Matai: Tug Boat Built By Pop Jorgensen
1967
Build Date
Peter ‘Pop’ Jorgensen
Boat Builder
Length
Beam
Building The Matai
Built for Ray Roach in 1967, the Matai was carvel planked. At the time Roach was an experienced commercial skipper in the Marlborough Sounds and is said to have worked on the Matai’s build as well. Roach’s brief for Jorgensen was to build an easily maneuverable and strong tow boat. It needed a solid towing post and the ability to tow a sixty foot punt. Jorgensen built the Matai in his Waikawa boatyard and a 4-71. N series G.M. with a 3:1 reduction engine was installed along with a four bladed Nalder propeller.
The Matai was said to have been built with the Havelock-style hull shape. This hull shape was meant to help a boat move out of the soft seabed if it was to get stuck as Havelock is very tidal.
Disaster In The 1970s
Only a few years later in the 1970s, disaster struck when a Northwest gale sent the Matai up on rocks at Port Hardy. John Gander was part of the rescue mission and recounts what happened on jorgensenboats.nz He recalls the Matai had struck the rocks at high tide and the 3.2 metre tide was falling fast. A helicopter at Omaka was called and dispatched to Port Hardy in thick fog. Gander was on this helicopter. After doing a quick fly around the Matai they could see it needed propping up. The helicopter lowered and let Gander out with a saw. His job was to get the wood needed to prop up the Matai. He cut down three Manuka trees and slid them down the steep hill towards a dinghy. They used the trees to secure the Matai in place and waited for the tide.
The trawler ‘Marina May’ and her skipper Robie Bloomfield made the rough trip from Motueka to D’urville Island to help get the Matai floating again. He arrived in time for high tide and secured a tow rope on the Matai. With the Marina May gently pulling and the Matai’s engine going, they were able to ease the Matai off the rocks. Gander and his colleague Bill were left stranded on the Matai with its owner/skipper Gerry Fissenden for three days whilst they waited for the sea to calm down. But Gander recounts that the Matai was comfortable to stay on and they were getting paid until they left Port Hardy so it wasn’t too bad.
In the end the Matai only needed a small section of keel batten replaced which was lucky all round.
2018 Onwards
Up to 2017 Matai was in survey for 6 crew as a tug or 2 crew and 20 passengers as a charter. in 2018 Alec Knewsrubb purchased the Matai from Allan Foote in 2018. Knewsrubb retired Matai to Port Chalmers where she is no longer a commercial boat.
References
To research the Matai we used Waitemata Woodys, jorgensenboats.nz, and John Gander’s 2021 account of the Matai’s rescue.
Related Posts
Virgo – 39ft commercial fishing Boat and later pleasure boat built by jorgensen and Sons
Stormbird – The retirement yacht Pop Jorgensen built for himsel
Donna Maree – 38ft Jorgensen and Sons trawler
Mermaid – This 39ft pleasure launch became the 40th boat built by Jorgensen and Sons Ltd.
Matai was never a commercial fishing boat. Her working boat life was mainly as a tug (what she was built for), and in later years was also used for charter work.
Until 2017 she was in survey for 6 crew as tug or 2 crew + 20 pax for charter.
Her ‘hull sister’ “Anna Dee” , built around the same time for Laurie Waters, fished out of Port Chalmers from late 1960’s. Anna Dee is now Picton based, having been converted for charter work some years ago. So the sisters have swapped ends of the South Island.
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