Tag Archives: Percy Vos

Pastime + VOS Shed

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PASTIME

Todays woody story comes to us via John Dawson who sent in a link to a Auckland Museum collection file on the 1914 Auckland Power Boat Association race to Cowes Bay, Waiheke Island. The event was run on the 7th March, 1914.

The launch featured is the 24’ Pastime, previously on WW  we learnt that she was built by T. Le Huquet in late 1912.

Quite an unusual cabin/cockpit top, the owners must have been years ahead of the ’stay out of the sun’ crusade.

AND THE QUESTION OF THE DAY – Whats happening with the Percy Vos Shed ?

All dressed up and ready to shine BUT a peek in the door reveals a dust bowel – appears nothing has happened since I was last inside for the August 12th 2021 offical launching party…….. that’s 62 weeks ago. As numerous people have told me, the Maritime Museum (who ‘control’ the building) couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery. At the August 2021 function it was announced that both the NZ Classic Yacht Association and the New Zealand Traditional Boat Building School would be tenants – anyone able or brave enough to supply an update?

The one positive from this is that the muppets at the CYA pushing the new Heritage Basin Yacht Only Marina will probably be long dead before the Maritime Museum gets around to making the yacht only marina a happening thing 🙂

Waimana – AK77

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WAIMANA – AK77
You have to love the upfront honesty of someone trying to sell their boat when they open with this line – “Waimana is not a gin palace but a public bar, so a bit rough around the edges, so she needs a bit of TLC”. That line gets them a plug on WW 🙂

She was built by the Percy Vos yard out of 1.5” kauri planks over double hardwood frames for Sandfords in the 1940’s and converted to a live aboard pleasure vessel in the1980’s. Length is 55’ and her weight is roughly 35 ton. She has two forward cabins and a side berth sleeping 6 in comfort with a further 4 berths in the saloon. Powered by a 6L3B Gardner diesel using 5-8 litres per hour and 7 knots @ 700rpm on a 3/1 reduction box with a 40+” prop.

A quick search in Baden Pascoe’s excellent book – ‘Launching Dreams – Percy Vos, The Boats & His Boys’, tells us she was 51’ and built in the 1941>43 period for Waitemata Fisheries. Built of single skin on sawn frames and while under construction the US Army requisitioned her in Oct 1942 but later cancelled the requisition. Waimana was completed in 1943 and fished out of Auckland and Onehunga into the 1970’s.

Any of the work-boat crew able to tell us more about the boat?

Looking For Some Woody Boat Parts

One of the WW readers is having a tidy up and the items below are excess to needs – xxx would prefer one clean sale, but who knows……. Contact Al on 027 200 0057

Woody Hydroplane

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WOODY HYDROPLANE

Today’s photo is a kosher woody – built from kauri planks, she measures 16’x7’, flat bottomed, and powered by a 4 cyl. Cirrus-Hermes aero petrol engine. She had a top speed of 45mph, consuming 4 gallons per hour. I suspect after one hour you would have been deaf for the rest of the day. And woodys – she was built by one of our boating building royalty – none other than – Percy Vos. (photo ex Andrew Donovan collection)


SEA SPRAY MAGAZINE – Volume 1 – No.1 December 1945

I was ‘flicking’ thru my much treasured copy of the above (thank you Dave Giddens) and my eye stopped on page 23, titled ‘Jottings Of The Month’ which talked about the decommissioning of Auckland’s yachting fleet that had been laid up during WWII.

Page reproduced below – mentioned are – Ariki, Tawera, Little Jim, Rainbow, Tamatea,Ranger, Iorangi, Ngatoa, Prise, Rawene and Aramoana.
Also covered in the article is the sad loss of life of the skipper (W. E. Lawrence) of the 1913, Les Coulthard built 22′ launch – Minx. Lawrence drowned in Patiki Bay, Waiheke Island trying to retrieve Minx’s tender that had come adrift while at anchor. See & read more on Minx here https://waitematawoodys.com/2016/06/27/minx/

Manaia – A Peek Down Below

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MANAIA – A Peek Down Below


Manaia has made several appearance on WW, link below the backgrounds her early days . She was designed by Alex Collings and built in 1965 by Percy Vos. Now thanks to a nudge from Alan Sexton and tme – we get to see the results of some of the recent work on her. She is looking very smart for an ex Harbour Board Pilot boat 🙂

Currently offered for sale but you’ll need a 25m marina. Contact waitematawoodys@gmail.com

Previous WW story link below
https://waitematawoodys.com/2018/01/26/manaia/

Hukarere – P Vos

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Hukarere 2010

HUKARERE – P VOS
The above photo of the 1936 Percy Vos built 40’ launch – Hukarere was sent to me by Baden Pascoe. Baden recently uncovered a letter he received back in December 2018 from a Mrs McCormack, the daughter of Stephen Menzies, the original owner of Hukarere. Mrs McCormack wrote the letter following reading Baden’s book ‘Launching Dreams – Percy Vos – The Boats & His Boys’ . The letter provides a time line of what happened to the boat during and after her fathers ownership.
 
