Nautical plaything faces a watery grave

An Auckland councillor is criticising the view of his local board – he wants a kids’ boat in Beach Haven to stay.

North Shore Councillor Richard Hills said historical figure Frank Larking’s boat, which had sat in the suburb for over 40 years, was “a part of the community”.

“Last term we put money forward for a pontoon. It was about adding a pontoon, there was never any reason to remove the boat.”

Mr Hills said the vessel, known as “Frank’s boat” was something the community loved, and he didn’t see why the council couldn’t make it useable and leave it there.

“It does need to be fixed, it is really old but there’s a lot of people who are offering to help out so the board should take them up on that offer and fix the issues with it.”

Mr Hills, who played on Frank’s boat himself as a child, said he hadn’t seen any reports the vessel was a safety hazard.

The Kaipatiki Local Board planned to remove the boat and replace it with a pontoon before next summer.

In an emailed statement, Auckland Council’s head of project delivery John Schermbrucker said:

“We have assessed the playboat and found it has reached the end of its life. Over several years, it has been repaired and maintained, however it is now deemed in too poor a condition to continue maintaining it. The boat has multiple holes in it, so is not operating as a pontoon should.”

The statement from Mr Schermbrucker also said rainwater pools inside the boat could cause small children to be injured and there was a public health risk posed by “stagnant water”.

Local Beach Haven resident Ruth Jackson started a petition online to keep the boat, which has gained more than 1000 signatures in one week.

“We’ve had boat and health and safety experts in, they say, ‘No they’re just giving up too easy.’ The structure of the boat is fine, any repairs that it needs are really minimal, and this is from a maritime heritage expert,” she said.

Ms Jackson believed children  were no more likely to harm themselves in the boat then they were in the harbour.

In a council submission form sent to residents, the council said it was investigating options to repurpose the boat for another site nearby.

The council submission form which was sent to residents to vote on a preferred pontoon. Photo: Supplied

“It took us a while to catch on that this existed, it was actually quite difficult to get,” said Ms Jackson.

The form never actually asked if there was a desire to to keep the boat,” she added.

Frank Larking was a local legend who established and maintaining Beach Haven’s only beach. He donated the boat to the children of Beach Haven more than 40 years ago.