Tag Archives: Lidgard Bros

Lidgard 1/2 Models – Help Needed

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LIDGARD 1/2 MODELS – Help Needed
Saturdays story on the 48’ Lidgard launch – Ngaro, link below, promoted Donna Lewis to contact WW re three 1/2 models that she purchased from a garage sale on Kawau Island, when she and husband Norm were living at Schoolhouse Bay. At the time she was told all three were Lidgard vessels. The painted one is obviously Ngaro, the writing on the back, supporting this.

 Donna and Norm live in Australian the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and took the models with them, hopefully one day they will find their way home to NZ.

NGARO WW STORY https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/06/25/ngaro-a-sneak-peek-before-she-sells/

The challenge is that Donna doesn’t know which launches the other two models ‘belong’ too, so woodys – big ask today. Maybe an ex Lidgard worker can suggest suitable candidates. Or maybe one of the more talented WW readers recognizes something in the 1/2 model that is specific to a particular Lidgard design. 

I suppose I should put a reward to the woody that provides the most credible suggestion. So a WW cap is on offer. For once, let’s do entries / suggestions via the WW comments section. I think the answers will be via a collaborative approach. 

12-03-2022 UPDATE The models have arrived back in NZ from Australia, thank you – Donna Lewis, obviously the painted one at the bottom is Ngaro, there was comment on WW that the other two would be

TOP > TAILSMAN 

MIDDLE > MELODY

Are we able to confirm the likelihood of this provenance and if so can anyone supply contact details of the current owners ?

Ranui + WoodenBoat #3 Chat Session

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RANUI
When I spotted the photo above on fb I thought I had a great Mystery Launch competition photo, then eagle eyed Jason Prew ID’s her as the 1948, Lidgard built, 48′ launch Ranui, before her hull extension.  Seen here at the 1955 Auckland Anniversary Regatta. Recent photo below. And a shameless plug – she is for sale – link here
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Watch – WoodenBoat Editor – Live Video Chat With Alec Brainerd  – Artisan Boatworks in Rockport Harbor, Penobscot Bay, USA

https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=woodenboat&epa=SEARCH_BOX

Check out the Artisan website here.
Courier Arrived Today – Not often I get one marked ‘Dangerous Goods’
The label even had ‘Danger – May damage fertility or the unborn child + very toxic to aquatic life’ on it.
What was it? Good old Red Lead powder. Don’t have a use for it at the moment but its like hens teeth to buy and being in lock-down, on-line shopping has been getting a little out of hand e.g. did I need that 8” bronze adjustable spanner from Arthur Beale – London’s 300 year old yacht chandler 🙂

Ranui – 4sale

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RANUI – A Peek Down Below
The 48’ Rangi was built in 1948 by the Lidgard Brothers to mirror the USA Chris Craft vessels of the same era. Her power is via twin 120hp Ford diesels that see her cruising at a comfortable 8.5 knots/
Ranui under went a major refit in 2011 and again in 2017. Work included – complete hull restoration and full hull topsides, repainted, new glassed decking all round. Also vanish restoration, new electronics, new plumbing new toughened glass all round. In 2011 a total motor rebuild on both 120 Fords and engine bay upgrade.
For sales enquries contact waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Teal – Sailing Sunday

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TEAL

My Westpark Marina spotter John Wicks sent in the photos above of Teal, the 1948, 38’ Lidgard Bros yacht on the hard ready for launching.

John commented “she was small and pretty spartan inside, and that, coupled with a very long and large cockpit marks her out as primarily a day sailer. The rudder is almost certainly a modification as from the configuration of her keel the original rudder was hung at the aft end of it in the old way. Even though the stern doesn’t really match with the bow, she’s quite an elegant thing, and with a tall fractional rig, deep draught and fairly narrow beam, I’d bet on her going like the proverbial cut cat”

So I do a little google search & it turns out she is one of Tony Stevenson’s yachts & in the Tino Rawa Trust fleet. The YDL van in the photos suggests Teal may have been promoted from the ‘warehouse’ to the boat yard for the final touches 😉

The photos below (ex TRT > CYA forum) show her at the start of the project back in 2013.

Harold Kidd advised that she was built for William Goodfellow and L.H. Clarke and launched 22/12/1948. Original registration was A5 but later relegated to B6. Her specs are – 38’9″x 30′ x 7’4″ x5’8″. Later owners include Sir Keith Park, Mark Williams, T.L. Elliott.

Looks like the CYA B division could be in for a shake up this coming season 🙂

 

Input from Robin Elliott – 

The 2007 NZYF register had her as a Cox design. today they have hedged their bets and call her a ‘Lidgard/Cox’ design. Not sure where the Cox design info would have come from. I record her designer as “J. Lidgard” but once again, I have no idea where I got that from. She could well be a modified Cox design.

Good old Sir Keith Park, the Hero of the Battle of Britain owned her 1957/58, possibly up to 1959

Tuarangi > Silver Fin – Update

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TUARANGI > SILVER FIN – Update

I was recently sent the above photo of Silver Fin (Tuarangi) by Brian Wagstaff & Bryan was able to supply some background on her below –  from past WW stories we know that Tuarangi was built by Lidgard Bros for a H.S White & launched in 1950. White sold her in 1951 to Bruce Winstone. She was 42’x40’x12’x4’3″ and originally had twin 90hp 6-cylinder Redwing petrol engines. During Whites ownership, she blew up while refueling at Whitianga. You can read the story in detail here   https://waitematawoodys.com/2015/06/13/wairangi-2/

Eric details the post incident recovery, sale & rebuild below. By 1959 she was renamed Silver Fin. I’ll let Eric tell the story.

