M.V. Otunui |
Name Meaning: Tributary River 20km below Taumarunui Type: Motor Vessel, Propulsion: 1 Screw in Tunnel, later Paddle Wheels - 1982 Year Built: 1907 Builder: Yarrow & Co. Poplar London Dimensions: Length 60ft, Beam 8ft, Depth 3ft 7in (As built, shortened and lengthened since) Gross Tons: 15.36 (As built) Registered Tons: 11.52 (As built) Machinery: 2 Globe Iron Works USA Oil total 48 BHP (As built) (Various engines between) 1 Ford Diesel driving 2 hydraulic pumps to paddle wheels independantly Section Of River: Houseboat to Taumarunui Fate: The Otunui was sold to a farmer in 1961 who renamed it Tangahoe and shortened it to under 50 feet, as vessels under that length that were only used for carrying agricultral produce did not have to be surveyed. The Tangahoe continued this until 1972 when the vessel was swept from it's moorings in a flood and foundered on a shingle bed near Pipiriki. The Otunui was not to rest there for long, as it was salvaged by some Wanganui locals who towed it downriver, renamed it Otunui and rebuilt it as a passenger vessel powered by a 120 bhp Perkins Diesel engine driving a Hamilton jet unit! From February 1979 it operated on the Whanganui River, but this was unsuccessful and by August it had been moved to the Waikato River. Early in 1982 it moved to lake Okataina under new ownership, where it was converted to paddle wheel propulsion, but 9 cruises later the venture folded. Then, in March 1984 the Otunui was sold and brought back to the Whanganui River to run between Wanganui and Holly Lodge Estate winery, a short distance upriver. It operated on the same trip under a few different owners until it started taking trips between Wanganui and Upokongaro. In 1998 the Otunui moved back to the Waikato River where it took cruises from the Aratiatia Dam up to Huka Falls. After being sold in 2002, it's new owners completed a total refit of the vessel, taking four months. The business was proving very popular until the 27th of April 2003, when the Otunui was badly damaged by fire. The owner's insurance company sold the hulk and it was shifted to Coromandel, where it's new owner completely rebuilt it to a state similar to before the fire. |
Below are photos of M.V. Otunui, click on them to see the enlarged version. |
M.V. Otunui leaving for Taupo in 1998. |
M.V. Otunui at pontoon in Wanganui in 1993. |
M.V. Otunui on the Whanganui River 1989. |
M.V. Otunui in her original form 1910s. |
M.V. Otunui leaving Taumarunui 1910s. |
M.V. Tangahoe at Pipiriki late 1960s. |
M.V. Otunui on the Waikato River in 1999. |
M.V. Otunui at Huka Falls in Taupo 1998. |
M.V. Otunui at pontoon in Taupo January 2002. |
M.V. Otunui at pontoon after the fire in 2003. |
M.V. Otunui at pontoon after refit late 2002. |
M.V. Tangahoe at Pipiriki 1960s. |
