HMNZS KUPARU HDML
I received an email the other day from Ken Ricketts which served to remind me I was overdue on a wee story on the ex ex Naval 22m patrol boat HDML Kuparu P3565. Her owner Scott Perry has been keeping me updated on the refit of this icon NZ Navy vessel. A fitting project as Scott is ex Navy.
Scott was at a T intersection in this life having recently lost his wife to cancer & thankfully a combination of Kuparu & his young family were the glue he needed to get thru a very traumatic period.
In Scott’s own words “Kuparu was a very big ugly mess of a job” but he rolled up the sleeves & with the help of some good friends (old & new) he re-launched her late last year.
Now the navy purists may not all agree on some of the mods but Scott is now the proud owner of a very large, comfortable woody cruiser. The ideal platform for the family to get out & about on the Waitemata Harbour & Outer Gulf & believe me they do, I have spotted them everywhere.
If you see Kuparu, give them a wave or if in a bay, row over for a chat & to admire the scale of the project Scott took on. Like all woodys, it never ends, so occasionally Scott posts on facebook looking for anyone keen on helping out with some maintenance – she is a rather large craft to do anything to e.g. clean, sand, paint etc.
Kuparu was very lucky to find an owner like Scott but the flip side is Scott was equally lucky with Kupara. Well done Scott.
(note below is a gallery of images that Ken Ricketts uplifted from a video on Lew Redwood’s fb page, I apologise for the quality – most often video > still photos = out of focus, I have tried to digitally enhance them but they are low quality, but from them you get a peek into the project
As I was writing this story I received an email from a gent named Zaps Zander, who for the past 3 years has been running, compiling and administering a blog on anything ML related i.e. from day 1 in 1943 to this month (the recent Black Watch sinking). Check out his weblog below – there are over 150 photos
Details below from the RNZN Communicators Association via Ken Ricketts.
LOA: 76′ Beam: 16′, LWL: 72′, Draft: 5′
Design or Class: W J Holt Admiralty World War II anti-submarine patrol craft
Former Name: HMNZS Pegasus P3563 > HMNZS Kuparu P3563 Q1348 WW2 number
Home Port: Auckland
Designer: W J Holt Admiralty
Boat Type: HDML, Gross Displacement: 54-ton
Number of Engines: 2, Engine Model: Mark 6 two-stroke Fodens, Total Engine Horsepower: 180-hp (each)
Builder Name: Ackerman Boat Company, Location Built: Lido Island, California, Year Built: 1943
Hull or Design No.: Q1348
Owner Name: Scott Perry, Owner Country: New Zealand
07-10-2018 Input from John Bullivant – just dug out a photo (below) of Kuparu I took probably about 15yrs ago when she was out the back of the Devonport navy base, by the Ngataringa Bay sports field. I was being watched closely as I was taking the photo by a couple of WRENS who probably thought I was after secret HDML information.
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