Yesterday the 30’ 1978 Roy Parris built launch – Waikaro, slipped back into the creek at the Slipway, Milford, looking very smart post a lot of work both in and outside. A Jason Prew paint job and 15+ coats of uroxsys were just the icing on the cake + lots of work on her systems and ‘lets keep the water on the outside’ eg new windows etc.
No sooner had Waikaro vacated the cradle, the 38’ 1937 Sam Ford built launch – Menai (below) was climbing into a warm bed. After a lot of deferred maintenance work, Menai had been ’settling down’ eg taking up on one of the Milford marina berths before getting her final top coats. The new bow-thruster certainly made manoeuvring in the creek easy.
UPDATE 12-07-2022 back in the water after the JPPJ at The Slipway Milford.
Karakia is another classic woody that Jason Prew recently spotted at Motuopa Marina, Lake Taupo. She was designed and built by Roy Parris in 1968, but as they say – has had some work 😉
While there is a lot of thought and planning that goes into what we publish, the actual waitematawoodys website has grown organically i.e. sections have been added and deleted over the years, and we kind of assumed that you all had a good understanding of how to navigate your way around the site. In my recent travels mooching out stories, I have become very aware that not everyone is as good of driver as others and this means a lot of you are not getting the full experience.
So I have put together a few graphics to explain how to navigate around the WW site.I hope this helps you enjoy WW even more.
CONTENT I’m always looking out for stories, frequent comments I get are “I only have one photo” or “I have a photo but do not know anything about it” – well woodys, do not be the judge, send it in and let me decide if it has the makings of a WW story. Sometimes I already have another photo of the boat and now with your one, we have a story. DAILY STORY or REFERENCE TOOL When WW started the focus was on a daily story about classic wooden boats and the people connected to them, over time WW has also morphed into an amazing reference tool – we have over 3,800+ stories, 35,000+ photographs on tap. Most days when you look at the daily viewing numbers and what people are looking at, you get a 60/40 split – 60% are reading that days story and 40% are searching for something e.g. the name of their past boat, designs of a particular designer / builder etc. The site continues to grow year on year – the graph below shows the growth of the number of visitors. The graph of views is even more impressive, as people spend more and more time in and around the stories.
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HOW TO FIND / SEARCH FOR ANYTHING
BUYING OR SELLING BOATS
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NEED SOME HELP
FIND THINGS BY CATEGORY (click on a word) – Note: the bigger the size of the text, the more popular the subject
MOST POPULAR CONTENT – Select by tag e.g. boat size / year / type of vessel – yacht/launch/work-boat etc. Note: the bigger the size of the text, the more popular the subject
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And There Always Needs To Be a Boat Photo 🙂 Popped out for a lunch cruise to McKenzies Bay, Rangitoto Island – shared the bay with the very handsome woody – Pleasure Lady
Over the CV-19 lockdowns Serene’s owner Tom Lindesay gave the launch a birthday, work included new flooring, whilst ‘new’ to the boat, the wood is actually ‘young’ totara aged between 80 and 100 years. Tom commented that the trees were cut on a sustainable basis and that you are allowed to harvest 10% of a stand mainly on farming land. There has been a lot of totata planted over the last 20 years. The wooden boat business is going to need it, because there will be nothing else left. It would best used for inside work.
Tom made the two back hatches from sheep grating recycled from under a woodshed, the wood is heart matai and totara. The steering device is made from bits of the old flooring and turned on the lathe.
Great to see that Serene is going well and the old 6-354 Perkins is still doing the job 🙂
The top photo was taken by Dean Wright in the Bay of Islands in Jan 2021
Mooching Around Devonport Yacht Club + 30Yr Flash Back
The photos above were taken by Glenn Martin at the DYC yard early in the week while out and about on a lockdown bike ride.When I was a member I used to refer to the DYC as the best little yacht club in New Zealand, still is, but they were a tad averse to stepping into the real world when it came to membership criteria. But its a private club, so they can do whatever they want 🙂 From top to bottom:
Things are getting a wee bit crazy in the household, spent way too long today looking for some long lost (I put it away for safe keeping) unframed art work. During the hunt I unearthed a tube of Americas Cup posters, all in good condition and ether A1 or A2 size and most on good quality stock. 30>35 years ago in another life, I was doing marketing for the NZ Challenge, so ‘acquired’ a few items. One day I’ll find a home for them.