“My father Eric Wagstaff purchased the boat from the Bruce Winstone. I would assume some insurance company might have been involved . The boat was collected from Whitianga and towed to Tauranga by a boat called “Rainbow” which was old bridge decker owned by Eric. The Rainbow had a marinised Rolls Royce engine and was built for the Mills Bros who I believe were Bay of Plenty farmers. The roof section from Silver Fin was basically upside down and pretty much in place on collection. The boat was beached at Beach Road, Otumoetai.

The boat was lifted onto a transport trailer by Bert Godfrey, the founder of the NZ Lumber Company and moved to Eric’s joinery factory in Judea.  We enjoyed many a trip on the Silver Fin. She was chartered for game fishing for a while in the days of Bob Gray etc. The top was replaced with what you see and Eric consulted with Willy Oliver, who was a friend, on the design of the new cabin. Eric was born in Wellington to a well-known yachting and boat building family and had it not been for the 2nd World War (he was a fighter pilot) and returned to Maunganui at the end of the war were he meet my mother (now 96 and still alive) in Tauranga where he stayed and established a joinery business. The motors were replaced with 60hp Fordson diesels converted by Lees marine, I believe. The boat was sold to Dr. Kennedy the family doctor (who delivered me in 1949). He for some reason painted the boat green which I remember clearly. The rest of it you pretty much have on record. I will try to find some old photos of the rebuild.”

 

 

 

Ranui

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RANUI
Ranui was built in 1948 by Lidgard Bros. following a Chris Craft design. She measures 48′ & is made of kauri. The  zoom zoom comes from twin 120hp Fords. She recently returned to Auckland & has just had some TLC at Gulf Harbour that included her coamings being re-varnished.
Check out the link below to a 29 page PDF file that show cases renovation a few years ago & also the history of Lidgards & the Chris Craft marque .

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The photos below ex Ken Ricketts show the recent Gulf Harbour work.

24-02-2017 Update – Photos below ex Robin Elliott of Ranui berthed in Dove Cove Marina, early Jan 2017

Tuarangi

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TUARANGI  
photo & details ex Robert Brooke

The above photo is one from the Jack Brooke collection & shows Tuarangi  out at the Barrier in the early 1950’s. The Brooke family in ‘Judith’ was cruising in company with Tuarangi which was owned by Bruce Winstone who was with his wife and three children. Robert Brooke remembers Bruce rowing across one evening to tell Jack that as the weather forecast was good, they would be off to Whitianga first thing in the morning. The next thing they heard was that Tuarangi had blown up while refueling at Whitianga. Luckily the family had gone shopping for provisions, and Bruce was the only person on board. He was quite badly injured and was not well for a long time.

So folks todays questions are:
1. Does anyone know what happened to Tuarangi & where she is today?
2. Who designed & built her?

Update
I had an early morning txt from Nathan Herbert, saying that he thought there had been a oops in the boat name. I placed all the blame on Robert 🙂 ,  who supplied the photo tagged as Wairangi. Given the comments today we can safely assume it is Tuarangi. Post headline has been changed. See details below from Harold Kidd.
TUARANGI was built by Lidgard Bros for H.S. White and launched on 25 November 1950. She was 42’x40’x12’x4’3″ and originally had twin 90hp 6 cylinder Redwing petrol engines. White sold her to Bruce Winstone in 1951.
By 1959 she was renamed SILVER FIN and owned by Dr. R.L. Kennedy at Tauranga. George N. Hale owned her in Auckland in 1964 by when she had been re-engined with twin Ford Lees Marine 4 cylinder 64.8 bhp diesels.
Barbara Cooke had this to add –  Bruce Winstone had a Frostbite which was carried on the cabin top, the name being Wairangi. Both Bruce and his son Jeff were injured in the blast. After re fueling someone lit the stove to boil the kettle causing the explosion. Judy Salthouse (nee Brooke) recalls the event well.

Kenya II (777)

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Kenya II (777)

KENYA II (777)

photos from Helen & Richard Andrew’s family collection (grand daughter & her husband of Henry Allen -Tiromoana) ex Ken Rickitts. Build & war service details ex Harold Kidd

Kenya II was built for Len Heard by Lidgard Bros and delivered in early 1940 & was in NAPS service in Auckland during the war as Z29. She was also in Fiji between March & July 1942 doing patrol work. She kept her original Fairbanks Morse diesel until at least 1962 when Len Heard re-engined her with a Gardner.

It appears to be Heard in the cockpit of Kenya II. Len owned the confectionary manufacturer ‘Heards of Parnell’. Ken Ricketts remembers him from when he was 11 years old as given his business, Heard always had lots of lollies on his boat, making him very popular with all the young children in the bay.

Also of interest is the unknown older bridge decker in the background to “777” Kenya II. Anyone able to ID her?

B/W photo below taken by Ken Ricketts in Issy Bay, Labour weekend 1948. She was painted light blue at the time.

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