Tag Archives: Lake Wakatipu

CLASSIC QUEENSTOWN HYDROFOIL TOURIST BOAT

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CLASSIC QUEENSTOWN HYDROFOIL TOURIST BOAT

Over the last week I have been following the update on the ‘Famous Meteor 3 Queenstown NZ’ fb page that has been documenting the start of a refit on the iconic Queenstown classic tourist boat – METEOR III.

METEOR III was once one of the star attractions on Lake Wakatipu. Fingers crossed that post the refit she will take her place as one of Queenstown’s leading water based tourist attractions along side the TS Earnslaw . Yes – its not wood and not made in NZ but its a kiwi classic.

I’ll hand over to the crew overseeing the work for an overview of the vessel

SOME BACKGROUND

In 2021 the Society purchased the Meteor III, a 10m fast hydrofoil assisted tourist viewing vessel constructed of aluminum (rivetted) on steel frames.

Vessel History

The Meteor III was constructed by Porthleven Shipyard in Porthleven, Cornwall, UK in approximately 1964. The vessels design was by Supramar AG of Lucerne, Switzerland. Once completed, it was shipped to New Zealand for its original owner Frank Howarth of Lake Wakatipu. The vessel was put into passenger survey. It is well known that Meteor III attracted plenty of business both because of its space age looks and its high speeds.

The vessel was then held by various people, retired and fell to dereliction. It was then purchased by an owner who undertook and completed a full restoration of the vessel so once again she appears intact, bright and sparkling with a quality paint job, fresh carpeting and refurbished seating.

Design & Layout

The Meteor III is designed as a fast hydrofoil monohull constructed of aluminium. The engine compartment is at the bow and the drive shaft extends almost the full length of the vessel. There are hydrofoils both forward, below the engine, and aft. The passenger cabin is somewhat reminiscent of an aircraft with 15 seats that take up most of the interior with just a small area aft for storage of safety equipment and providing an emergency exit. There are plenty of viewing windows for the passengers with extra windows built into the cabin ceiling to allow passengers a full view of the scenery.  Cabin head height varies from 5ft 10′ to 6ft 2’.

The Engine

The Meteor III is powered by a Chrysler 440 petrol engine rated at 300HP V8 coupled to Chrysler gearbox.  This engine is not original to the boat. Fuel tank capacity is 200L. Cruising speed is around 31mph and top speed is 45mph. To get vessel up on the plane it needs to achieve approximately 4,000RPM following which it can drop back to 3,100 RPM. There are two hydrofoils on the vessel, one forward and one aft. The forward foil is adjustable using a hydraulic pump and the aft foil follows suit automatically. The drive shaft is stainless steel and the prop measures 420 x 560.

TANIWHA 1950’S QUEENSTOWN LAKE RUN-ABOUT

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TANIWHA 1950’S QUEENSTOWN LAKE RUN-ABOUT

Earlier in the week WW was contacted re the above c.1950’s wooden lake day boat – TANIWHA. Her owner was having to move the craft from Queenstown to Dunedin and had an insurance question.
They commented that she has been in a watertight garage since the late 1990s/early 2000s where the conditions are bone dry. 

It is believed that the craft hasn’t been near Lake Wakatipu since about the same era. The photo are all from the same period.

The run-about was home built by the owners grandfather and father.

It’s a long shot but do the photos ring any bells from the past. TANIWHA was quite a looker so should have been a memorable sight, so fingers crossed.

UPDATE – THEY SUCCESSFULLY REMOVED HER TODAY AFTER 20+ YEARS IN THE GARAGE

UPCOMING EVENTS – CIRCLE THE CALENDAR

Southern Woodys

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SOUTHERN WOODYS 

Todays photos come to us via Len Redwood and Paul Hansen ‘s fb – in the top photo from L>R we have the Earnslaw (obscured), Mountaineer , then Ben Lomond and finally Muratai.

In the second photo we see the bow of Mountaineer tied up at the Kingston Wharf, Lake Wakatipu. 

While the Earnslaw is well known to most of us, keen to learn more about Mountaineer and Ben Lomond. There is a brief mention of both vessels in this WW story https://waitematawoodys.com/2014/03/18/thelma-vera/

Muratai has made a WW appearance here https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/11/20/muratai-ii/

30-10-2022 Input ex Greg Philpott – Mountaineer featured on a New Zealand stamp – see below. Greg also uncovered a ‘glass lantern slide’ for sale on ebay that is tagged ‘P S Mountaineer Lake Wakatipo’.

The poster below for the NZ Antique & Classic Boat Show (Lake Rotoiti – Nelson Lakes) is a stunning piece of nautical art – each year they step it up a level. I’ve been – it is always a goody so circle 4th>5th March 2023 in your calendar.

Amazing Restoration of 1912 Classic Lake Boat – Lion

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Amazing Restoration of 1912 Classic Lake Boat – Lion

How did I miss this story on fb from a year ago – back in August 2020 on WW we covered the amazing restoration of the 38’ launch built in 1912 by James McPherson in Dunedin for Hugh McKenzie of Lake Wakatipu (thank you HDK for the intel)

How today thanks to a fb post by the company that restored her – the Repair My Boat Yard (formerly Southern Classic Boats) in Invercargill, South Island, we get to see Lion, back on Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown.

Hats off to everyone that was involved in the project – she is up there with Rawhiti in terms of attention to detail and workmanship.

View the restoration story here https://waitematawoodys.com/2020/08/03/restoration-of-mv-lion/

And a peek back at per restoration here https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/03/15/lion/

27-04-2023 UPDATE – video footage of Lion at the 2023 Southern Lakes Classic and Historic Boating event.

Meteor III

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METEOR III

Last week we ran a story on the very fast Meteor II, the 33’ Collings & Bell built ex Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown, tourism launch. Link below https://waitematawoodys.com/2022/03/15/meteor-ii-comet-ii/

I was subsequently contacted by John Bullivant who supplied the above photos of Meteor III. John advised that his research uncovered that all of the Metero’s (1 / II / III) were owned by Frank Haworth, who ran a very successful tourism business in Queenstown in the 1950’s>1960’s.

It is believed that Meteor III was NZ’s first hydrofoil , but built in the UK. Meteor III cruised at 55 kph and topped out at over 70kph.

I understand that she operated on the lake until the mid 1990’s, but these days is run by a charitable trust and occasionally comes out of retirement.

When she first hit the lake in the 1950’s, based on the photos it must have been an impressive sight.

Thelma – Motor Launch

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THEMLA

Woody – Shamus Fairhall spotted the above photo in an OP Shop last week. 
The launch is named – Thelma and is a straight stem, counter stern of the early milk maid style hull. No idea of the builder but the photo was taken on the Frankton arm of Lake Wakataipu. 

Lake Wakatipu is an inland lake in the South Island, in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. Lake Wakatipu comes from the original Māori name Whakatipu wai-māori. With a length of 80 kilometres, it is New Zealand’s longest lake, and, at 291 km², its third largest.

The back says it is a printed from a 1910 photo from the Muir and Moodie collection – National Museum. 

Any of the woodys able to shed some light on Themla? Got to love the wharf, looks very flimsy in relation to the standard of attire of the onlookers 🙂

Meteor

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METEOR

The above photos of the speed boat – Meteor shown here on Lake Wakatipu , & are ex Len Redwood via the Pre 1975 NZ Car,Boats etc etc FB page. 

So woodys – the question of the day – what do we know about Meteor?

Note: There is another speedboat named Meteor (built by Sam Ford in 1931) that has appeared on WW – do not be confused.