NGARUNUI – A Peek Down Below Following on from yesterdays story on the start of the Whangarei to Nouema yacht race, we successfully Id’ed the mid 1950’s Jim Young designed and built launch – Ngarunui. And now thanks to the camera of Ken Ricketts back in December 2015 we get to have a look down below.You will also find a lot of backland of the boat at the WW links below, she had a very challenging start to her life afloat.
23-07-2021 Input from Kerin Owen – The photo below is of one of the two dories built by Jim Young in 1957 as fishing dories to accompany Ngarunui. This one is Nancy Barbara, owned for many years by Len Hayman at Great Barrier Island, now by me. Am not certain what timbers were used but she is still very sound, being 16′,with a planked bottom and lapstrake sides. She will plane, lightly loaded, with an 8hp outboard, and is still fulfilling her original purpose of a very handy fishing dory.
Lady Janet (Poco Lento) Fixed Price Sale – $48,000
Over the lock-down / winter period the owners of Waikaro have given her a facelift. She was built in 1978 by Roy Parris as a 30’+ work boat for a Great Barrier family. She was ’saved’ from a slow death out there by master craftsman boat builder Geoff Bagnall, who re-modeled her cabin and cockpit and created one of the most practical, live-able 30’ launches I have seen.Power is via a 120hp Ford diesel and Waikaro has all the accessories to make cruising a breeze – remote capstan, hot shower (stern), stand-alone toilet/head, permanent double berth, solar charging, duckboard bait tank and more. Her owners have had her for 15 years and during this period Geoff Bagnall has overseen her maintenance programme.She returned to the water last week after a repaint, anti-fouling and varnish refresh.
And if you haven’t already guessed it – yes Waikaro is for sale and would be the best value for money woody on the market. Marina / mooring access available by negotiation. So woodys if you and the family want to be on the water this Christmas – contact waitematawoodys@gmail.com More photos below from last months relaunch.
25-05-2022 UPDATE – Post selling ,her new owners have been undertaking some differed maintenance and giving her a birthday, which has included a bow-thruster and trip to the Milford Slipway beauty parlour for a Jason Prew paint job (JPPJ) and a splash of varnish – well done JP and Cam for convincing the owners to add the bling 🙂
26-05-2022 UPDATE – first coat is on, looking very swanky 😉
28-05-2022 More paint & the first few coats of Uroxsys
14-06-2022 Getting close to relaunch day
John Spencer Book Winner The winner was Kerry Alexander – with the 68’ New World
Lots of answers submitted for Buccaneer at 73’, but John didn’t build her, and Infidel was 61’8”
The 31’ woody Poco Lento started out in life back in late 1970’s as your typical Roy Parris kauri planked launch, then in 1991>92 master boat builder Geoff Bagnall undertook a major refit to make her more liveable.
Geoff B is a talented man and has a reputation of creating Tardis’s e.g. boats that are bigger on the inside than they appear on the outside.
When I first boarded Poco Lento I was amazed to learn she was sub 32’ and powered by an underfloor Ford Lees 115hp engine. I was even more taken aback with fit-out – auto pilot, power anchor winch, bow thruster, hydraulic steering, on-board shower, fridge, freezer, pressurised hot water, stand-alone galley, electric toilet, high-end engine sound proofing, holding tank and a lot more – she really has been a rolling restoration with her owner undertaking a major project every year. The 295L fuel tank allows her to cover a lot of distance when cruising.
Now I’m not a fan of the name, if she was mine I would be reverting back to her as launched name – Lady Janet. Given that her owner has reached a stage in life where boating is a little bit of a big ask – her next owner can make the call on the name. And as a bonus ((hard to find these days) there could be a 12m Bayswater marina for sale as well.
The gallery of older photos show her arriving for the re-fit and the work-in-progress + a young looking Geoff Bagnall 😉
So woodys if you or anyone you know, are looking for a big little classic boat, in immaculate condition, ready for cruising – drop a line to waitematawoodys@gmail.com
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