They could see Wanganui city's riverboat history disappearing, so Dave McDermid and friends started a trust to preserve it.
In February 1990, Mr McDermid, and the late Mark Campbell and Manu Metekingi called a public meeting, out of which the Whanganui Riverboat Restoration and Navigation Trust (WRRNT) was formed.
Co-owners of the MV Wairua, Mr McDermid, Kevin Clark and the late Ian McMurray and Mark Campbell then salvaged the Wairua and Waimarie and opened the Whanganui Riverboat Centre Museum on Taupo Quay.
The Wairua, which was the only vessel built for Alexander Hatrick that operated on the river, was the first to be pulled from the Whanganui River in 1987.
Mr Hatrick used the Wairua exclusively at Pipiriki and the river reaches up to Ohura.
Mr McDermid said the owners worked on restoring the boat over 19 years, but not continuously. All the native woodwork in the saloon was restored by Mr Clark.
It was out of the Wairua that the paddle steamer Waimarie project grew, after it too was salvaged from the Whanganui River in 1993. Both boats were adjacent to Hatrick's Wharf on the riverbank.
Today the Wairua has capacity for 39 and has a variety of trips and cruises to Upokongaro or a day trip to Hipango Park.
"Hipango Park is one of the best kept secrets at this end of the river," Mr McDermid says.
"It's a four-hour return trip and we spend two to three hours there swimming, taking a bush walk and picknicking. It's about relaxing."
The Whanganui Riverboat Services say they also like working with their clients to make tailor-made packages to suit their requirements.
Mr McDermid was a trustee and managed the trust, for which they won an environment award for the rebuild of the retained riverbank area along Moutoa Quay.
The WRRNT built the retaining wall, which was formerly Hatrick's Wharf, with the help of the Queen Alexandra Squadron, the New Zealand Army, and community probation and those on periodic detention.
Further along at the Waimarie wharf, formerly the River Settlers Company Wharf and once a rubbish dump, car bodies and other assorted rubbish were pulled from the built-up silt in the riverbank.
The Wairua and Waiora were built by Yarrow and Company in the Isle of Dogs, in the East End of London, and sent out in kitset form, then assembled at Hatrick's Foundry on the river's edge, at the bottom of Shakespeare Rd.
Both boats entered service in 1904 and the Wairua plied the Whanganui River from Pipiriki to Maraekowhai, which today is the Whanganui National Park.
BOAT FACTS