At the start of the month, we got a glimpse of the 1968 John Lidgard designed and built launch – Pescador. WW link below to that story. At the time I was contacted by Phil Vining with the promise of more details on the boat. https://waitematawoodys.com/2021/12/01/pescador-a-southern-woody/ True to his word, Phil contacted me yesterday – I’ll let Phil tell the story:
“The WW story about ‘Pascador’ – A Southern Woody certainly brought back some fond memories for our family. I have also noticed Pascador in the Motueka Marina looking very smart and well looked after – she is a real credit to her current owner. The last time I visited the area I also took a photo of her to show my father who owned her back in the early 1980’s. I have good memories of taking my very young family out cruising on her in the Sounds at the time. Not long after dad sold her she went to Havelock and was lengthened by the next owner to create a bigger cockpit. At this time I owned Vining Shipbrokers Ltd and we had her listed, probably late 1980’s. Early this week I visited the Vinings Office and owner Ian Michel has done a great job of keeping the records from back in my early days. He has digitized all the old typed up listings so good to find a listing for Pescador in the system. As you can see, she was a quality design & build by John Lidgard back in 1968 … the good thing is she looks in better shape now than back then.”
TOMORROW ON WW – THE NZ CLASSIC WOODEN BOATING MOVEMENT – WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE?
Over the last 48 hours I have had a lot of calls from woodys that spotted the 30’ Lidgard built yacht – Taioma on trademe as an abandoned vessel. Current bid is $10.50 and the reserve has been meet. The auction closes on July 19th. You are bidding on the hull only, and the motor is unknown condition. But the wooden mast and boom + a mainsail have been located and will go with the boat, if wanted (stored in a different location).
Woodys, someone will ’steal’ this boat and as a last resort that hatch has to be worth what ever the purchase price the boat ends up at. I do not do this often – but here is the tme link
Bill Brown commented to me that Taioma was restored in the 1990’s by Gary Underwood and pointed me in the direction of Gary’s blog, details and photos below:
“Taioma is a 1936 Fred Lidgard kauri sloop of 28 ft. We bought her for $5000 in 1995 and did a 60 day full refit at the ‘Bolthole’ in Auckland. She was a great live-aboard for a year alongside our boat shed in Whangarei while we were building ‘BOOTSTRAP’. Note the full bulkhead at the mast which gives an end to the saloon and provides support for the table, which lowers to give us a full double bunk athwartships. Its like a kind of ‘dresser’. The f’csle has a portapotti and bosubs store, access thru the fore hatch. Also stiffens the boat up as she had a big rig.”
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.
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 ?
You would have to look long and hard to find a classic woody in as original condition and as highly presented as the 1953, 48’ Lidgard built launch Ngaro. Scroll down to the b/w press clippings below, showing her as launched. One well respected woody once said “Its one of the few boats that, in my opinion looks better with painted coamings than the original varnish”.
The Lidgard clan really aced it when they designed and built Ngaro – I do not think I have seen a more perfect bridgedecker and that flying bridge, which has been there since day one, scores a 10/10.
She is a very well built ship being triple skin kauri – 2 – 6’x1/2” diagonal planks and 1 – 6’x1” longitudinal plank, with 3” bronze rivets.Power comes from twin 1985, 120hp Ford diesels, both rebuilt in the last 3 years, including gearboxes. Professional bare wood anti-foul in 2020 and full repaint in late 2014 – she presents as new. The mix of painted surfaces and varnished trim is perfect. As always – click on photos to enlarge.
Wooden Boat Yard Mooching Hobsonville woody John Wicks sent me a bunch of photos yesterday from this home marina at Hobsonville. It reminded me that I had snapped a few myself on a recent visit, nice to see that the woodys had moved along and should be re-floating soon.First up the Athol Burns designed, Barney Daniels built – Taotane, which John commented – was being brought back from the almost dead. Then we see the very regal Lady Crossley, the 1947 Colin Wild motor-lunch, out of the shed after a lick of paint and varnish.Lastly above the 48’, 1948 Lidgard built Ranui , in for a paint job, and wearing my Wooden Boat Bureau cap – I have to remind you that she is for sale and ready for summer cruising. More details here
Things are getting a tad posh at The Slipway Milford, when I hauled out the other day, instead of a ladder, a set of stairs was waiting for me – much appreciated 🙂
Yesterday afternoon, Auckland based woodys got to rub shoulders with an impressive collection of classic wooden boats at one of New Zealand’s leading wooden boat yards – the Peter Brookes ‘Brookes Boatbuilders’ complex in rural Waimauku, West Auckland. I have been privileged to visit numerous times but every visit is a treat, where else would you see over eight classic yachts and launches in varying stages of restorations.
