Tag Archives: Colin Wild

Triton

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TRITON

Photo & story by Russell Ward

This gorgeous ship was built by Colin Wild for Ken Butland. I knew her when she was still in her prime and Joe Tatham (New Zealand Motor Corp CEO) owned her in the ’60s -He could afford the petrol and upkeep. She was down at Big Muddy and so were we –anchored alongside so I rowed over. He had to shift anchor and I helped out. She did go well –two big petrol engines. So burbly and smooth. Arrrgh! She was long and thin, quite a hard turn to the bilge, and she would go like stink if given some juice!

I have often thought that Triton might have been part inspired by a Thornycroft launch pictured in Philips-Birt Naval Architecture of Small Craft at p 250 although the Thornycroft boat is hard chine and has a reverse sheer. Triton was a real man’s boat, a sailor’s boat. I distinctly remember the abundance of ex navy fittings and switches –for example those huge chunky push buttons that HDMLs and frigates had to call the watch below, sound the siren etc (presumably they were NOS when she was built). Triton might not suit everybody in her original guise, but she was ideal for her original owner who used to show the ways of the sea to aspiring young seafarers. She had an open bridge (don’t downgrade it by calling it a flybridge. It was a BRIDGE dammit!). It was complete with voice pipe to the chart table directly below in the wheelhouse where the young sailor navigator would be plotting the course and yelling it out up to the helmsman. There was another helm as well as engine controls in the wheelhouse. Those lovely old chrome Morse levers on a circular escutcheon with ramps to stop you over riding neutral without pulling the lever bodily outwards – one each side of the console. She had elegant wood panelling below –so classy.

My picture shows her when I last saw her in Lyttlleton a little down on her luck. Layne Stephens put the shed on over the flying bridge some years back I am sure it made her more livable, but it is not for me, I am afraid. Most of the lovely woodwork was painted over. A little sad. But that’s the problem with age, (especially when we can remember some of these boats when they were new).

There are two things worth mentioning –Harold Kidd reminded me that Colin Wild refused to fit the open bridge and Lane Motor Boat Co finished her off for Ken Butland. The other detail, Joe Tatham told me in ’62. Mitchell, a subsequent owner to Butland, was very tall and her wheelhouse was raised about 6″ -you can see where the plank was grafted in. More obvious than then when the teak was bright finished.

Rumour is that she is available –c’mon someone. Come and get her.  

Hope there will be more details emerging.

Lady Crossley

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Some rarely seen pictures of Lady Crossley
Its not often we post pics of classics on-the-hard, but when its one of our favourite ships, well she looks pretty fine in or out of the water.
Photos ex Russell Ward

Talua

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TALUA
Built by Colin Wild for J. R. Butland. Yes was almost a sister ship to Rehia. Above are press clippings supplied by Russell Ward (ex Harold Kidd) recording the launchings of both vessels, you can see the similarity. The colour photo was taken a few years back when she was on Orams sales marina. Some how a glasshouse appears to have been dropped on top of her 😦
My good news of the day is that Rehia has been sold & has a new owner who has just joined the CYA, so she is back in the ‘club’  🙂

 

Amakura II

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P1090114P1090116AMAKURA

AMAKURA II
I was heading back up the harbour late afternoon yesterday & Amakura II was sliding down the harbour looking as always stunning. Then I had a flash & thought hell I had not post the two spectacular photos of her taken by Heather Rose, on the CYA Riverhead Hotel cruise.
Update complied with input from Harold Kidd, Russell  Ward & Ken Ricketts
She was 45ft oa when built by Colin Wild for Chas Court in 1936 and had a single 350hp Lycoming petrol engine. Court had Wild lengthen her by 7ft in 1938 when she was fitted with twin Buda diesels of 220hp. C L Urquhart bought her in January 1940 and owned her throughout her NAPS service until bought by W C Wedderspoon in 1947 -49. According to the Squadron’s records and the Register of British Ships she kept her Budas during service with NAPS, Wedderspoon moored her at Hobson Bay, at the Parnell baths end, not far off the rock wall of Tamaki Drive. The next owner was P Mitchell of Wellington 1949-50 and then in 1950-55 by L R H Webber, owner of the Plummer Hat Company, a successful millinery organisation of the day, who had previously owned ‘MARO’, until N T & C C E Mills of Te Puke bought her in 1957 when she was fitted with twin 85hp Graymarines. They were replaced by 86hp Fords in 1961. In later years she went north to Whangarei, where she spent much of her life in a “drive in” shed, on the banks of the Whangarei River.
Now back in Auckland, she received a ‘facelift’ at the Peter Brooke yard & would now be one one of the most used classics on the Waitemata.
The b/w photo above was taken by Ken Ricketts in Mansion House Bay Kawau Island, Christmas 1948.

