DEFIANT — A RATHER MAGNIFICENT CLASSIC WOODEN LAUNCH

On one of my recent trip north I spotted a rather impressive woody hauled out at in Whangarei named DEFIANT. Hard not to miss her given her size.I had a brief phone chat with her owner Chris Wilkens, and was given the green light to go aboard. Chris went to great lengths to tell me she was a tip inside as he was part way thru an upgrade project.

Excuse the quality of some of the photos, as I edited them to remove WIP clutter.

First impressions of DEFIANT is her overall size , she is huge. As a guide in the photos you can see some ‘LazyBoy’ armchairs – there are 4 in the saloon and they are the full domestic size.

Keen to learn more about her – but for now – designed by Nick Peel, I think 54’ in length, powered by a Gardner engine (possibly 150hp).Home port is Whangaroa, Northland.

INPUT ex PAUL WILSON – built by Dave Bryant, an experienced off shore sailor, as a long range cruiser.