Launched from Westhaven on 19 November 1934, Little Jim has spent more than nine decades earning her place among the finest surviving examples of Auckland yacht design. She carries sail number A16, and from the moment you set foot aboard, the warmth of the kauri and the glow of varnished timber make clear that this is no ordinary old boat.
Arch Logan drew her lines and Bill Couldrey built her at his Sulphur Beach yard. The hull is triple-skin kauri, the skins laid diagonally and fore-and-aft to produce a structure that is at once light, stiff, and tough. The sheer is perfectly fair, and the counter carries an elegance that is unmistakably Logan's work. Her Bermudan rig, with its tall triangular sail plan, allows her to point high and hold her balance with very little helm, making her unusually manageable for a yacht of her era, even when sailed by a small crew.
Little Jim marks something of a milestone in New Zealand sailing history. Her 1934 launch represented Arch Logan's return to major keel yacht design after more than twenty years away from that work, and she helped reignite Auckland's keel yacht tradition at a time when the harbour needed exactly that. She also replaced an earlier vessel of the same name, a 1901 Little Jim reportedly wrecked on Christmas Day at Catherine Bay, Great Barrier Island, after being dismasted in a gale. All five crew from that vessel survived.
On paper her dimensions are as follows: 42 feet 10 inches (13.06 metres) overall, a beam of 9 feet 1 inch (2.7 metres), and a draft of 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres). Displacement sits in the range of seven to eight tonnes. The keel was poured in the Logan fashion, with bolts and mould set before the hull was laid above the timber backbone. Bronze deck fittings sit alongside varnished coamings, the cabin profile is low and purposeful, and the overall effect on the water is one of quiet timelessness.
Her racing record across nine decades speaks directly to the quality of both the design and the succession of owners who have cared for her. She won the Heather Cup at the Auckland Anniversary Regatta as early as 1935, and titles continued through the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, among them the Jellicoe Cup, the Freyberg Cup, and multiple Harbour and Around Island trophies. In 1987 she claimed the Trimmer Cup. The modern era has been no less successful: Classic Yacht Regatta A Division victories, a Coastal Classic Division podium in 2023, and in 2025 both the E J Mitchelson Trophy and the Ranger Tiller series. That kind of consistency over such a long span proves the hull and the stewardship in equal measure.
A full two-year restoration carried out by Peter Brookes between 2007 and 2009 returned her to peak condition. The exterior was brought back to its original style while systems and interior layout were updated for practical modern cruising. Structural elements were inspected and renewed as required, the cockpit and services were refined, and the result preserved the yacht's essential character while lifting reliability and comfort to a contemporary standard. Standing rigging was replaced in 2017, and the paint and coatings throughout reflect careful ongoing upkeep.
The sail wardrobe covers main, multiple genoas, staysail, cruising yankee, gennaker, and spinnaker. Step below and the mood is consistently classic: two settee berths and two quarter berths offer genuine sleeping accommodation, the galley is fitted with a cooker, fridge, and sink, the head sits forward, and storage throughout is sensible and dry. The timberwork feels entirely right for a 1930s yacht that is still being sailed hard.
Under sail today, Little Jim rewards the kind of attention that classic yacht sailors enjoy giving. An alloy spar and a well-organised running plan keep loads manageable for a short-handed crew. She tracks cleanly, holds pace with boats considerably younger, and settles into a comfortable rhythm off the wind. Upwind, tidy trim and a well-chosen headsail bring out her best. The cockpit is uncluttered and secure, and the helm position gives a clear view of luff and tell-tales without any awkward reaching or craning.
Under power she runs a Yanmar 3GM30 diesel producing 27 to 30 horsepower through a feathering propeller. The installation is tidy and proven, manoeuvring around Westhaven is straightforward, and the combination of range and reliability suits both regular weekend sailing and the classic regatta calendar.
She was built for Hauraki Gulf waters, and it shows. She sits quietly at anchor, rides kindly in a short easterly chop, and the cabin, with a sun cover rigged and something on the stove, is a genuinely calm and bright place to be. The lazarette swallows cruising gear without complaint, the fridge keeps supplies cold on a hot January afternoon, and a Westhaven berth close to the gate means the gap between leaving the office and casting off is as short as it gets. Rangitoto lifts to starboard, the city drops away, and you are sailing.
Little Jim stands in genuine company alongside Logan yachts such as Rainbow and Tawera, her lines connecting directly to the earliest days of organised racing on the Waitematā. Period records, photographs, and even film document her construction and launch. Books, museum references, and club archives carry that history forward, and the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron burgee has flown from her for much of her life. Owners and crews across the decades have preserved logs, trophies, and the kind of stories that accumulate around a yacht that has been genuinely loved and genuinely used.
The Trade A Boat listing places her at $120,000 ONO. Full purchase and shared ownership arrangements are both available, with a quarter or half share on offer for those interested in that model. The complete sail wardrobe is included, along with racing and cruising gear and safety kit suited to inshore use. The Westhaven berth transfers with the yacht. The package is complete and ready to go.
For the right person, Little Jim offers something a newer boat simply cannot. Race on Saturday, cruise on Sunday, and join Classic Yacht Association events as part of a thread of New Zealand sailing history stretching back to 1934. The next custodian takes on not just a beautifully maintained yacht, but a responsibility to keep that rhythm going, one coastal breeze at a time.
