New Zealand Scow

Discussion in 'Sailboats' started by dskira, Aug 9, 2009.

  1. rayman
    Joined: Sep 2009
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    rayman Senior Member

    Gary, no, I just missed out on the last days of sail but a mate of mine was skipper on J-G when out of Waiuku. The" Tiri" was not a scow, she was a little coaster built for the northern trade and always worked wharves.Single screw 6cyl. Fairbanks-Morse with bridge control, I have seen Digger Stanaway working her singlehanded, ran a triangle Auckland, Tryphena,Whangarei,Auckland, out monday back thursday, load fri-sat morning then playtime. Unusual for Jock to turn down a cray and company, Rahiri must have been getting pretty ripe by then.He may have had a dislike for females on board too, and having a german accent may have been a putoff.
    Sitak, those machines all had g/boxes too but going 1 ahead-1 astern you used a hell of a lot of harbour and sometimes went a long way sideways. Using the rudder like a Kitchen, say making a port turn, put the wheel hard over--stbd. engine 1/2 ahead--pt. engine full ahead--that directs the propwash against the rudder-waterflow goes out to the left and also forward against the direction of travel so causing the stern to back around to the right faster than the stbd engine is trying to drive ahead. Also you must take into account the wind direction and tide stream or river current. I don't know how the new J-G steers with those huge skegs Peter put on her, I think his intention was to control waterflow to the props. Does anyone know if she has sails yet?
     
  2. Stand
    Joined: Mar 2011
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    Stand Junior Member

    Jane Gifford Restoration Trust

    http://www.janegifford.org.nz/index.htm

    "NEWSLETTER – JANUARY 2011

    The Jane Gifford project passed another milestone on 27th January when she sailed again for the first time in many years. Peter Sewell, Tom Wustenberg, Hobb Thompson, Ian Julie and Peter Thompson have achieved a great deal over the last few weeks in completing the rigging to the point where the boat could be taken out for a trial sail. Thursday was a beautiful day and the Jane Gifford looked fantastic with all her canvas up and setting including topsails. There was only enough wind to fill the sails. There is still work to be done on completing the sheeting positions for some of the sails, placement of cleats, and other details and the mizzen topsail will need to be recut or replaced for it to set properly. We owe a vote of thanks to all those or have helped complete the rigging.

    Peter Thompson has also completed a new set of roller bearing blocks for the mainsail and mizzen sheets. These have reduced friction greatly and will make the sails a lot easier to handle."
     
  3. Stand
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    Stand Junior Member

    Video of Scow "Echo"

    http://www.ecasttv.co.nz/program_detail.php?program_id=1299&channel_id=60&group_id=

    "The Scow Echo (1959) Around the coast of New Zealand work a few old and honourable ships, the last of a dying class of scows. These flat-bottomed craft were the 'Mac Trucks' of their day - transporting all manner of cargo round New Zealand and up the rivers to the towns and villages. This story features the two-masted scow Echo, built in 1905 and now on the hard at Picton as a tourist attraction. Echo is seen crossing Cook St and slowly going up the Wairau River to Blenheim. Echo ended her working life in 1965 and, by then, had crossed Cook Strait approximately 15,000 times.

    During World War II, Echo was requisitioned by the US Army for service in the Pacific, where she rescued many downed American aircraft crews and carried Allied troops. She is thought to have helped track down two Japanese submarines, and her story was told in the 1961 movie The Wackiest Ship in the Army, starring Jack Lemmon and Ricky Nelson.

    Duration: 03.20. This film was originally in Pictorial Parade No 91.

    NB: There is some wonderful colour film of Echo going up the Wairau River to Blenheim in the 1964 film North-East Corner, also available on this channel."
     
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  4. sltak
    Joined: Feb 2011
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    Location: New Zealand

    sltak Junior Member

    Stand: Thanks for the link. Rayman, thanks for reply regarding handling scow in reverse. Here is another one: how did the old scow men manage to do maintenance on the flat bottom, eg scrubbing off etc. Are you forced to haul out and jack up on blocks? These days that means expensive travel lifts etc. This seems to be a disadvantage of extreme shallow draft. I stay up among the mangroves, where fouling is less, and hope that taking the ground means it sort of cleans itself a bit on the mud, but mainly just put up with it. Any advice on this subject?
     
  5. Gary Baigent
    Joined: Jul 2005
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    Gary Baigent Senior Member

    Thanks for the correction regarding Tiri being a coaster and not a scow, Rayman. I'm trying to remember; there was another scow we worked on ... but the name eludes me. Any ideas?
     
  6. sltak
    Joined: Feb 2011
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    sltak Junior Member

    When I was fishing I knew another fisherman called Keith Bridge (no passed on.) Keith told me he had been skipper on the Jane Gifford ion her last days (under poser only.) This was in the 1980's. I think he might have been Janey's last skipper - anyone remember Keith?
    Here is a recent picture of two scows together - about 2008 at Motuihe Island. Mine in the foreground and Ted Ashby in the background. I spotted the TA and raced around the other side of the island to anchor alongside as I have never been aboard the Ted Ashby. The meeting was a disappointment - the people on board Ted Ashby appeared to have no interest at all in the existance of another scow and there was no invitation aboard. Shiortly they upped anchor and steamed away. Oh well...
     

