"It will be great to have two local boats on the river," he said.
Other owners will be putting their boats on trailers and coming from as far north as Warkworth and as far south as Christchurch to join the Whanganui regatta which will leave the Top 10 Holiday Park on Saturday and head upriver to Hipango Park for an overnight stay.
"Organising steamboat guys is a bit like herding cats, but the plan is to stay at Top 10 and head upriver at 9am on Saturday," McClune said.
"Sam Mordey will follow us up in the Wairua to carry the camping gear and coal supplies because our boats are too small to carry them ourselves."
McClune said he was expecting 10 boats, including his own, and on Sunday they will rendezvous with the Waimarie paddle steamer at Hipango Park.
"We are hoping to get some good drone photos of all the boats because it will be the first time that many steamboats have been on that part of the river together for 100 years or more."
The fun won't stop there; on Monday the small fleet plan to sail in the other direction and head to the port with the expert guidance of former Whanganui harbour master Trevor Gibson.