Kaipara photo

LADY JOAN

Ken Rickets took the b/w photo of Lady Joan c.1948>1950, owned at the time by Mr Stan Headland, an insurance broker, whom Ken knew.

In the mid 1940s she had a Ford flathead V8, with 2 side exhausts initially, which were sited well up each side of the hull, below the bridgedeck, with no mufflers. The engine sounded terrible, as you could only hear 1 at a time & as all V8 engines must fire 2 cylinders from the same bank one after the other, it sounded as if the engine was missing badly. The set up was later replaced by 1 stern exhaust in the late 1940s.

Headland then bought Lady Claire in the1950s & sold Lady Joan. She is now in the Sounds, owned by Tony Ryalls who purchased her from Nelson. Currently powered by a new 3cyl. Lombardini which replaced an old 4cyl. Ford. There was a recent write-up on her in Boating NZ.

Any more details from her past would be appreciated.

Update (& photo)  from Zach Matich

Lady Joan was on the Kaipara, owned first by the Mockett family then by Cyril Powell.

Unsure on the dates but I can find out as I know Cyril and his son Royce.

She was powered by a 4 cylinder Ford Ebro and had a good turn of speed.

Going off the photo’s Royce showed me of when they did her up she was

a pretty classy old ship.

Harold Kidd Update

Lady Joan was taken over by NAPS in 1942 with the following crew; CPO Stan Headland (owner and skipper), PO Max Vipond and Stan Thomson (deputy skippers), A.V. Hardley, R.A. Johnstone (AB6690), H.Rees, T. Taylor. Her number was Z11. Her duties were Boom Patrol and Boom Control vessel. Her early history is somewhat enigmatic. I think it’s likely that she was a pre-WW1 34 footer renamed Lady Joan post-WW1.

My first record under that name is in 1921 and there are sporadic entries from then on with owners like J. J. and F. Mackay of Bayswater (1926-1936), the Cashmores some time in the 1930s (although that may have been Lady Jean) and then Stan Headland just before WW2. Headland converted her from a straightstemmer to a raised-foredeck, flared-bow bridgedecker.

Headland kept her until at least 1950. During his ownership she had a 95hp Palmer marine engine (probably a conversion of the Ford Mercury V8 by Palmer). Later owners include W.L. Beattie, J Caulfield, and then on the Kaipara, Bill Woodcock, Pouto (1968), Ivan Mockett, Ruawai (1975) and Cyril & Doug Powell (1985). She was in Helensville as recently as 1995.

Unfortunately there were at least 2 Lady Joans in these parts, which confuses the trail somewhat. I have no images but the National Maritime Museum has some wartime movie footage of her.