With her beautiful lines, kindly sea keeping qualities and strong sense of historical lineage, the H28 yacht has been a feature of the New Zealand yachting scene for the last 50 years .

This book explores the history of its design in the USA, its origins in New Zealand, the establishment of the H28 Owners' Association, technical aspects, profiles of notable H28 owners and stories of memorable passages.

NZ$50.00 + delivery.

Celebrating 25 Years A compilation of photos spanning 25 years of events hosted by The Lake Rotoiti Classic and Wooden Boat Association capturing the history of the club and its transition to an Association.

Members stories and the backstories alongside numerous vessels are detailed and captured with excellent photography.

This book captures one of the biggest inland waterway parades in New Zealand.

NZ$50.00 + delivery.

Growing up on a beach in New Zealand, Ron Holland's life was destined to be connected to the sea. After failing High School, Ron completed his first ocean sailing voyage at 15 years of age, a year later he began a wooden boatbuilding apprenticeship and embarked on a journey which determined the rest of his life.

Ron's first yacht design was launched at the age of 19, from which he rapidly made a name for himself as one of the most sought-after and celebrated designers in the highly competitive world of International Racing, before advancing to bigger things.

His seminal influence on the (then) new category of Superyachts brought him fresh success, new contacts and the introduction to a world of fascinating personalities: Business Tycoons, Royalty and Rock Stars.

In the course of his career Ron developed unique relationships with many International Clients, allowing him an intimate view of social and economic trends during the early days of the new millennium.

This is Ron's story.
50 years of successes and failures, of a life lived to the max, of a man who believes in saying yes to the opportunities that are presented and who embraced his own personal life's voyage with enthusiasm, and self belief.

NZ$75.00 + Delivery

Retro and Vintage boats are a picturesque reminder of an elegant time past, when beauty, form and style ruled. They are the beautiful classic car or stunning hot rod of the lakes and sea, and they are becoming increasingly sought after by Kiwi boaties. Within these pages author Don Jessen presents a highly covetable selection of these beautiful boats, and their stories.

This book is split into sections of some of the different types of boats to be found in our (New Zealand) coastal and inland waters, from time-honoured clinkers and picnic boats, steam launches, runabouts, cabin cruisers, jet boats and speedboats of our earlier years, to a small selection of vintage and replica launches.

NZ$45.00 + delivery.

This book is a work of historical interest / memoir of Gilbert's years working on Auckland's Waterfront.
Broken down into three sections...

Section One: During the 1960's Gilbert served a five year apprenticeship with Chas Bailey & Son. The beautiful and quick sailboats designed and built by the Bailey's, (both Father and Son), are the stuff of legend. Gilbert recounts the many tea breaks he had when talk would turn to the 'Good old days' of the company..... Embarking on this memoir he came to the realisation that he was a bit vague on the origin of the Family's history, and so he begins with a brief outline of the Bailey family and the impact they had on New Zealand's boating community.

Section Two: Is an in-depth look at Gilbert's years as a young Boat Builder

and Section Three touches on his early sailing adventures and yacht racing years.

NZ$40.00 + delivery.

Born in Wellington, Jim Young's affinity with boats began with canvas canoes on the Waiwhetu Stream in Hutt Valley, before moving to Otahuhu and Sandringham, aged 10, and then to Auckland's North Shore.
He started a boatbuilding apprenticeship in 1940 working on the construction of wooden naval vessels and general boat maintenance until 1945.

It was an era that saw dramatic advances in design and construction technology from what was an ancient craft, steeped in tradition, unchanged for centuries, with the use of kauri for planking and framing and pohutukawa for knees.

Today the change still continues apace, as boat builders of the past half century have had to relearn the trade completely as wood has been steadily replaced by synthetics.

Jim Young passed away on June 18th 2020. Aged 94 years. His contribution to New Zealand sailing spanned 71 years including winning national sailing titles, boatbuilding, yachts and powerboat design.

NZ$80.00 + Delivery

BEAUTIFUL BOATS, A Selection of Classic New Zealand Yacht Designs.
By Robert Brooke. Paperback, 0.57kg, 210mm x 298mm, 105 pages, Colour, Sepia and Black & White photographs. Line drawings of Hull Lines and Sail Plan. Published 2016

Over the last 50 or so years, Robert Brooke has been collecting Classic Yacht Designs. This collection features fifty designs of New Zealand designed and built classic yachts, Launches, Centreboarders and Dinghys. The designs range from a 124 ft sail Training vessel to the 7ft "P" Class yacht, all of which have been scaled to fit within the pages of the book. The author has redrawn each design, tracing off the original drawings so they all are a similar format.

