The land-to-water Tauranga shift of a historic 80-tonne vessel was last week a fitting climax to a boat renovation which had been, in itself, a mammoth feat.
The former lighthouse supply boat Stella, which has undergone a complete makeover over its four years in a Portside Drive industrial section, was loweredinto Tauranga harbour by the Bay of Plenty's two largest mobile cranes on Friday morning.
The 70ft boat had been lifted on to an Auckland-based transporter the night before and carted to Mt Maunganui Wharf through a route that crossed an industrial section and railway tracks and required three power lines to be taken down.
Once at the port, Stella's had to fit through an entranceway- which allowed just 40cm on each side, making for a tricky job for Pollock and Sons Crane Hire engineers.
It was almost four years to the day that Stella was craned out of the same wharf, after her owner, a Tauranga businessman who wished not to be named, bought the vessel in Auckland as a makeover project.
Stella already had a historic reputation as being one of the last surviving supply boats which serviced the country's diesel-fuelled lighthouses.
After more than a decade of service, Stella was decommissioned in 1984 and spent the remainder of her years around the Hauraki Gulf.
Her renovation involved gutting the interior, sandblasting and priming the exterior, extending the deck roof and constructing four cabins and four bathrooms from scratch.
"It was right down to the door knobs and upholstery ... There was no boat builder," its owner said. "The only person we actually contracted was a tile layer ... and that was because it was for a good price and we could get it done easily."
After a formal launch in November, the owner planned to take his family on a Christmas cruise around the country and eventually on fishing expeditions to Tonga.
