Chug, a 1930 Kauri clinker, at the start of last year's parade. Photo / File
Chug, a 1930 Kauri clinker, at the start of last year's parade. Photo / File
A parade of classic and wooden boats cruising along Lake Rotoiti with give spectators much to admire this weekend.
The annual Parade of Classic and Wooden Boats, held by Lake Rotoiti Classic and Wooden Boat Association, is taking place tomorrow.
Lake Rotoiti Classic and Wooden Boat Association commodore Dave Wilson says the annual parade will have the boats assembling at the Ōkere arm of the lake at 10am, with the parade starting at 11am.
He says a great viewing spot is the parking and picnic area just south of Ōkere Falls Store, and from there people will be able to hear a commentary and brief description of each boat.
There will also be the opportunity for great views of the parade from Ōkawa Bay Rd or the rest area at the top of Ōkawa Bay, he says.
The parade will then proceed to Wairau Bay for a picnic.
Dave says the weather forecast is looking great, so it should be lovely for the 65 boats entered - including small rowing boats, yachts, fast classics and wooden launches.
"A feature of this year's parade is the return of steamboats. It will be thrilling to see them on the water again."
He says an added bonus this year is that the water quality of Lake Rotoiti is the best it has been in many years.
A new boat in this year's parade with a local restoration story is Rod Prosser's Kiri Moana.
Kiri Moana was launched just before Christmas and is just over 5m long.
Rod Prosser's 'Kiri Moana'. Photo / Supplied
She was originally built in the early 1950s. Rod was told that she was a North Island ski club boat, but he does not know the details of where.
"I bought Kiri without any running gear and in need of a bit of love and attention about five years ago, and have slowly restored her over that time.
"The vision was to create a 'hot rod on water', and with a high performance 327 Chev V8 putting out well over 300horsepower, and loads of period-correct bits sourced from the USA. I think we have achieved that."
He says a lot of locals have been involved, and a special thanks go to Russel Lowe and the team at The Toy Shed in Riri St who had done all the mechanical and engineering work, president of Sulphur City Rod and Custom Car Club and owner of Hillcrest Upholstery Kevin Saunders, and Blair and Alan from Craig Marine in Paengaroa for handcrafting the chestnut and iroko wooden deck.
"We've been water testing and fine tuning the boat on Lake Rotoiti over Christmas with the locals commenting that they can hear her coming long before they see her.
"Once the parade is over, Kiri will go to Rob Adriaansz from Rob's Auto Spray in Riri St for the final coats of clearcoat and signwriting."
He says those involved in the restoration went above and beyond to get the boat looking the way it does.
"It's really cool when a boat like that comes together and it's because of everyone's effort."
Rod says he has always had a love of wooden boats, and used to work at a company building boats for about 30 years.
"It's always something I've been into and it was one of those boats that was crying out to get restored."
He says he is looking forward to the parade because it is an opportunity to celebrate wooden and classic boats, and to bring people together who are into similar things.
It may also inspire people to restore boats or inspire ideas for things to put on their boats, he says.
Anyone interested in details of the parade can contact Rachel Jamieson on (027) 281 2101.
The details - What: Annual Parade of Classic and Wooden Boats - When: Saturday, February 8, parade starts 11am - Where: Lake Rotoiti, starting at Ōkere arm of lake - Free to watch
