Tag Archives: Kingfisher Boats

Kotare – The Restoration – 4sale

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KOTARE – The Restoration

Enter the name – Kotare (Kingfisher the bird)  into the WW search box and a lot of boats will come up, seems back in the day it was a very popular name for boats.

The 25’ woody above has a genuine claim to the name as she was built by Kingfisher Boats in 1951. Fast forward to 2015 and she underwent a full refit – work included new wiring, new galley, new fuel tanks motor, new head and her engine a Nissan AL20 – 60hp diesel was rebuilt and has only done 620 hours since. Also undertaken was fully glassing her kauri hull, that included 5 coats of resin on the inside, this may get a few frowns from some quarters but you can see from the photos it saved Kotare from a beehive restoration.

At 25’ LOA, the 60hp engine gives Kotare a top speed of 13 knots (cruising at 8). I can vouch for her being a very good sea boat because her owner does the miles in her – frequently over at Great Barrier Island. With a beam of just under 6’, putting her on a trailer is an option.

I spotted Kotare recently hauled out at the Slipway Milford getting some TLC and discovered that her owner was looking for a new owner – so woodys, if you are after a very cute, easily managed and maintained boat – Kotare could be yours for +/- $25k. I know I sound like a broken record, but……….. lake boat?  For more details – email waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Kotare

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Kotare1

Kotare2

KOTARE

Last weekend Angus and Jenny Rogers sneaked away from OBC of a spot of Autumn cruising. The destination was Rakino Island and Angus reports it was perfect.

While there he spotted the launch Kotare at anchor in West Bay. Kotare is 25’ and built by Kingfisher Boats in 1951, they are still in business but these days they build aluminium boats down in Tauranga. Angus understands she started life as a crabber.

Angus commented that in his eyes Kotare is beautifully proportioned and an example of a reverse sheer that works.

Anyone able to tell us more about the launch and whether others were built .  Fyi – Kingfisher in Maori is Kotare

Now each to their own taste – but I would be keen to see some colour introduced to the cabin sides – something like the boat below.

Input from Brian Worthington – The Kingfisher boats that build alloy boats now days has nothing to do with Bill Vissor that was original Kingfisher Boats building handcrafted
wooden boats in Tauranga.

Paint topsides example