Lady Margaret (Colin Wild). Chapter two

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Lady Margaret (Colin Wild) Story 

CHAPTER 2  (story & photos ex Ken Ricketts)
 
In chapter one, I referred to her as possibly a “Shakespearean tragedy on the water”.
 
Even Shakespeare had some happy parts to his great works, & as with Shakespeare, there I’m thrilled to say, is also a happy part to the Lady Margaret #1 Story.
 
Herewith a picture of Colin Wild’s classic 1927 master piece taken 2 weeks ago after having received a few months of hard work.
 
Besides what is visible in the pics., she has been rewired, & had various other internal work upgraded, & has had at the very least, a little refurbishing, I am told.
 
I hope to see her for myself, in the near future, & will report appropriately at that time. The most important thing at the moment however, is that she has certainly been saved, from the maritime graveyard. HALLELUIAH!!!
 
The above before & after pics tell the story to date
 
This most beautiful & classic part of our maritime history is going to live through another day. Long may she live.
Update on Chapter 2 – 14/05/13
I was aboard her last Tuesday, 6.5.13, at a little jetty in a creek at Kaingaroa Northland, & can report & update as follows.
She is looking “tidy” inside, but still needs fairly substantial galley maintenance & replacement of stove, carpets throughout, etc, likewise the shower room, & the full forward section of the boat. The hull has had all paint removed & she has had a reasonable paint job but is still showing seams on the topsides,
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As one can see in the pics, some of her beautiful teak has been painted, (at least at the moment), which someone will hopefully restore to original in the future, but at least she is “usable,” & one of the owners & crew are, as I write this, away on a “shakedown cruise,” to Whangaroa.
On a short 1 hour run down the tidal estuary, the 150 HP Lees converted Turbo Ford, started & ran particularly smoothly at idle, with zero vibration, on her hard mounted engine beds, however the engine peaked at 2400 RPM, with propeller vibration at the top end of the range, & a top speed of 11 .9 knots governed, in my opinion, to at least a reasonable degree, by the 3 metres of water below the boat, as she buried her bum at the higher end of the range, (she has no trimtabs), & only increased speed by 3/4 of a knot in the last 700 RPM.
In my view there is still much to be done to her.
However, whilst there is much “elbow grease,” & much money, still needed to bring her back to her most wonderful, original, self, nevertheless, most importantly of all, she has been “saved from a watery grave.”
WONDERFUL!!
 
                                

Brooke & Co

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Brooke & Co

 The name above should be hanging above a boat shed. The Brooke family are an amazing group of people with skills that make most of use feel a little lacking. The recover & rebuild on the 1927 Colin Wild designed & built launch Linda is proof of those skills. Above is collection of photos of Linda from her early days -pre fire, during her recover at Waiheke Island & today + ‘Grace’ one of Roberts exquisite clinker dinghies.
Every boat, big or small that Robert & Russell ‘touch’ is a very lucky boat.

Isle of Arran

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Isle of Arran

Now here is a question for you – how many boats did Colin Wild build twice?

