Innehållsförteckning för July 2016 från Boating NZ

“A shit-load of girders?” they would say. “No, no a ship-load of birders,” I would say and so it went on for weeks after the voyage to the Solomon Islands. I was attempting to describe the expedition from Tauranga to Papua New Guinea via Norfolk Island, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands. “A ship-load of birders on an expedition in an ice-strengthened ship” is how I would describe where I had been, but my quick-fire mumbling would somehow always be interpreted as if I was in the surplus girder export business. Birders are a much more interesting business than girders. They are passionately obsessed with seeing birds, all kinds of birds and the more the better. Some are borderline autistic in their single-mindedness towards birds; others are merely obsessive. As…

“Whittley-branded boats are now available in New Zealand…” I found it hard to escape a sense of déjà vu while reviewing the Whittley SL22. Although manufactured in Melbourne, Australia, this model’s Rayglass heritage is unmistakable. Rayglass and Whittley built selected models of each other’s boats some years back, until Brunswick bought Rayglass in 2005 and they parted ways. The Whittley SL22 rides on the familiar Rayglass 2300 hull, no longer in production in New Zealand. Many aspects of the deck mouldings are familiar too, but Whittley has further developed the boat for its home market. Whittley-branded boats are now available in New Zealand for the first time, sold by Auckland’s Bensemann Boating Centre. The Whittley SL22 reviewed here is part of the first shipment of boats to New Zealand. It…

Superyacht Athos refits in New Zealand THE TWO-MASTED 62m schooner Athos recently completed a comprehensive refit program at Orams Marine Services in Auckland. The Andre Hoek-designed yacht was originally launched in 2010 by Holland Jachtbouw. She was described as one of the world’s most spectacular and innovative sailing yachts. The New Zealand refit included a complete repaint of the hull. The owner’s specification also included repainting the gold cover line, changing the boot stripe to turquoise, changing the antifoul to green and refreshing the high-gloss exterior varnish on the superstructure houses and deck furniture. Over 120 other engineering and maintenance tasks were completed. The list included removing and inspecting shafts and props, a genset and engines service; replacing compressed air pipework throughout engine room; removing and servicing bow and stern…

Puzzle no. 225 Across 1. Another name for pushpit (8) 5. ____ chine – abrupt intersection between boat side and hull (4) 9. Boat fuel indicator (5) 10. State of immobility – suffered by becalmed sailing boat, eg? (7) 11. _____ __ anchor – floats about, but not far (5,2) 12. Sudden large sea wave (5) 13. Harbours where ships can load and unload (5) 15. Make mooring more secure, maybe (5) 17. Marine equipment in photo (5) 19. Workers employed in shipbuilding industry (7) 22. Holidaying one might charter fishing boat (7) 23. Die down – if winds do this, you might be becalmed (5) 24. Heel of mast fits into this (4) 25. Supplier of marine equipment, supplies etc (8) Down 1. Paper _____ – class of catamaran…

Us four rowers (average age 57) – Ian Hamilton, Eoin Harding, Alister Murray and Robin Wilks – trained for two years for the challenge – a 98km slog which took us from Picton Rowing Club to the Star Boating Club in Wellington. Our vessel was a quadruple sculls rowing skiff called the Sydney 2000, used by the NZ Rowing team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Just after we decided to take on the Strait, my niece, Jess Wright, was diagnosed with leukaemia. I told her I’d train for this while she fought the cancer – so we’d be hurting at the same time. She wanted to be on one of the support boats, but sadly she passed away in January. The crew trained at various venues around Otago and Southland,…

“Big, comfortable and luxurious…” The flagship of Jeanneau’s Sun Odyssey range, the 519 (LOA 15.75m), is an impressive vessel. Big, sleek, luxurious, comfortable, quick, well-built – what’s not to like? And seeing the agility of these French twins, tacking nimbly around each other at close quarters, you sense that – for all their size and elegance – they also serve plenty of easy-to-handle fun. Interestingly, both owners arrived at the Jeanneau decision after months of independent research, though one suspects a growing momentum of mutual influence played a role over the many pre-purchase dinners and discussions. Still, among the features they both found attractive were value for money, the build quality (in particular the integrity of the grid laminated into the hull) and, of course, the aesthetics. The two families…

