Build Date
Around 1919-1920
Boat Builder
Claude Wells
Length
36 feet
Beam
7 feet
Everything We Know About Otaki
Claude Wells built Otaki for his brother-in-law Thomas McManaway of Hikoekoea Bay in the Marlborough Sounds. It is believed Claude Built his part of Otaki in 3 months and then the McManaway’s finished the job. She had a 10hp twin cylinder Corsin petrol engine.
Thomas McManaway was a farmer but with the farm not always producing enough money for his family he also used Otaki for commercial fishing. This was mainly done in the Marlborough Sounds but also Oamaru.
As a family they took Otaki down the coast and settled in Oamaru hoping to fish for Groper off the Otago Coast. Boats for a Lifetime recalls the fishing being good but the weather being tough. They stayed for a time in Oamaru but would eventually return to the Marlborough Sounds without Otaki. They built a cottage at Wakatahuri which was later sold to Wal and Lorna Orchard. They punted the cottage to Easthaven using Wal’s launch the Whareatea and his new 40ft punt built at Wakatahuri.
References
To research Otaki we used the book Boats for a Lifetime by Yvonne Fell.
Related Posts
Whareatea – The first and only steam powered boat built by Claude Wells at Wakatahuri.
Kelp – 30ft launch built by Claude Wells around 1914.
Minerva – 32ft. Kahikatea Claude Wells built launch used for farming on Forsythe Island.
Tawa – 44ft launch built by Claude Wells and his cousin Rod Wells. Used for commercial fishing and charters.