Tag Archives: Lion

Classic Wooden Boats On The Lake

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Classic Wooden Boats On The Lake

Today woodys we get an amzaing birds’-eye view of the recent x.The above 5min video both showcases the stunning scenery of the Queenstown,South Island area and the fleet of woodys that assembled for the inaugural Southern Lakes Classic & Historic Boating event.

Grab a coffee/tea and sit back and take it all in. Sadly the reproduction of the video is limited by file size (2GB+) – I just wish you could see it in HD. Click on this icon (shown below) in the bottom right hand corner of the screen to view in full screen 😉

(special thanks to Peter Williams for sharing the footage with us)

WHAT IF

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WHAT IF

Yesterday I came across this amazing photo / plan on Lew Redwoods fb – it originally appeared in the NZ Herald on 7th December 1955.

Up there with the ‘how come we missed out on a waterfront sports arena a few years ago – probably see answer – stifled by small minded Auckland City Council bureaucrats.

In 1955, plans were being discussed to turn the Meola Reef, Westmere, Auckland area into, well, basically the Western Springs version of the Wynyard Quarter.

Shipbuilding firm Roy Lidgard Ltd proposed to the City Council and Auckland Harbour Board “a beautiful marine base in the Waitemata Harbour between Westmere and Pt Chevalier.

There would be no big boat building on the site, and buildings put up to service yachts and launches would be of pleasing design, surrounded by trees, shrubs and lawns.” There would have been American-style jetties, parking for 220 cars on the peninsula, at least six tennis courts, a club pavilion, and a small beach on the opposite side of the boat installations.

It fell through, of course, and has wound up in the collection of “Ideas that never quite made it off the drawing board” in Auckland’s history.

Inaugural Southern Lakes Classic & Historic Boat Gathering

Proud owners of proxy. 40 historic and classical boats from all over the South Island gathered in Queenstown at the weekend for the inaugural Southern Lakes Classic & Historic Boat Event, which included a mass cruise behind the TSS Earnslaw.Click out this ODT link to view / read a report on the day https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/boat-event-lake-wakatipu-%E2%80%98huge-success%E2%80%99

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.

Restoration of classic 1912 launch – Lion

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Restoration of MV LION 

Lion was launched in late 1912 for use on Lake Wakaptipu for Hugh McKenzie of Lake Wakatipu, serving the family and owners of Walter Peak, Fernhill and Mt Nicholas Stations. When launched she was fitted with a 21hp, 3 cylinder Clifton engine.
Constructed from kauri planking to a canoe stern design, to handle the choppy and unpredictable conditions of Lake Wakatipu. Her specs are – Length: 38′,
Beam: 9′, Draft: 3′ & she is powered by a Yanmar 51hp. (Info ex Harold Kidd)
At one stage she operated as a charter vessel on Lake Wakatipu.

Lion has made a previous appearance on WW and can be viewed at the link below
The facebook link below shows Lion arriving at the boat yard prior to commencement of work.

In 2019 Lion changed hands and her new owners commissioned an extensive restoration / refit at the Graham Caird’s ‘Repair My Boat’ yard (formerly Southern Classic Boats) in Invercargill, South Island. All timber used in the project is either kauri or Burmese teak.
I understand that her new owners will be returning her to Queenstown and her new home will be the Frankton marina.
The gallery of photos above showcases the amazing work that some of New Zealand’s most talented shipwrights are doing – living in Auckland sometimes we get a tad myopic 🙂
Photos below – pre-restoration

Lion

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LION
details ex trademe

MV Lion was commissioned in (1908) 1912 for use on Lake Wakaptipu, serving the family and owners of Walter Peak, Fernhill and Mt Nicholas Stations.
Constructed from kauri planking to a canoe stern design she was designed to handle the choppy and unpredictable conditions of Lake Wakatipu. Her spec are – Length: 38′,
Beam: 9′, Draft: 3′ & she is powered by a Yanmar 51hp.
Has previously operated as a charter vessel on Wakatipu.

Anyone able to supply details on the designer / builder etc?

Harold Kidd Input

LION was built by James M’Pherson in Dunedin in late 1912, NOT 1908, for Hugh McKenzie of Lake Wakatipu and fitted with a 21hp 3 cylinder Clifton engine.The 1908 is a constant myth, despite my efforts to persuade various owners to get it right. Hey, the guy who owns a boat is entitled to create or perpetuate his myths. It’s always the way.