Caption this.... June’s caption winner “Sorry mate, no U Boat U turns ahead…” “Sorry mate, no U Boat U turns ahead…” Congratulations to: Peter & Robyn Millar “Extent of global warming revealed as US sub surfaces at the North Pole.” Runner-up: Lucy Millar Hovercraft fights mangrove BAY OF PLENTY Regional Council is trialling a purpose-built hovercraft to reduce mangrove spread in Tauranga Harbour. Designed by Auckland company Fieldmaster, the vessel is fitted with a mangrove seedling mowing unit. It’s the first of its kind in New Zealand. “We tendered out the design-and-build of a mechanical mangrove seedling control option that won’t leave deep tracks or significantly disturb other wildlife in the harbour,” says Bay of Plenty Regional Councillor and Regional Direction and Delivery Committee Chair, Paula Thompson. Results from intensive…

“…as I’ve got older I wanted to make things easier.” Kerikeri’s Craig Partridge partnered with multihull legend Ron Given to create this 10.8m powercat which delivers exactly what he needs to enjoy some well-earned leisure time. “Old sailors never die, they just get a little dinghy” – so goes the bumper sticker. But according to Partridge, they just want to spend more time fishing and less time getting a wet bum. So despite being a life-long sailor, this boat is all about cruising in comfort for Partridge and his wife Leigh – with Sky TV, so they don’t miss the rugby, of course. Partridge and Given joined forces on the project after delivering a Given-designed T11 powercat to New Caledonia in 2010. The pair took just two days and 18…

“JPO will come into its own gamefishing as well…” Whangarei’s Warren Hay tapped into many years of sport fishing, boating and marine retailing experience, also drawing on McLay Boats’ aluminium boatbuilding expertise to produce exactly the boat he wanted: the Broadbill 8m. Early in June Boating NZ took the boat past Whangarei Heads and out across open water to the Hen and Chickens Islands where we spent a few hours attempting to interest the resident snapper population in our soft baits. Even though the fishing was disappointing, especially since the Hen and Chicks often produce big snapper from the ‘wash’, it became abundantly clear the Broadbill was great for this style of fishing. By spreading ourselves around the foredeck, the side decks and the spacious cockpit we fished four anglers…

The Auckland Star boating columnist of 27th April, 1920 was quite unequivocal in his report. “A few weeks before Easter there was launched from her builder’s yard a boat that ranks as one of the most up to date on the harbour. During the Easter holidays we had an opportunity of viewing this smart craft and a short description would interest our readers especially as there is a distinct tendency towards larger and higher-powered boats than we ever thought of before,” he wrote. That boat was Marguerite, the latest creation from the St Mary’s Bay yard of Collings and Bell. Most of the newspaper’s description of the bridge-decker’s interior still holds true today, 96 years later. “I was browsing TradeMe in 2014 when I saw Marguerite and fell in love…

Browsing the secondhand market soon reveals a wide price differential for reasonably large boats – anything from the cost of a modest runabout to the cost of an over-priced Auckland property. Like everything in life, you generally get what you pay for – a lower price probably means more repair and maintenance costs later on. Bargains can be found, though, but before you begin, consider the wider context. Up-scaling from a trailer boat requires a significant mindset shift. Since a larger boat stays permanently in the water on a mooring or a marina berth, there is a direct ongoing cost of storing the vessel. Also, moored boats have features not evident on a trailer boat and maintenance is an order of magnitude bigger, although not necessarily more complex. Costs can…

The study – by the University of Auckland’s Business School, Oxford University and the University of British Columbia – is part of an international collaboration between 400 researchers seeking to fill the gaps left by official catch data. The 15-year ‘Sea Around Us’ project is run out of the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia. While results for global fishing were published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications in January, the New Zealand results have now been published by the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. This report has sent the fishing industry, the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI), NIWA, recreational fishing advocates and various political parties into a flap. The media has been full of reports, claims and counter-claims as more and more…