I’ll let the photos tell the story, if I have a photo mixed up, let me know 🙂 – enjoy – remember as always if you click on the photos they will enlarge 😉
MEDWAY Taupo woody Paul Drake came across the launch Medway the other day, on the hard at Mana Marina (Wellington).Paul recalls that she was at Taupo in the 1960’s and is clearly a sister ship to Lidgard’s Monterey.
Previously on WW there has been discussion relating to three launches built at the same time, they were Monterey, Almaray & possibly Tangaroa. Paul wondered which of the last two Medway is, as there almost differently has been a name change. WW link below to Monterey, where you can see the Lidgard factory / shed at the time of building. https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/04/14/monterey-2/ Paul commented that although in great need of a thorough paint, her good bones show through and one would think that she will tidy up very well.
Input from Harold Kidd – According to the APYMBA records, MEDWAY was built by “Woods” of Auckland in 1952. In 1962 she was owned by Larry Bruce Johnston and then had a 100hp Ford diesel.
Buying or Selling a Classic Boat Without sounding too much like the late Jacinda Ardern (“be kind”) – when people ask me about classic wooden boat ownership, I normally say that owning a woody has a positive effect on your life i.e. you end up forging a life you don’t need to escape from.
So woodys in the interest of your mental well being listed below a sample of some of the boats that are currently berthed at the virtual Wooden Boat Bureau Sales Marina. There are others for sale, some owners request privacy. To read more about the Wooden Boat Bureau – click https://waitematawoodys.com/2019/12/01/wooden-boat-bureau-advice-for-buyers-and-sellers/ The Wooden Boat Bureau is uniquely placed to offer impartial, up-to-date market information and objective advice to both sellers and buyers. So if you are looking for a wooden boat or considering selling – email us at waitematawoodys@gmail.com
Today’s woody is the 28’ Lidgard built launch Georgia, built in 1974 so she slides into the ’spirit of tradition cateogory’, helped by the fact that she was built of 1 1/4” copper riveted, carvel, kauri planks.
As per most Lidgard’s she fits into the ‘FBG’ mold i.e. a 10’ beam on a 28’ boat..
Powered by a 50hp diesel engine.
Reviewing her tme listing (thanks Ian MacDonald) she is very well appointed and the vendor is very motivated for a sale e.g. keeps dropping the price, so someone could get a nice entry level woody for a good price.
WW Bucket Hat Winner – lots of entries, including some very ‘amusing’ ones but at the end of the day there were only two correct entries – the answer to what is the most searched word on WW was – ELECTROLYSIS. Lots of entries like classic or boat or launch BUT you rarely get a single word like that searched – it would be ‘Classic Launch’.
The first correct answer of the two was Jason Prew, but he already sports a WW bucket so I ruled him out of the draw :-), the winner is Mike Elliott. I have emailed you Mike, reply with your postal address and I’ll send you the hat 🙂
Picton boat builder Mike Coutts is doing a shout out to see if anyone would be interested in getting involved in the restoration of the 1938, Jim Lidgard built, 32’9″ yacht Matatua that he has taken over. Any help, advice or information would be welcome. I’ll let Mike tell the story.
“I have been given Matatua to restore , i can do anything given the time and money but both are in short supply here at present ! she has a lot of history in Wellington with Port Nick and has sailed to all corners of the Pacific several times that i know of. I served my time with John Lidgard and i have asked him and he said she was one of Jim Lidgard’s designs and built at Kauwau Island but he cant recall much more . Some one bolted a steel rudder and skeg , mounted a Coventry engine on steel engine beds, put an alloy mast on a steel mast step and extended the hull by about a meter . As you can imagine the dilignafication in some of these areas is quite severe, I told 2 previous owners that they had to get the steel out of her to no avail 25 years ago ! i have her on the hard at $150 a week and have got the steel rudder skeg off and working on the engine beds, mast out next and remove the steel mast step, chainplates etc . I would like to restore her but at this stage just trying to preserve whats left , which is surprisingly good, another testiment to Kiwi boat building and heart kauri”
02-07-2020 Input from Robin Elliott and Harold Kidd
Harold and I have finally sorted the mystery of Matatua (well it was only a mystery to us, the rest of the world couldn’t care less 🙂 ).
