William C Daldy Preservation Society

23/08/2026

Check out the latest update from the Heron Ship Repair slipway at Whangarei. The work goes on at Heron Ship repair. With less than 3 weeks now until the ship needs to re-enter the water, the race is on to complete work on the hull, and all of the internal fittings required to keep her water-tight.

The work goes on at Heron Ship repair. With less than 3 weeks now u...

21/08/2026

Here’s the first section of the repair, vacuum sealed onto the hull to cure. The repair addresses all the surface anomalies, arrests any corrosion, and creates an impervious barrier beneath the new paint. It’s an ingenious solution for both heritage and contemporary vessels, something we’re bound to see more of.

19/08/2026

There’s something deeply satisfying about removing years of accumulated paint and corrosion. This is one of the Daldy’s 12 portholes, removed for a bit of a renovation. When you’re 90 you’re entitled to a bit of love and attention.

19/08/2026

Work on the repair is well underway now. Behind the wrap, the flash rust has been cleaned off, the surface prepped and the first layers of composite coating applied. Things will more relatively quickly from here on

04/08/2026

It’s begun … in what is surely the longest journey of her 90 years, the Daldy is being taken right back to bare metal. To say it’s impressive is an understatement.

13/07/2026

We did it!

On Sunday night the Daldy left Devonport and steamed North to Whangārei. With a skeleton crew of our volunteers, and more men from the Heron crew, together with the tug Pacific Way (likely the second oldest working tug in NZ after the Daldy) and in spite of being extensively fouled, the Daldy performed well.

Now it’s onto the next phase of the Daldy’s life. The repair program is the most aggressive ever, attending to some longstanding issues that we need to address to secure the long-term future of the William C Daldy.

So it’s now onto support - fundraising, and a couple of volunteer missions back to Whangārei to do what we can to support the work in the shipyard. More to follow …

24/04/2026

Rust never sleeps - but soot stays where it stops. Here volunteer Daldy stalwart George Armatage is removing retarders from the smoke tubes of our aft boiler. These thin metal pieces slow the transit of smoke from the combustion chamber to the funnel, aiding heat transfer and improving the efficiency of the ship. Without retarders - and volunteers like George - sailing would be impossible.

01/04/2026

Most of you will know Rory by now. He's normally ready to deploy his encyclopaedic knowledge of the William C. Daldy for visitors to the ship., and he took the initiative to write a really good article for NZHeritage, and they sent someone to interview him and write this piece. This article in NZHeritage Magazine captures his enthusiasm for the ship pretty well. As e explains, Rory is one of the volunteers who completed his QDC qualification on board the Daldy ... read all about it here:

https://issuu.com/heritagenz/docs/heritage_new_zealand_perira_april_2026

Or catch the video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxleiyKE7Ow

Well done Rory.