
RATA
The launch Rata recently made an appearance on Lew Redwoods fb, a WW search comes up with several craft of the same name but not this woody. The location looks ’southern’ to my eyes.
Can we expand of her past and current location?
19-10-2022 Input ex Ray Morey – After Whangarei Towboats folded up, (Jack Fisher, Kay Fisher and Ivan Rolfe) Ivan bought Rata from a ship broker in Auckland where she was lying. We brought her up to Whangarei where we put a heavy panting beam across behind the engine and mounted a towpost bridge behind the wheelhouse, after the style of the Alert, where the load was transfered to the deck, not the cabins.She had a 4-71 with 2:1 red box so swung a decent prop.I spent a lot of time towing one of the W.H.B. bottom dump suction dredge barges, mostly “Rua” with her mainly on the main channel before Westminster came in and deepened the place. We also did provisioning of the oil tankers at Marsden Point and bunkering oils for the ships. I knew she had come from the sounds area origionally. When “A.A. Tankcleaning” sold her I believe she went “up to the islands” as a village supply boat but was lost soon after. I was driving her about 1964-65.
Photo Below – by again ex Ray Morey of Rata off Onerahi about 1965 when owned by Ivan Rolfe.
Something From Left Field
Like most classic woody boating enthusiasts I’m not a fan of jet skis / personal water craft etc – they have a habit of shattering the peace and quiet in a bay. The ones used for fishing are all good. The one below is almost starting to look ok, lose the white on white paint scheme and it would be very cool.
