduced with the permission of Fairfax Media. The spectacular photos are from the camera of Tessa Chrisp & the words from the typewriter of Rebecca Hayter (NZ Boating editor). Check out the magazine at their website     http://nzlifeandleisure.co.nz

Note: if the images above are a little hard to read – you can view it here as a PDF file, click the blue link 😉

Lake Rotoiti