A Legacy Reawakened

Roiaata was launched on September 29th, 1935, in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, built by the Tercel brothers. A 32-foot wooden cutter from a time when boats were built by hand, with strength, purpose, and attention to detail.

Since then she has passed through different owners, been raced, modified, and worked hard over the decades. Parts of her history are documented, while much of it is still to be uncovered. The boat itself holds a lot of those answers, in the way she is built and what she has been through.

I came across Roiaata in 2022. At first it was just an old wooden yacht, but the more time I spent on her, the more there was to understand. Not just how she was built, but the history behind her and what still remains to be found.

This is an ongoing process. This site documents that work, with a focus on the boat, her history, and the effort to keep her on the water