As well as photographs of the yacht itself, there are also details of the vessel, hull lines, profile, half breadths, Sections, diagonals, and sail plan.

Included, where possible, are original pencil and ink drawings (Arch Logan, Chas Bailey, Charlie & Alex Collings, and his own father, John Brooke.) or blueprints and photocopies from other designers. (including Bob Stewart, Colin Wild, Bert Woolacott, Des Townson and Alan Wright.)

Vessels include:

Ranger - Prize - Linda

To name but a few.....

NZ$40.00 + delivery.

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MULLET BOATS 'N QUOTES
By Noel Mitchell. Softback, 0.62kg, 210mm x 298mm, 156 pages, Black & White Photographs, Published 2000
A Unique Insight into an icon of New Zealand Sailing Craft.

" A fleet of Mullet Boats, is a great sight to see
Be it to weather, or down to the Lee
With their gaffs peaked high and their headsails setting
One can tell by the wake the speed they are getting
Whether it be on the wind or running free
It's a sight not forgotten by all those who see"
(Noel Mitchell)

A celebration, and a labour of love, of the iconic Mullet Boat. Filled with interesting facts, photographs, illustrations and yarns.
The definitive history.

NZ$30.00 + Delivery.

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THE MULLET BOAT
By Robin Elliott and Harold Kidd. Paperback, 0.25kg, 210mm x 300mm,

A frequently asked question is "What is a Mullet Boat, and why is it called that"?
The answer is it is a small ballasted centreboard yacht that is unique to Auckland, descended directly from a type of small fishing boat of (roughly) of 140 years ago. When Auckland was founded as the capital of New Zealand in 1840 most of the harvest for the growing population was carried out by Maori Fisherman who rapidly added European-built craft to their formidable fishing techniques. As the fish stocks depleted other fisherman of various mixed races began to dominate the industry. By 1875 these had morphed into two types - The 'Schnapper' boat (usually a 10 ton keel yacht used for line fishing) and the'Mullet' boat (4 Ton centreboarder for netting mullet in the shallows).

While today we take them for granted as part of the local scenery, the 'Mulletties' have done an enormous amount for NZ yachting, both as a training ground for its yachtsmen and as background inspiration to generations of yacht designers.

This book is a celebration of the 'Mullet Boat'. A New Zealand Yachting Icon.

Was NZ$30.00 + Delivery.
Now NZ$15.00 + Delivery.

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WINKELMANN'S WAITEMATA, Classic Auckland Yachting.
By Robin Elliot, Harold Kidd, T L Rodney Wilson. Paperback, 0.52kg, 285mm x 260mm, 80 pages, monochrome photographs.
A reprint of the first edition featuring photographs of Henry Winkelmann. There are familiar names as Ariki Rainbow, Viking, Moana, Iorangi and many others sailing in that time.
Winkelmann's Waitemata provides a fascinating insight into the origins and history of early New Zealand yachting, and gives a unique perspective on a sport that currently has such a high profile in New Zealand.

NZ$10.00 + delivery.

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THE STORY OF THE HAURAKI GULF.
By Raewyn Peart. Hardback, 2.37kg, 244mm x 298mm, 368 pages, Full-colour photographs. Published 2017.
This very special publication is a social, environmental and cultural celebration of the Hauraki Gulf, and is the story of our association with this remarkable place.
The book tells the story of the Hauraki Gulf from first discovery up until the present day. The book has been produced in a very attractive full-colour, coffee table format with over 300 historic and contemporary photographs, drawings, nautical charts and maps. It will be a book to enjoy and treasure over time. It will also make an excellent gift.
The story is told through three strands that are woven together to provide a rich understanding of the Gulf.

The first is an underlying narrative largely based on published sources.

The second is told through people’s reminiscences, based on their memories of the Gulf over their lifetimes. These stories, which have been sourced from fishers, farmers, divers, bach owners and the like, help bring the narrative to life.

The third strand of the story is told through images. There is a very rich visual history of the Hauraki Gulf encapsulated in the numerous historical photographs and drawings held by museums and libraries. These have been complemented by a range of contemporary photographs.
The book is strongly about place and the images serve to show that place, as it was in the past and as it is now. “I hope that the stories in this book will prompt readers to recall their own special stories of the Hauraki Gulf and of other treasured locations. Because it is only if we remember our stories, if we tell our stories and if we act on them that we can ensure that our special places will endure.”

NZ$90.00 + delivery.

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NEW ZEALAND NAUTICAL, MARITIME AND BOATING HISTORY. Page two. See also: New Zealand Yarns, New Zealand History,

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