118-year-old paddleboat Otunui up for sale in Whanganui but restoration work needed

Mandy Jackson says most of the work required on the Otunui is cosmetic. Photo / Mike Tweed

A 118-year-old paddleboat is on the market in Whanganui but it is a long way off being river-worthy again.

The Otunui, built in 1907 by Hatrick and Co, is owned by Bridge to Nowhere Lodge operators Mandy Jackson and Joe Adam.

The couple had it delivered from Tauranga to Whanganui’s Q-West Boat Builders in 2015, before it was moved to a St John’s Hill property four years later.

Jackson said restoration work was carried out at Q-West but progress stalled when it moved.

“There have been health issues and, when we’ve had the time, energy and effort, we’ve been up the [Whanganui] river,” she said.

“It’s still a really neat old boat. It’s iconic.

“For me, I think it would be easier to turn it into a cafe or an Airbnb.”

She said most of the work required was cosmetic, such as surface rust and replacing railings and wooden panels.

“We’ve still got all the bits and pieces in storage, like the orange life rafts that go on the top, the ropes and the paddle wheels.

“There are a lot of people in Whanganui with a lot of imagination. We are a really artistic community.

“I’m sure there is somebody in the district, or further out, that could make it into something absolutely amazing.”

The 17-metre boat carried passengers on the Whanganui River between Pīpīriki and Taumarunui until 1949, when it sank in a flood.

The Otunui could get back on the water if a buyer was prepared to put in the work, owner Mandy Jackson says.

Twenty years later, she was salvaged and restored by jet boat operator Barree Sproule.

The Otunui then operated on the Waikato River and Lake Ōkataina in Rotorua before catching fire and sinking near Taupō.

She was again restored and used on the Waihou and Wairoa rivers until being put up for auction in 2015.

Jackson said the boat was not in prime shape but it had “seen far worse” and could return to the water if someone was willing to invest time and money.

A Toyota diesel engine, which runs hydraulics for the paddle system, remains on board.

“Obviously, you would have to comply with all the Maritime New Zealand rules, which are constantly changing and updating,” she said.

“It is a riverboat, that’s what it is for. It depends on what you want to spend and what your dreams are for it.”

She said the asking price for the vessel was $30,000 but they were open to all offers.

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.