When I took my launch back to ‘bare wood’ a few years ago I was paranoid about getting too close to the kauri and scorching the surface, seems Jeff didn’t share my view 🙂 The finished repaint looks ace – we done.
I last saw the launch – Venture, back in June 2021 when she was berthed at Hobsonville marina. Link below to that story + a Aug 2017 story that has some wonderful photos from her days big game fishing in the Bay of Islands.
Venture was built by Morrie Palmer in c.1964 and while several people have made reference to being designed by Colin Wilde, at best, probably safe to say ‘influenced by’ 😉
36 in length, 12’1” beam and draft of 3’7”. Forward motion is via 6cyl Ford 90hp Diesel engine.
Today thanks to a recent tme listing (ex Ian McDonald) we get to have a gender down below.
The woody market currently seems to be very crowded with project boats that need finishing / saving, most have a price tag best describe by the somewhat famous line from the 1997 Australian movie The Castle – “Tell Him He’s Dreaming’. Well todays woody isn’t a dream, its good value at $500 ono.
Now there’s no motor but the tme story (thanks Ian McDonald) says there is one available for $3k but given its a Volvo 130hp to match the stern drive unit in the boat, you would probably be best to ditch both and start again 🙂
The launch is approx. 30’ and currently in the Taupo area and the trailer isn’t included in the price.
It stated that previously it was an icon of Lake Taupo so fingers crossed the Drake brothers can jump in with some more details.:-)
INPUT ex PAUL DRAKE – This is REGARDETTE, formerly VENTURE, understood to be ex-Airforce. She has been at Taupo since the early 50’s I would say, or even earlier – possibly arriving soon after the finish of WW2. She had a Chrysler Crown which now lives in brother Michael’s shed. The Crown gearbox is now firmly bolted to the back of ROMANCE’s Chrysler Ace, where it is doing excellent service. Little else is known.
Todays WW story started last week – I’m standing in the queue to catch the Waiheke Island > Devonport ferry and the lady (Penny Ericson) behind me asks if I’m from Tasmania, now it was Friday afternoon and I had been to lunch so the brain took a few milli seconds to engage. I was wearing an Aust. Wooden Boat Festival t-shirt and the logo was plastered over the back of the shirt. I explain no I’m not, and then Penny tells me she is off to Tasmania in 7 days time for a holiday, so being the nice person I am I give her my ’Things you must do / see in Hobart’ speech. I then open the photo gallery on my iPhone and back the story up with photos. She comments that there are a lot of boat photos and I explain why and tell the waitematawoodys story.
Snap – she knows the site and was in fact about to email me concerning her grandfather > fathers launch named Venture.
After that long led in I’ll let Penny tell her story –
“This is Penny , I met you on the Waiheke ferry the other day and we discussed the fact that I would love to know what happened to my father and grandfathers boat that he used on the lakes in Rotorua as a charter fishing launch . I think that it operated out of the fishing camp on the Ohau channel , and the Harvey family lived in a house on Lake Rotorua on the other side of the channel . As you will see from the above photos the launch was called Venture, and the Log book below begins in 1937 and finishes in 1941.
No one in the family knows what happened to the boat but I had a feeling someone thought it may have been sold to someone in Auckland . I was delighted to meet you and you sounded so positive that you may be able to find the boat for me . In the bottom photo my father John or “Jack” Harvey is on the left . He was distinctive as he had a wooden peg leg having lost a leg on the western front in WW1. All his life despite his disability he was a marvellous fisherman and boatman. I grew up in Torbay so was always in boats as a kid, Dad building many dinghy’s for us .
Thank you Alan , I would greatly appreciate finding the boat and maybe the original logbook needs to be reunited with the boat”
So woodys can we help Penny in her search for the launch Venture and along the way learn more about her and what became of her.
17-03-2023 INPUT ex HAROLD KIDD – VENTURE was bought by K H Wilson of Rotorua in 1947 and fitted with a 52hp Graymarine engine. He kept her until at least 1955.
I’ll reward the woody that is the most helpful with a WW cap.
While mooching around the yard at Hobsonville Marina today I spotted the launch – Oranoa out for some TLC. We do not see her out and about much and WW only knows a little from her very early days.
Chris McMullen commented on a previous WW story that during the first few years of this apprenticeship to boat builder Morrie Palmer at 15 Clarence St Devonport, he worked under Morrie and Cal Crooks. As Chris said back then boat building was a competitive cut throat business. At the Devonport yard at least five major builds took place Cara Mia, Lady Ethel, Venture, Oranoa and the Stewart 34 Phoenician. All that, along with repair and insurance work all done, by three people (average) in just over two and a half years. Most owners finished their boat off but Oranoa was the exception and largely complete and later launched from Devonport wharf c.1962/63.
Oranoa was built for the Lineham family and as of 2015, was still owned by the family. Can you learn a little more at Oranoa eg length, propulsion etc.
