The Ks came about from a RNZYS design competition in 1944. The Squadron were keen to entice returning service personnel to get out on the water, and they wanted to be able to offer them a boat that would be suitable not just for racing, but also for cruising around the Hauraki Gulf.

Some of our best known designers and boatbuilders were involved in the development of the K Class fleet. Ex pat Arthur Robb won the competition, and Bob Stewart came second. Bill Couldrey, Col Wild, and Jack Brooke also entered designs. Ten boats were built between 1948 and early 1960s, and three other similar boats were redesigned to fit within the class criteria. They were initially intended to be a one design class but as most of the designers wanted to build their own boat, they quickly became a restricted class. As the Hauraki Gulf’s first racer-cruisers, the Ks and their owners were fiercely competitive when racing, but great mates when tucked up in a bay at the end of the day.

Collings and Bell, Col Wild, and Percy Vos, were some of the local boatbuilders involved in the Ks. The last K to be built was designed by Olin Stephens of Sparkman and Stephens, and no expense was spared in an effort to make her the fastest in the class.

The Ks were regarded by Squadron as their ‘glamour class’, and were also sometimes referred to as the ‘Aristocrats of the Harbour’. Some well known yachties owned Ks over the years, from Sir Keith Park, Piri Neary, Doug Reid, and Richard Ross, to several RNZYS Commodores.

Rather than writing a technical sailing book, I have focused more on the social side of what it was like sailing the Hauraki Gulf in a K Class in the 1950s and 1960s. Many former owners, crew members, family members, boatbuilders, and yachting enthusiasts have shared stories and memories of the Ks, and there are plenty of photos tracing the history of the class.