Grand old lady leads parade

The 83-year-old kauri launch Kotuku has been restored in time for this weekend's pageant

The Kotuku, an 83-year-old kauri launch, will be the star among gems from the past in the Parade of Classic and Wooden Boats at Lake Rotoiti tomorrow.

The launch has been fully restored to play a lead role in the annual event, which is growing each year as a showcase for inland waterway boats.

Rotorua company Robinson Boatbuilders used double-skin kauri to build the 8.5m Kotuku, which has a beam of 2.8m and draws just 0.6m.

In early days it worked as a tourist launch out of Okawa Bay, was used for spraying lake weed, and delivered coffins to remote places round Lake Rotoiti.

Aucklander Jack Blomfield bought the launch in the early 1930s and three generations of the family enjoyed the boat on Lake Rotoiti from their bach.

With a top speed of 15 knots, the Kotuku was able to tow water skiers, though most of its cruising was at a quiet 5 to 6 knots.

In the 1970s the launch sank in its boatshed after vandals tampered with the water intake, but it was refloated with no permanent damage.

Present owners Alec and Verne Buchanan and Don and Dianne Atkinson, who are neighbours in Okawa Bay, bought the launch in 2004.

They did the refit, which was carried out in Rotoiti boatbuilder Tony Mitchell's yard.

The aim was to have the restoration finished in time for the Waitangi weekend celebration of things both wooden and old, and that deadline was met with time to spare.

The three days of action - which attract national and international interest - begin today with Seagull outboard races and a range of events, ending with an evening lakeside barbecue.

Tomorrow it's a 9.30am start at the Okere Arm when more than 50 craft will be led out by two waka after three cannon blasts.

The fleet then cruises down the lake to a secluded beach where waterside festivities continue for the rest of the day.

On Monday a selection of the classic boats will be on view to the public from 10am to 2pm at the Lakeside Holiday park on Okere Rd.

The public will also be able to see the boats on State Highway 33 before the start tomorrow.

The parade assembles on the grass verge at the lake edge below Whangamarino School on the Okere Arm.