Also hauled was a nice selection of other woodys – see below. Lady Ruby is a very salty looking motorsailer, the double-ender launch I think hails from Bayswater and has grazed WW before but her name alludes me. The sedan / flybridge launch I suspect has a few too many sheets of plywood for my eyes. The classic yacht waiting her turn to be relaunched ? – very pretty.
Saturdays Quiz – ID The Launch – No winners. And we still do not know the boat.
Can We ID This Launch – Venture I spotted the above launch while mooching around Hobsonville marina, no name on display.Chances are she has been on WW b4 but after a while unless they have some distinctive feature, they all merge in my brain 🙂
UPDATE Photo below of Venture alongside the Salthouse wharf at Greenhiite – April 2017 ex Ken Ricketts
If I Slipped And Banged My Head – Maybe This Would Be My Next Boat
Or more likely if Ardern has her way ………….Quartet is a ‘Greenline Hybrid’ – but just what the set up is I do not know. But it is a lot of boat for its size (the berth is 10.5m) and seems to include most things – wide walk around decks, large covered cockpit, drop down stern / duck-board, inbuilt solar panels etc. And I’m sure I’ll cop some flak – but its visually not that offensive, at least to me 🙂
David Clarke sent in the above photos of the Bay of Islands launches – Marie J (top) and Venture (bottom) that were both owned and operated by the Hudspith family (father Don, and sons Cyril and Norm) of Kaikohe.
Marie J was owned in the early 1960’s and moored in the Waitangi river on the piles. She was used mainly for game fishing in the BOI and Whangaroa areas with many days trolling over the Taheke reef for marlin. In the photo is David’s father, Colin Clarke, a regular crew member sitting on the cabin top left, beside him is Cyril Hudspith and in the cockpit is Tammy Weir another regular crew member.
The Marie J was sold in the mid 1960’s and in and around October 1966, the Hudspith’s family’s new launch Venture was purchased and brought up to the BOI.
She then spent the next 30 years or so mainly game fishing and Norm Hudspith was a prominent member of the BOI Swordfish Club and indeed the IGFA.
The photo of Venture shows her with a new clear flying bridge (added c.1968) and about to be launched at the BOI Yacht Club slip way in Waitangi after her annual haul out.
The Hudspith’s also installed a Perkins wing motor for trolling around 1968.
David commented that it was great to see that both vessels are still in very good condition, a credit to the owners.
Todays photos are from Dean Wright who has just spent 2 weeks mooching around the Fiordland aboard Monowai III, owned by Andy and Brenda Bell. The Bell’s are part way thru their fourth circumnavigation of the South Island. I will do a feature on Monowai III, soon.
Dean & partner Deb have tagged along on their adventures twice now, last year two weeks exploring Stewart Island, and this year two weeks in Fiordland.
Above is a collection of mostly work boat woodys that Dean photographed on the trip – below is a photo of a 65’ fibreglass bad boy snuck in there, punching its was around to Preservation Inlet 🙂
Not wanting to sound like a parrot but the CYA has an amazing track record of aceing the weather for its launch cruises to the waterfront Riverhead Hotel.
The forecast was average, but it just never eventuated & subsequently the boats that made the trip had a great day.
So cool to have one of our yachties make the trip, that center-board helped 😉
Highlight of the day for me was seeing John Wright’s recently restored launch – Nana. Nana was designed by C. Bailey Jun. & built by C. Bailey & Sons in 1934. You can view more on Nana’s amazing journey, from rescue to re-launch at this link https://waitematawoodys.com/2017/02/01/nana-resuced-restored/
John has one of the best eyes for how a woody should look, the final details on Nana make her look perfect, in my eyes. John, you should have finished the trip & come up to the hotel, I have a WW tee-shirt for you – email me your postal address – waitematawoodys@gmail.com
Also had a peek at the publican’s – Paula & Stephen Pepperell’s 1967 Jorgensen launch -Volantis, that is nearing the end of an extensive re-fit, Stephan is another woody with a great eye for detail.
Below are a collection of photos from the camera of Simon Smith who was perched on the Greenhithe Bridge – they give us another perspective on some of our classics. Pity Simon wasn’t there for the return trip – Raindance & the motor-sailer Korara, were just passing under the bridge, being good woodys, traveling to starboard of a large plastic yacht (a Hanse) that was approaching the bridge – when all of a sudden the yachts bow shot up out of the water & the yacht shot backwards. The reason – you guessed it – mast hit the bridge (photo of dent to the bridge, below) luckily they were travelling slow, any faster & they might have lost the mast. I suspect there was a change of undies needed for the crew.
Another great collection of photos from Dean Wright’s collection of photos he has scanned from old negatives. The ones above show the privately owned game boat – Venture about to weigh in a very impressive marlin at Russell Wharf in the Bay of Islands. Skippered by Norm Hudspith at the time.
Normal questions – what is she & where is she today?
UPDATE – Thanks to HDK’s memory (or ww search skills) we now know all about her. She appeared on ww back in November 2015 (link below), make sure you read the comments section – lots of chat there. Cheers Alan
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