A boatie's dream goes up in smoke

A Kerikeri man, who spent a year looking for his family's dream boat, could only stand and watch it burn to the waterline on Thursday last week.

The blaze on Thursday destroyed the 8.5m Sea Ray fibreglass launch, which had been moored just off the Rangitane boat ramp.

Its owner, who did not wish to be named, was at home nearby when he saw smoke coming from the boat about 10.35am and raised the alarm.

The Kerikeri Fire Brigade responded with two appliances and a tanker but could do little to save the boat.

Deputy Chief Fire Officer Greg Imms said the launch was too far offshore for hoses to reach, and an attempt to take firefighting equipment out in borrowed dinghies was unsuccessful. In any case, the boat was burning to the waterline when firefighters arrived.

When it appeared the mooring rope was about to burn through and the breeze would push the boat into a bank thick with dry bamboo, and with homes nearby, the owner and a firefighter rowed out to cut the rope and pull the still blazing wreckage toward the beach.

The owner said he had spent a year searching for his dream boat for family outings in the Bay of Islands.

He finally found the launch in Auckland two months ago and had been out on it almost every weekend since.

On Thursday morning, he had prepared the boat for another outing with his family, which was to have begun on Friday.

The hardest part was going to be telling his children they had lost all their belongings that had been on board, he added.

The blaze was most likely caused by a build-up of gas, or fuel vapour in the cabin, says fire investigator Craig Bain.

The gas or vapour could have been ignited by a spark produced when the fridge, or bilge pumps kicked in.

The investigation was continuing, he said.