A virtually complete Elsie Evans was this week moored in calm waters at Portobello. But a ballooning cost and allegations of mismanagement and wastage of public money have emerged over a vessel that is still some time away from taking its first passengers. David Loughrey reports.
After more than 11 years of restoration, the historic vessel Elsie Evans has finally been seen plying the waters of the Otago Harbour under its own steam.
The Otago Daily Times took a brief ride around the Steamer Basin in the vessel in March, and while electrical work was still being completed, the freshly painted and refurbished boat looked all set to finally take its place among the city's heritage offerings.
Elsie Evans has long been touted as an addition to Dunedin's heritage scene and there are plans for it to ferry residents and tourists between Port Chalmers and Portobello.
But there is no set date for completion of the vessel, and the cost of the restoration at somewhere near $500,000 has resulted in expressions of concern.
Those who have been involved with the project have spoken out at what they say is gross mismanagement that has wasted thousands of dollars of public money.
Otago Harbour Ferry Inc (OHFI) chairman Shem Sutherland has denied those claims, which he described as "a personal attack''.
"The positive is the boat is sitting in the water down there, and everyone who comes on says 'what a great boat - this is awesome'.
"There's nothing like it in New Zealand.
"What's their gripe?''
About the same time the ODT visited Elsie Evans in March, former OHFI committee member John Ashton contacted the newspaper saying the restoration had cost too much.
He said the trust was "pretty disorganised'' when he was a committee member for three months in 2011.
Mr Ashton said he was given the role of contract supervisor, but was removed from the role when he made suggestions he said were also a criticism of Mr Sutherland's actions.
While he was there, Mr Sutherland bought a propeller without telling the committee.
Others have said the propeller was the wrong type for the boat, an example of wasted money.
"He just appeared with it,'' Mr Ashton said.
"I would say the main problem is mismanagement.
"Shem used to go ahead and do things off his own bat, with no reference to the committee.''
"They had quite a clever committee for a start, but they all fizzled out.''
Maurice Davis is a civil engineer, naval architect and recognised surveyor for Maritime New Zealand, who was involved early on in design approval work for Elsie Evans.
He also had concerns about the way the project was managed, calling some aspects "nonsense'' and "unwise''.
He said he understood the cost of the rebuild to be $495,000, and surveying to allow it to take passengers was still to come.
"They've bought five engines for a start,'' Mr Davis said.
"The problem now is they have lost the confidence of the people that were in a position to fund this.
"They're struggling - really struggling.
"They still don't have anybody in charge that is competent enough to make the job go properly.''
Mr Davis said he was concerned about the cost.
"It is public money.
"What concerns me is it is public money that could have gone to a lot of other useful things.''
Mr Davis said he did surveys of the vessel during construction, inspecting and signing off aspects such as fastenings, the way the engine was bolted down, the propeller, propeller shaft and steering gear.
The day before the vessel was put in the water he did a survey of aspects that could not be done once it was afloat, including its underwater construction.
Because that was two and a-half years ago, the survey had expired, and the vessel would have to come out of the water to be resurveyed.
"We start from scratch again.''
Perhaps most trenchant in their criticism were builders Peter Broere and his son Scott.
The pair had a contract to help refurbish Elsie Evans, and finished about four years' work on the vessel in 2013.
"We were contractors, but that contract went haywire,'' Peter Broere said.
"It was Shem, mainly, just the way he carried on and just rushed out, purchased stuff, it was just unbelievable.
"The whole thing came to a sticky end.''
Mr Broere said he had concerns from the start "just about the way the whole thing was run''.
The vessel at that stage was just a shell.
He received a draft copy of the plans he said were "just two bits of paper''.
The boat was built just following concept drawings.
An early issue arose when he asked Mr Sutherland to make sure to let him know when the vessel was lifted and transported to a shed as "we need to be there''.
"It's absolutely crucial we are there, because we need to know the weight of the boat.''
The vessel could have been weighed by the crane driver, he said.
"That didn't happen.''
There were also aspects of the work that needed to be done, but for which he had not been asked to quote.
Mr Sutherland had bought an 85hp John Deere motor for the vessel, a "big, big motor, too big for the boat''.
The motor was sent away to get a gearbox and engine feet, costing, Mr Broere said, another $5000.
It was discovered a fire pump needed to be put on the front of the engine.
That work was done for another $4800, meaning the motor was now worth almost $30,000, but by now it was too big for the vessel.
Mr Broere said the John Deere motor was sold for $10,000.
Eventually, the Broeres said they would no longer deal with Mr Sutherland, and committee member Hugh Montgomery, who has since died, took over as project manager, something that "worked wonderfully well''.
