Classic Boats at The Classic

Gypsy

Gypsy is a coal fired steam launch built in late 1987 by Russell Ward a dentist in the North Island. He had longed to make a steamboat. He purchased a Stuart No. 6 compound steam engine made by the late Les Fitt, and had a coal-burning boiler constructed in Penrose. All that was needed was a hull suitable for carrying the weight of the machinery to drive the boat.

Most old boats simply didn’t meet the specifications and so a new hull was deemed the way forward. After several long discussions Russell decided to use a set of drawings that had featured in the Traditional Small Craft magazine in the late 1980’s. The drawings were for a boat that had been kept on the Adams Island, one of the Auckland Islands. The gig was upturned with food supplies kept under it for any shipwrecked sailors who might need to row to New Zealand. Happily, the gig was never needed for that purpose and was eventually saved for the then-fledgling maritime museum.

Gypsy’s first outing was a sail-in at Okahu Bay with The Traditional Small Craft Society. What was supposed to be a simple waterline test turned into a three-hour maiden voyage around the bay – and Gypsy went beautifully, as she continues to do to this day. Russell and Gypsy were the motivation for the construction of many of the small steam launches now in New Zealand.

Gypsy was purchased by the current owners Allan Familton and Lesley Colsell of Christchurch in 2019. Since then Allan has completely rebuilt the engine, manufactured a new steam boiler and replaced all the pipework.

Allan and Lesley have had many enjoyable outings in Gypsy including Lake Rotoiti in the North Island, a trip up the Whanganui River with several other steam boats, steamed around Nelson Harbour, the Marlborough Sounds, Lake Rotoiti in the Nelson Lakes, Lake Brunner, Lake Hood as well as Lyttelton, Oamaru and Dunedin Harbours. She and they are well travelled!

Tui

Tui is a 1910 clinker kauri-hulled boat that has spent most of her life in Auckland as a much-loved recreational boat.

In the 1990s, Tui was converted to steam, with a boiler and engine constructed specifically for her. At the same time, her hull was restored and glassed, giving the historic little boat a new lease on life.

Reece and Jo purchased Tui around five years ago and have since enjoyed using her regularly around Nelson and on the surrounding lakes.

More recently, Tui has undergone another significant refurbishment inside the hull, including the installation of a new boiler, a reconditioned engine and plenty of fresh paint.

Like many classic boats, Tui remains a work in progress, with Reece and Jo continuing to tinker, maintain and improve her along the way. More than 115 years after she was first built, she remains a wonderful piece of New Zealand boating history – and, most importantly, great fun to get out on the water and enjoy.

Janice

Janice began life in the hands of John Sharps, who built her 17-foot hull from double-diagonal kauri and named the boat after his wife, Janice.

Unfortunately, John’s health deteriorated before he was able to finish the project. The unfinished boat was purchased by Russell Ward of Auckland, who completed her at the Whangateau Traditional Boat Yard. Janice was finally launched in 2007.

At the heart of Janice is a wet-firebox, coal-fired vertical fire-tube boiler, with copper fire tubes providing excellent heat transfer. She operates best at a working pressure of 60–80 psi, with a maximum pressure of 100 psi, and is fitted with a stack blower, injector and whistle. The boiler is beautifully finished with teak cladding.

Her powerful 2.5 x 3 steam engine was completed by Auckland steam engineer Wayne Larsen, with reversing controlled by Stephenson’s link motion. An air pump and twin feed pumps are driven from the crosshead in the traditional manner, while an oil box with copper pipes supplies the main lubrication points.

Exhaust steam passes through a keel condenser before the condensate is lifted by the engine’s air pump and returned to the hotwell. The feed pumps then draw the water from the hotwell and return it to the boiler, creating an efficient system that consumes very little water.

The engine provides Janice with an impressive turn of speed – provided, of course, that the stoker keeps a close eye on the fire!

Janice is a regular participant in the annual Classic & Antique Boat Show at Lake Rotoiti in St Arnaud, as well as the Lake Brunner Classic Boat Show. She has also taken part in a memorable two-day steamboat journey up the Whanganui River alongside several other steam launches, including the historic Waimarie.

Today, Janice is owned by Brent and Lynn Winter of Nelson, who continue to enjoy and share this beautifully crafted example of traditional steam boating.