"The track was just one of those tracks where everything looks the same.
"You go back over yourself and turn inside out.
"But it flowed quite nice in the end."
Once it came together, the Coleys immediately broke into the 44s mark and never looked back.
Although out of contention for the national title and likely a long shot to finish third in the series, Rob Coley said the boat's package was now "outstanding" compared to the first two rounds of the campaign, as Poison Ivy is beating Caughey and others with quicker times, not through mishaps.
He will set his sights on a third straight victory at Featherston to be the only Superboat driver to win that many rounds in this series.
"Two wins in a season, Pat's had two, everything else has been up and down.
"We were always capable of being there, but [problems] put us out - spark boxes mainly."
Dillon welcomed Coley's ambition, as he now knows Caughey has to win the final round and he would have to bomb out early to miss winning the title.
"I've got to qualify in the top eight. If I get six to seventh I take it away.
"It will be good to have the pressure come off.
"Take care of the theories first - once that's gone and in the bag we'll race for the win."
The only Superboat driver to reach the podium at all five rounds, Dillon did not have any of the dramas his fellow Wanganui racers faced in Wanaka.
"Our day was pretty smooth. We just had the pressure of getting into the Top 3.
"Rob Coley drove insanely unbelievable - just really, really took it to everybody."
Another reason to be careful in Featherston is Dillon no longer owns his beloved PPG Hulk.
After years racing and perfecting his craft, the veteran has decided to retire at the end of this campaign, having sold his boat and acting as a coach to its new owner.
The national championship will be the perfect farewell. "The series means everything to us, I want a good high to go out on."
In the Biolityx 400 series, Ross Travers has tied the series with Hamilton's Ollie Silverton after he won his fourth round, despite a mountain of issues with their Radioactive boat.
Travers had made some alterations and emptied the fuel tank for the long trip down the South Island, which the crew discovered had caused the needle valves in the carburettor to stick.
"Once we freed them up, got the fuel squirting through, it just fired straight away," Travers said.
At that point, he and navigator son Shane got through one qualifying run with the fastest time before the boat's battery died as a result of constantly trying to restart it.
Radioactive missed the second qualifying run but from that point, could not be caught.
Team Travers posted a 49.122s winning run in the Top 3, with Silverton finishing third, while Wanganui's defending champion Hayden Wilson in White Noize crashed out in the fifth qualifier, going through a fence.
Although he has conclusively had the quickest 400 boat all season, Travers acknowledged the impressive consistency of Silverton.
Every other driver in the top five has had at least one bad round in the campaign - Travers himself coming 10th in February - but the second-year Hamilton racer has never finished lower than a fourth placing.
"That's what pays off in the end," said Travers.
"We've won every meeting except for one, and we've only just caught up with him.
"Basically all we've got to do is finish [in Featherston] to get Shane the navigators title, and I have to beat Ollie."
Results, Round 5
Biolityx 400: 1. Ross Travers/Shane Travers (Wanganui); 2. Patrick Haden/Jay Haden (Te Awamutu); 3. Ollie Silverton/Geoff Sisterson (Hamilton).
PSP Suntuf Group A: 1. Sam Newdick/Glenn Mason (Hamilton); 2. Tristan Hynds/Mathew Fagan (Papamoa); 3. Simon Gibbon/Paul Thompson (Christchurch).
Suzuki Grand Vitara Superboats: 1. Rob Coley/Tony Coley (Wanganui); 2. Peter Caughey/Karen Marshall (Christchurch); 3. Pat Dillon/Steve Edmonds (Wanganui).
