Waitangi is the largest surviving early Logan yacht and is an outstanding example of Victorian design and craftsmanship. She was built of diagonal and horizontally planked kauri over kauri frames. Her purchasers offered a bonus to Logan if she proved successful and became the Wellington champion.
She won handsomely and the bonus was paid.
Robert Logan “Waitangi” Specifications:
LOA: 74′ 0″ * LOD: 58′ 0″ * LWL: 38′ 0″ * Beam: 11′ 0″ * Draft: 9′ 7″ * Ballast: * Displacement: 22 Tonnes
Sail Area Upwind: * Yard Number: * Hull material: Wood (frameless multi-skin diagonal construction) * Rig: Gaff Rigged Cutter * Designer: Robert Logan Snr * Built by: Robert Logan Snr * Year Built: 13th December 1894 * Restored By: * Current Name: Waitangi * Original Owner: Wellington Syndicate ( Messrs Sydney Winstanley, J David M Georgeson, James (Jas) Jamieson, William Waters and Thomas Kirker) * Current Owner: Classic Yacht Charitable Trust Skipper Tony Blake * Sail Number: A6
Known Restoration History: To contribute to through financial or time/skill donations refer to the “friends of CYCT” link on this website.
2013 – The maintenance programme was strongly supported by the Lion Foundation with a donation of $90,000. Crew and skippers also contributed considerable time and energy toward the project. The work required included removing the rig, lifting and transporting hull to the boat builders yard, removing the fibreglass skin from the hull, effecting the repairs, including replacing some external timbers on the starboard bow, refastening timbers and hood ends, adding diagonal spears down to the keelson in the bow, replacing bowsprit, re-fibreglassing and painting hull, anti-fouling, relaunching and rerigging. Work also included sanding the oil blackened deck back to expose the laid kauri deck and reseal with thinned sealer to maitain traction. The brightwork, caprail, mast and spars were all stripped back to bare timber and revarnished with Altex Coatings Ltd new high UV and impact resistant varnish. The cabin sole and fiddle work around the galley were all revarnished. The engine was removed and serviced, electrics tidied up, stern tube replaced and hydraulic drive gear box soda- blasted and recoated.
The project took 4 months from February 2013 with splash day Monday 24th June at Pier 21 Auckland.
Auckland Council kindly loaned space in the Lysaght building in Packenham Street West, Wynyard Quarter where standing rigging maintenance, and stripping and revarnishing of the Mast and Spars was carried out by volunteers.
Next project to complete the maintenance programme is to replace all 47 of the blocks on board. Estimated project cost approximately $11,000.
2006 – Classic Yacht Charitable Trust restoration
1986 – Waitangi was totally stripped inside and out and the deck, bulwarks and rudder removed leaving a bare shell with just the stringers and lead on the bottom. The timbers in the boat were very wet and left for 8 weeks to dry out. The timbers had no rot at all, not even where the garboard seam and lead joins the boat.
Starting at the bow the boat was progressively refastened, each roving was ground off, each nail was replaced with one of a larger gauge and the roving replaced. More then 3000 nails and rovings and 1500 screws were used. The deck was completely reconstructed with decking cut from 100 year old kauri timber which came from roof beams of the demolished Wanganui NZ railway station. The interior work was completed in mahogany and painted in white lacquer. The topsides were returned to her original iconic black livery. Colin Anderson of Hood sails was responsible for the rigging and sails. Col built the sails using a cream toned cloth developed overseas using a mixture of old and new techniques called Hood Irish Classic Dacron. Sail fittings such as the press rings in the sail corners were made from cast bronze, and the cloth was cut and sewn with narrow panels to create a traditional look. These sails are still in use on the boat in 2013, some 19 years after manufacture.
Waitangi was relaunched after this full restoration on her 100 year anniversary on 13th December 1994.
December 4th 1920 – Restored by Bailey and Lowe to racing condition
Historical:
Waitangi is a protected New Zealand antique under the Protected Objects Act 1975.