Answer = one – the ‘Isle of Arran’.  Roger & Graham Guthrie’s uncle – Douglas, who had a house in Arran Bay, commissioned Wild to build him a launch but unfortunately Wild’s shed burnt down just before completion & Wild had to start again. Photos above show her (#2) on the slip in front of the remains of the shed before launching, c.1951/2. Also one of her c.1953 at Elephant Cove.
Thanks to Roger Guthrie for the photos & background info.
Updated 30/04/13
She is owned by Mike Guthrie (Graham’s cousin) and had a major rebuild about approx. 20 years ago. I think Salthouses did the job. New Volvo engine as well. The cabin was also sympathetically re-styled at the time. Mike still owns the property in Arran Bay and the boat can frequently be seen on the mooring in the bay.
Updated 25/05/13
Photo added of her c.1990 with rebuilt topsides.
Updated 08/01/2015
Copy of May 1989 Sea Spray magazine article on the Salthouse ‘rebirth’ project. Click blue link to view/read.
Isle of Arran

NOTE: If ww has broken any copyright or offended anyone by publishing the article, please advise & we will remove it 🙂

Rehia

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REHIA.
A Colin Wild classic, built in 1938, & owned by Bill & Phyl Ryan of owners of H.J. Ryan Ltd ,manufacturing engineers, who lived in Hillsborough, & owned her for many years from about 1945. She was very much a part of Ken Ricketts life in the mid 40s & 50s & he was on her on many acasions — Bill & Phyl had 2 sons, Bob, & Jeff, who were his age & we were great mates.
REHAI had a 6 cyl flat head Buda petrol engine, circa 100 hp for very many years, which had an American, “Bendix,” gearbox & throttle control system, with just 2 tiny levers, — very rare in those days. She was always impecably kept & used regularly. Eventually the Buda was replaced with a 6 cyl Ford Diesel which she still has. She was sold by the Ryan estate on his death in the later 70s earlier 80s.
She is still absolutley original, & has never been “fiddled with,” & when last seen in Whakatakataka Bay a year or 2 go she was still “a picture of health & beauty”.
Story by Ken Ricketts, photo by Ken & Alan Houghton

Viveen

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Viveen was one of Colin Wild’s early landmark motor launches, built in 1924 for W.G. Rapley of Devonport. She was thoroughly up-to-date for the time, a vee-bottom bridgedecker, very much in the latest American style, her hull design obviously influenced by the square-bilge planning hulls of men like John L. Hacker & William Hand.
Her original  power plant was a 35hp Kermath but that was upgraded to an even more high-powered Winton. Her owners raced her consistently until launch racing died out during the Depression when feeding such monsters with benzine became impracticable.
Until recently, Viveen has always been a waitemata woody, berthed in the Milford Marina for years, but not lives in Thames.
The photos show her many & varied styles over the years.  The oldest one was taken at Mansion House Kawau Island in 1924 & Viveen is the launch with the black hull on the right.  The other b&w photo was taken in 1938 off the Devonport wharf, after she was made into a flush deck. There is one of her berthed alongside  other Colin Wild launches (2nd on right) in the Viaduct  for the 2012 classic launch & yacht show & one of her today cruising the gulf.
Viveen is currently undergoing a ‘rolling restoration’ in the hands of Mechaela and Andrew Dobbs.
03-10-2018   Update from owners Andrew & Mechaela Dobbs.

We thought you might be interested in an update on Viveen, our 1924 Colin Wild bridgedeck, 7 years ago we bought this lovely lady with every intention of doing right by her, but time, money and circumstances didn’t allow it, so after a few major repairs, a new engine and a slop slap paint job Andrew took her to the Colin Wild exhibition at the viaduct and we used her pretty regularly on the coromandel after that but she started to look pretty sad and we made the decision, it’s happening now, so we’ve done it, she’s been out of the water about 6 weeks now and has had all her many layers of exterior paint stripped off, has had new fibreglass put on her top decks, repairs done to a few leaky parts and is now in the process of getting her hull splined, after that she will be getting a new paint job including a different colour scheme, and a slightly larger duck board but no changes to her classic look, we hope she will look a million bucks when we are done, we will update you with a finished photo whenever that may be as there’s still a fair bit to do.
Viveen 2019