Sadly she mentions in the letter that all her notes and photos of Hukarere where given to the Auckland Maritime Museum – the biggest black hole in the land. It would be safe to assume they will never see that light of day again – most likely in a land fill somewhere……….. 😦
 
Interested to her from anyone that can confirm, and contribute more to the story – in particular photos.
Input from Dave Stanaway -photo below of Hukarere when involved in the Auckland harbour bridge construction
Hukarere

Whangarei Town Basin 1943

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Whangarei Town Basin 1943


Todays photo, ex the Navy Museum, is captioned  ‘ Outer Patrol Launches Whangarei c.1943’. We have an interesting mix of vessels tied up.
The two on the right should be easy to ID – being Q Class patrol vessels i.e. motor launches built in the 1930s and used by the NZ Navy during WW2. John Clarke has supplied ex this site, a listing – Amakura Q04, Lady Gay Q00, Lady Margaret Q08, Lady Shirley Q11 later Q12, Maristella Q02, Movarie Q05 , Rawea Q06, Shenandoah Q03, Te Rauparaha Q07, Wirihana Q01. All navy inner and outer patrol vessels. John commented that if the WW list is correct, the vessels moored at the head of the line in the photo would be Maristella (Q02) and Lady Shirley (Q12). Maristella was a 40 footer, built by Sam Ford in December 1936 for Mr R.W. Wills of Epsom and fitted with a 50hp Ailsa Craig diesel. During WW2 RNZN patrol service she was fitted with a Gray for spares rationalization purposes. Lady Shirley was a 36 footer, built for Mr C Sinel of Auckland by C Bailey & Son in 1938. Both are still afloat and well-loved launches, search their names in the WW search panel for more photos / info.
 
Are we able to ID the launches astern of the Q Class boats?
 
I was contacted last week by Whangarei boatbuilder, Mike Hughes with a heads up that the little Harrison Butler ‘Omicron’ (below) was back in Mike’s workshop for a little regular maintenance.

She is a rather pretty looking yacht – but she should be given she was built by Percy Voss in 1945.
Omicron is kept at Parua Bay, Whangarei.
 
annual maintenance

Waipawa – A Peek Down Below

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WAIPAWA AK83 – A Peek Down Below
 

The ex work boat (Waitemata Fisheries) Waipawa has made a brief appearance on WW back in 2016 (WW link below) Now thanks to Ian McDonald’s road trip in the Far North we get to have a look down below.

The photos above show her on the hard at Opua, in mid October.  The 50’ Waipawa was built by Percy Vos and her owner Pete McIntyre, understands she was launched in 1940).

She gets around, having recently been up to Fiji & Tonga, And to Fiordland / Stewart Island.
 

Dionysus (Paulmarkson)

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Dionysus (Paulmarkson)

 
Todays WW story is sobering viewing, it records the fate of Dionysus, the Percy Vos built motor sailer, that went ashore at Oakura in July 2014.
I understand she was left unattended on anchor and the weather turned nasty overnight and the owners could not get out to her. Details & photos from Cameron Pollard.
 
She was extensively damaged with her decks and bulkheads popped. The decision was made instantly by insurance and council to remove the wreck asap.
Cameron reports that her Gardner engine was taken away after its salt water washing and has since been saved and is destined for a new home in a very nice fishing boat conversion.
Her rigs and tailshaft etc were dragged into a paddock and anything still intact was left with it .
 
Lots of vehicles on the beach in the photos – in fact the beach is actually a designated road.

Auckland Is So Close To Having a World Class Working Traditional Boatyard – But Also So Close To Stuffing It Up

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Auckland Is So Close To Having a World Class Working Traditional Boatyard – But We Are Also So Close To Stuffing It Up
The hottest topic around the waterfront & has been for way too long is – what’s happening with the Percy Vos yard. Everyone has a different story & reckons their version is fact.
All I can tell you is that we are dangerously close to mucking it up. It is almost a joke, the issue has been around for over 15+ years, I have reproduced below a submission that was produced back in Feb 2005……… thats exactly 14 years ago. It shows what the yard could look like & examples of successful working wooden boat yards.
So woodys the question today is – whats wrong with Auckland Council and its many public facing departments? They do some wonderful work across the city & at times move fast e.g. they decided what the America’s Cup bases will look like & approved them in a few years – so why is this project dragging on?
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What’s Happening With The Percy Vos Shed?

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What’s Happening With The Percy Vos Shed?

If I had $20 for ever time I have been asked that question, I’d be buying the Ngapipi Rd boat shed that appeared on WW yesterday.
It would be an understatement to say that the shed is a project that has had a few false starts, in fact a well known waterfront identity is on record as saying he would walk naked up Queen St if it was ever completed. In fairness to them – I think they were referring to it being a working classic wooden boat yard.
So woodys I was a little relieved the other day to come across an article by Vicki Holder on the Ray White weblog, its dated February 2018 so hopefully what was reported is still on track.
I was even more upbeat when I saw name Rod Marler popping up early in the article – Rod is one of good guys, calls a spade a spade & does what he says he will. The man comes to us from an impeccable yachting bloodline, with his family having owned one of our finest classic yachts – the 1905 Arch Logan – Rawhiti. Rod himself has owned & raced the 1934 Arch Logan designed yacht – Little Jim & these days skippers one of the smartest classic motor launches on the Waitemata. An ex chairman of the NZ Classic Yacht Association & a true waitematawoodys fan (see photo below).
Nine to Five (more like 7>7) Rod is director of design & place at Panuku Development, now that is a fancy sounding title & I can hear going “whats he actually do?” – well the answer is a hell of a lot, lets just say that if it involves Auckland’s waterfront, Rod will have rubbed up against it.
Back to the Vos shed, owned by Panuku – now one person can’t deliver a project the size of the Vos Shed but Marler has what it takes to pull together the many interested parties & funding streams to make it happen – there is talk about a summer of 2019 completion date, fingers crossed that this time it happens – I’m sure at some stage there will be the opportunity to contribute to the funding, I’ll let you know when.
Read the article at the link below + some great photos.
Woody, Baden Pascoe has published a great book, titled ‘Launching Dreams – Percy Vos & His Boys, its a must have / read if you are a true waitematawoody. Check it out here   https://waitematawoodys.com/2013/11/20/percy-vos-the-boats-his-boys/ . I think you can still buy copies – Baden can you confirm & if so – where & how?
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