Job Lot: The cabinet-maker

By VIENNA RICHARDS

Joe Benioni, aged 34, is a cabinet-maker for the Mt Wellington boat-building company McMullen and Wing. He is married to Noma and they live in Otara with their three children, aged 3 months to 13 years. He was reluctant to disclose his earnings, but industry sources say $15 to $20 an hour is standard.

Whereabouts in the yard do you work?

On a 125ft [38m] American-owned super-yacht called Kaori.

Do you daydream about sailing on a super-yacht?

Actually, we have a daydream coming up. The captain was quite impressed with the work we did on the pilot-house console and says he wants us with him in the pilot-house when he sails into the Viaduct Basin after everything is done. I told them to tell my boss and I'll be there. It was a difficult job but I learned a lot doing it.

Do you want to own your own boat?

No. Boats are too expensive. I think everyone's boyhood dream is to own a boat like that. But it's no use, after you've won Lotto, going and buying one because it costs about a million a year to maintain. You need to be a multi-millionaire.

When working on these super-yachts, do you feel like you're living in two worlds?

Not if you saw the boat right now. It's all covered and wrapped up, with boards everywhere. When people ask me about it I tell them it's like renovating a house. Everything's a mess until it is finished. We have photos of its usual state, but you don't get to see these boats in all their beauty and glory until the work is finished.

How many cabinetmakers does it take to do the interiors?

On the boat I'm working on about seven are working full-time.We've been working on it for about five months.

What exactly does a cabinetmaker do?

A cabinetmaker builds what you class as cupboards, kitchens and furniture — anything you might see inside a house, boat, caravan or holiday home.

When and where did you learn your trade?

I began about nine years ago. When I started out I was just a machinist at a furniture factory. I had hesitated about doing an apprenticeship because I was an adult and would be taking a pay cut with an apprentice's wages. I was there for about four years before I started to do the apprenticeship under a new system under the Furniture Industry Training Organisation. That system gives someone like me a qualification to go with my experience. I qualified with a national certificate in furniture-making.

What is the most commonly used wood?

We deal mainly with solid timber, native or imported from overseas, that has a certain aesthetic look. You can't use pine because it's a soft wood and moves a lot. On this boat I'm working with an imported timber called American cherrywood.

What's the finest piece you've made?

That's hard to say. When I came here everything I saw on the boats was so beautiful — the wall-paneling, the stairwells, the decks and the handrails. The standard of boatbuilding is top-notch. Before I came here they built the Team New Zealand boat that won the America's Cup in San Diego. And they built the challenger that won the America's Cup this year.

What job aspect gives you the biggest thrill?

Just seeing something finished that has been really difficult to do and seeing how I've achieved a very high quality. I have an opportunity to create some beautiful furniture. When you're dealing with millionaires it has to be top-notch to a very high standard because that's what they expect.