CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH YASAWA NEEDS A NEW HOME

Last week WW was contacted by Julie Eccles advising that she was selling her late husband (Ken) classic wooden bridge-decker 33’ launch – YASAWA.  YASAWA has appeared on WW several times over the years, starting back in January 2014, link below. At the time we learnt from Harold Kidd that she was built by Charlie Filmer.  WW Jan 2014  https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/01/10/yasawa/

More recently John Burland photographed her moored at Motueke Marina – last photo above. In this photo she looks very smart. Below is an excerpt from the Nov 2025 edition of the Motueka Yacht and Cruising Club newsletter.

YASAWA – Yasawa was built in 1952 when bridge-deckers were a very popular style of launch.

The term ‘bridge-decker’ refers to boats with a higher level deck to the fore of the boat that sits over the engine bay. The first bridge-deckers were built in the1920s in the USA and reflect a transition from stern steered sailing vessels to motorised launches.

Yasawa is carvel kauri construction and is 32.8 feet (10 metres) long. Its first owner and builder was Charlie Filmer who lived in Penrose, Auckland. The boat’s history is well recorded in a popular classic wooden boat site called ‘Waitemata Woodys’. For many years it was well known for its varnished topsides, since painted over. Originally the boat was called ‘Doraleen’ and changed to its current name in 1957. The boat’s first engine was a petrol V8 marinised Ford Mercury. It is currently powered by a D-Series 6 cylinder Ford diesel, which was reconditioned with Phil Fry’s help about 5 years ago.

Interested parties to initially make contact with Julie Eccles via email julieeccleskina@gmail.com