Matatua was built as a 33-foot ketch by Roy Lidgard in 1938 at their yard in Freemans Bay Auckland for C.T. Jonas who originally named her Landfall. NZ Herald 13/8/1938 has a photo of her on page 12 being built ‘for C.T. Jonas’. Landfall was launched 19/11/1938 and described as an ‘auxilliary ketch’ 33ft overall, 26ft on the waterline with 9ft 6in beam. She carried 600 sq ft of sail and it was reported that her owner intended making a cruise to the islands at the end of the 1938-39 season.
From then on, no more mention of Landfall and it appears that C.T. Jonas and his co-owner Harry Gillard, renamed her Matatua quite soon after launching.
The ketch Matatua first appears in print in February 1939 racing with other boats in the Lidgard employees picnic from the Freemans Bay slipway to Motuihe. She raced regularly with RNZYS and RAYC for the rest of the season. Her registration number was B-9.
The ketch rig clearly wasn’t a success because in September 1939 the NZH 26/9/39 reports ‘aux yacht Landfall owned by C.T. Jonas which made an appearance last year under ketch rig has been converted into a cutter’. This reference to Landfall is odd because she had been named Matatua since at least the beginning of 1939, but maybe they were just making the connection back their earlier articles.
In the winter of 1940, yet more improvements. NZH 2/7/40: B-class yacht Matatua owned by C. Jonas has had 2ft 6in added to her counter by Lidgard Bros. OA length now 35ft 6in and will enable carrying a permanent backstay, NZH 9/12/40: Photo of Matatua with her new cutter rig, B-9 on the sail.
The war intervenes and Matatua ceases racing.
During this time the Auckland yacht registration records, probably having been moved about or in storage during the war, had fallen into disarray. By the time a new list is published in July 1946, Matatua has been registered twice, first by Harry Gillard, who retained B-9, and again by C.T. Jonas who got a new number B-24. The error was picked up and B-24 lapsed but it remained in the official lists for a couple of seasons until another purge of obsolete registrations in 1948.
Clarrie Irvine raced Matatua, as B-9, for the next couple of seasons and sold her in 1949 to R. Campbell of Wellington. The trip to Wellington under delivery skipper Terry Hammond was hard and they were missing for several days after hitting a nor’westerly gale just off Cape Palliser that blew them as far south as Kaikoura. After getting back to almost the same spot, they ran into a westerly gale that blew them back out to sea. Eventually Matatua got to Wellington, her crew had been battered for 84 hours.
Matatua remained in Wellington (registered as Wellington A-10) for the next 12 years or so. She was purchased by K. Stutter in 1957, and in 1962 was sold to D. Fletcher of Epsom who brought her back to Auckland where she picked up her old number of B-9. Fletcher didn’t appear to do any racing but in 1968 he sold her to George Retter of the Richmond Yacht Club who owned and raced her until 1981.
Matatua has had no registered owners since then. Her NZYF number is 109
One major confusion with Matatua has been the Bob Stewart design Mata-a-tua built for George Gresham of Tauranga in 1947. When Matatua was sold to Wellington, her B-9 registration became vacant and was issued to Gresham’s Mata-a-tua thus beginning a series of tortured confusions in boating magazines and newspapers between the two boats.
This was continued when Mata-a-tua was also sold to Wellington in 1958 where she became Wellington A-9. Her owner Brian Millar brought her to Auckland in 1964 and she entered the 1965 Anniversary Regatta under her Wellington number A-9. (A-9?.. A-9??.. That’s Moana and We can’t have that!!) In February she was re-registered as B-47.
Another tedious ‘golly gee’ point. Both Clarrie Irvine and George Retter owned the Bailey built C-class Matua C-54. Both of them sold Matua to buy Matatua
I have been told to ‘get a life’ by many people.
FLOSS – 4sale
Recently Baden Pascoe sent me details on Floss – the sailing dinghy below. Baden’s father Howard, built the glued ply dinghy which is now for sale. Owner Jock Speedy is only the second owner. I understand Jock is open to reasonable offers. Contact via email at jmspeedy55@gmail.com
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