Grand old lady leads parade

One boat will be the star among gems from the past in the Parade of Classic and Wooden Boats at Lake Rotoiti this Waitangi Weekend.

Launched in 1923, the Kotuku has been fully restored to play a lead role in the annual event, which began eight years ago and has grown to become our biggest showcase for inland waterway boats and generated international interest.

The Rotorua company Robinson Boatbuilders used double-skin kauri to build the 28ft (8.5m) Kotuku. She has a beam of 8ft 6in (2.8m) and draws just 2ft (0.610m). In her early days she operated as a tourist launch out of Okawa Bay, was used for spraying lake weed and delivered coffins to places hard to reach other than by water around Lake Rotoiti.

The launch was bought by Aucklander Jack Blomfield in the early 1930s and three generations of the family enjoyed her on Rotoiti from their bach at Gisborne Point. Her life mainly involved trout fishing and family jaunts to the Manupirua hot pools.

At her top speed of 15 knots, Kotuku was able to tow water skiers, though most of the cruising was at a quiet 5 to 6 knots. Her unusually shallow draft means the launch can safely navigate the Ohau Channel weir, provide everyone aboard stacks on one side.

In the 1970s Kotuku was sunk in her boatshed after vandals tampered with the water intake. She was safely refloated with no permanent damage. A Volvo Penta 140hp diesel was installed during a refit in the 1980s that included an upgrade of her propeller shaft and rudder.

Present owners Alec and Verne Buchanan and Don and Dianne Atkinson, who are neighbours in Okawa Bay, bought the launch in 2004 and undertook the latest refit. The work was done in Rotoiti boatbuilder Tony Mitchell's yard at Otaramarae.

The aim was to have the restoration completed in time for the 2006 Waitangi Weekend celebration of things wooden and old. That deadline was met with time to spare.

The three days of action begin today with Seagull outboard races and a range of dinghy and other events through the day, ending with a lakeside barbecue.

Tomorrow it's a 9.30am start at the Okere Arm when a cannon blast will set more than 60 craft on their way, led by three waka.

Lindsay Brighouse from the parade organising team says the local whanau regard the Waitangi Weekend event as an important celebration in that it recognises the importance of the lake as a waterway from pre-European times to the present.

The fleet then cruises down the lake to a secluded beach where 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 only other opportunity for public viewing of the parade participants will be on State Highway 33 where the parade assembles before the start tomorrow, on the lakefront below the Whangamarino School on the Okere Arm.

The Lake Rotoiti Classic & Wooden Boats Association is expecting a big turnout for a rare chance to see some of the country's mainly fresh-water marine heritage in action.