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  7. rayman
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    rayman Senior Member

    Gary, the other would have been Owhiti,while Ethel Wells and Alma worked out of Whangarei. Ethel W went up to Guam about 1975 and Alma went to Tauranga shortly before that to Harbour Transport .
    siltak, there was no easy way out, just slip them annually, thats what speeded their end. We also laced anti-fouling with creasote, a breakfast cup per gallon, also "Rattom 109" rat poison. I think Geoff. Brebner was J-G's last skipper with Bert S. and he went on her again at Waiuku.
    s'more pics on J-G. I really would like to know about the performance and handling with those skegs. She is certainly a credit to Peter and his team, the whole deal.
     

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  8. rayman
    Joined: Sep 2009
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    rayman Senior Member

    and s'more random pics. Next time someone says "there are no iron frames in a scow" tellem they're talking shizen.
    And "Maggie" missed the tide that day.
    "Orakei bow planking lays full length in the stem rabbet before fanning out at about the shoulder.
    Pitsawing, Tom Higham wanted a new barge so he and a mate dropped a tree, made a saw-pit and slabbed out his timber right there where it lay. In his time Tom was owner and skipper of several scows, including "Scot" "Daphne" "Huia" This pic from the bush behind his house at Huia, on the Manukau.
    Waikonini foredeck, showing the working boom, "Laird" patent grab, fore half of centerboard casing and making up the Awanui river to Awanui. The grab was introduced about 1936 so that dates this picture.
     

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  9. rayman
    Joined: Sep 2009
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    rayman Senior Member

    In that pic of Maggie, most all scows had lifting takle on the rudders. When loaded the rudder had to be dropped into clear water, generally about 15-18 inches.
     
  10. rayman
    Joined: Sep 2009
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    rayman Senior Member

    Gary B here is TIRI shortle before becoming "Radio Hauraki" after going ashore in a slycoon she was salvaged and towed to Whangarei, laid up on Limestone Island where vandals later burned her. After the old F-M died she recieved a 6-110 GM .
     

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  11. Stand
    Joined: Mar 2011
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    Stand Junior Member

    Since we have a good knowledge base here. What are your thoughts on seaworthiness? I hear a lot of talk, mostly by people with no first hand experience, about Scows being only a protected water coastal vessel.

    Now it would seem to me that this may be a exaggeration.

    The American Great Lake scows operated in extreme weather, of course not by choice. I'll let some of you in NZ to comment on conditions there. A large number of wrecks I've read about could easily be related to age and lack of maintenance due to economic reasons.

    So, whats the real story?
     
  12. sltak
    Joined: Feb 2011
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    sltak Junior Member

    Scows have sailed from New Zealand up to the Pacific Islands, and some of the larger ones made regular trips across the Tasman Sea. They went all over the coast of New Zealand. Many of them ended up capsizing, but look at the deck loads they carried. They are intially very stable, but with a nartrow range opf stability and tend to be stable upside down. I believe the biggest factor is when water gets on board - much stability is lost of water significant water gets on board, either through a leak or through hatches. I regard my scow as suitable for sheltered water and would not attempt an opcean passage in it. (Mind you, it is very small compared with the working scows you are looking at.) I would be interested in Tayman's opinion on this.
     
  13. Steve W
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    Steve W Senior Member

    It seems to me that they would be comparable to a catamaran as far as seaworthiness goes, ie, very high initial stability, but no ability to recover from a knockdown so they would require a high level of seamanship, just like a catamaran, unlike a cat though, overloading with cruising or livaboard clutter should make little difference to the scow, in fact you would have a hard time overloading.
    Steve.
     
  14. CutOnce

    CutOnce Previous Member

    From Sailing Anarchy

    [​IMG]

    The gallery.

    Thought folks might like the images.

    --
    CutOnce
     

  15. sltak
    Joined: Feb 2011
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    Location: New Zealand

    sltak Junior Member

    Thanks for posting the lovely photograph. Its good to see a recent picture shopwing two scows together. My post on 7th March this year also shows two together. Lets hope there will be many more.

    I have just purchased and been looking at a relatively new publication called "A History of New Zealand Scows and TheirTrades" by David Langdon. This is another good source of images of the past, and maritime history.

    For the benefit of those overseas who may not be aware of books specifically on this subject in New Zealand, or which have sections dedicated to history, here is a bibliography. Maybe others can add to it. Most of these books are out of print (though the above book is available new), but can sometimes be obtained second hand on Trademe in New Zealand, or Amazon.com.

    'NEATH SWAYING SPARS The Story of the Trading Scows of New Zealand by Percy Eaddie
    PHANTOM FLEET The Scows and Scowmen of Auckland by Ted Ashby
    OUT OF AUCKLAND A Survey of the Commercial Sailing Craft Built in the Auckland Province .... by Clifford Hawkins
    A MARITIME HERITAGE
     
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