Boating NZ December 2018

As John Macfarlane explains in this issue’s Reflections column, New Zealand’s traditional boatbuilding industry finds itself in a bit of a dilemma. Our maritime heritage is richly endowed with fine, functioning examples of boats built in the early part of the 20th century – some in the closing years of the 19th century – but restoring and maintaining these vessels is becoming increasingly difficult. Mainly because the required knowledge and skill is itself disappearing and is in danger of being lost forever. New recruits are, well, non-existent. The world of scarfing, lap joints, steamed planks and caulking has limited appeal for a 21st century school-leaver. Should we be worried? Or do we simply accept that this is an inevitable part of progress? We’ll leave the responsibility to a few senior…

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WINNER GOODBYE LITTLE PENGUIN A photo of the last second of a young penguin’s life – captured by Israel’s Amos Nachoum – was the winning entry in the Animals in their Environment category of this year’s Siena International Photo Awards (SIPA) held recently in Italy. The 2018 contest – the fourth edition of SIPA – honours photographers whose visual creativity and skills resulted in pictures that capture or represent a moment or event of great impact. The jury gave prizes in 10 categories to 58 photographers from 39 countries. This year’s event proved particularly competitive, with some 48,000 photographers from 156 countries vying for the honours. Nachoum gave his image of the penguin and leopard seal a sobering title – Facing Reality. It was taken off Pleneau Island in the…

CHARLES DUNCAN STUART 1942 - 2018 Cookie Stuart gave his spiritual blessing to a cake ride of a Coastal Classic yacht race this year. Charles Duncan Stuart, sometimes known as Duncan but mostly as Cookie, died the week before the annual Labour Weekend race from Devonport to Russell which had his presence stamped upon it. His funeral was delayed until the week after the race so his Multihull Yacht Club mates could race and return to pay their respects. Cookie owned and sailed his yellow trimaran Krisis – usually on what he called the fine line between ‘extreme sport’ and ‘disaster’ and was hugely instrumental in the evolution of the Coastal Classic. He and a few other multihull speed freaks in the Auckland Multihull Sailing Association, as it was then…

As befits a premium model, Haines Hunter has specified a top-of-the-line, heavy-duty DMW Premier Series tandem trailer under the boat. Featuring classy-looking alloy wheels and a central walkway, the trailer is braked on both axles with stainless steel calipers and rotors. On the road, the rig weighs in at around 2,600kg, so an electric-over-hydraulic Sensa-Brake system gives peace of mind when towing it. A prominent feature of the trailer is the Balex Automatic Boat Loader, a piece of equipment that’s increasingly requested, explained Seacraft’s Dennis McCorkindale. The Balex makes launching and retrieving the boat a breeze, as Dennis demonstrated during our review. The 2018 model SP725 is an open hardtop sedan model with overnighting capacity. The interior layout has remained largely unchanged since the model was first released in 2011,…

There’s an old adage about ‘books-and-their-covers’ that applies perfectly to Warkworth’s Core Builders Composites (CBC) – a company that’s been a fundamental part of Team USA’s Oracle boats over the last few America’s Cup events. It’s not until you’re actually inside the building that you realise it’s something special. The modest exterior and simple 90s décor belies the fact that this place is responsible for some of sailing’s most advanced technology. Turning off Warkworth’s main drag, I began looking for a big, flashy place with large signs and Oracle logos. Were it not for Google Maps pinging that I’d arrived, I’d have driven past it. But once inside, it hits you. This building helped transform the sport of yachting, and certainly the America’s Cup, into what it is today. After…