But Mr Broere said there were other issues, with a new motor turning up that was too small.
They also raised the issue of the propeller they said Mr Sutherland bought.
The propeller needed to be designed to suit the motor, to suit its shaft size, the gearbox and the boat, but the one that arrived, at a cost they said of $3400, was "too small for the boat''.
A second propeller had to be bought.
The Broeres also said Mr Sutherland sourced toughened glass windows for the vessel, but did not order piping that would make them waterproof.
"Shem didn't want that.
"To save money he painted blackboard paint on them.''
The Broeres said they would not put them in, so Mr Sutherland, they said, put electrical tape on them for waterproofing.
The Broeres said they could not put them in in that state.
"If we did that, we would be liable for any other damages that occur from that,'' Scott Broere said.
"The job just got that messy by that stage, it just got uncontrollable,'' Peter Broere said.
"Some of the nutty things that went on were just unbelievable.''
Another concern the pair had about wasted money was a radar bought that was "the size of a wheelie bin'' which had to be returned.
Finishing work done on the boat since the pair left was "absolute rubbish, and that's what you see''.
The Broeres did get paid for their work by the trust.
But they said Elsie Evans' market value would be "very little'' and a similar new vessel could be built for about $400,000.
"It's a very,very sad situation, and unfortunately the public's put a lot of money into it.''
In response, Mr Sutherland noted the funders of the vessel had not raised concerns, something borne out when the Otago Daily Times approached two local funders.
Dunedin deputy mayor Chris Staynes would not criticise the OHFI, but confirmed the council had put no more money into the project since it turned the society down for $25,000 funding in 2011.
Cr Staynes said Mr Sutherland had been in touch since then, looking for input into the idea of leasing the vessel to an operator, rather than the OHFI trying to operate the vessel itself.
That was an outcome the council wanted to see.
Otago Community Trust chief executive Barbara Bridger said part of the donation to OHFI came with "strings attached'' to make sure the vessel stayed in Dunedin, or if it could not, went to Timaru.
"Ideally, it would stay in the Otago Harbour,'' she said.
There was a deed of arrangement with OHFI to make sure the trust was donating to an asset that stayed in the region and could be used by the community.
"I think the thing to realise is these people are not in it for personal gain.
"Their hearts are in the right place, and they're doing it for the right reasons.''
The project was "nearly there'', she said, and there may be a benefactor around who could get it over the line.
Mr Sutherland said in March he expected the vessel to be certified and running by Labour Weekend this year.
But this week he said the project would "take as long as it takes''.
He said the cost of the restoration was about $480,000, a figure reached last year with a $20,000 grant from TransPower.
Mr Sutherland said the length of time the restoration took had cost money, as had the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, when the difficult economy meant it took longer to complete.
He said the trust had bought three engines for the vessel, the third proving acceptable.
"It's just someone's professional advice that got us into those situations.
"We relied on engineers and boat builders to come up with the right-sized engines.''
He said that advice had resulted in the wrong sized engines being bought.
Some members of the trust had resigned and "things got pretty messy''.
"Everyone had their agendas.''
Of the criticism he had received, he responded by saying the boat was in the water and going.
He was very critical of the Broeres, but said he was "reluctant to get into a slanging match''.
However, he said the propeller that was bought did fit the shaft.
"The Broeres, without the full committee approval, built a round wheel house which forced us into buying curved glass windows.''
He said the Broeres made $300,000 out of the contract, though Peter Broere last night said the figure was a little over $200,000.
On Mr Davis' criticisms, Mr Sutherland said: "We had so much professional advice, and so many times it only ended up costing us twice as much.''
"We had the boat in the water to get it away from the professionals who were milking it.''
On the future of the vessel once it was finished, he said the OHFI was looking for prospective operators.
Asked if the vessel was insured at its mooring in Portobello, he said: "It's insured.''
"The project to restore Elsie Evans has been based largely on volunteers and their goodwill.
"At times this project has turned out to be more complicated than anticipated.
"The society is accountable to the organisations who have donated money.
"We have had no issues with this.''
Timeline
1901
Elsie Evans built, first pilot boat owned by the Timaru Harbour Board, later plied Otago Harbour in various roles, including as a ferry, from 1928. Ended its days as a ferry in 1954, spent 17 years lying under a macrocarpa hedge at Waihola. Was stored in Timaru, and returned to Dunedin in late 2003.
2005
Portobello's Shem Sutherland announces plan to restore vessel as a working launch carrying sightseers around the harbour.
February 2006
Expected cost of project reported in Otago Daily Times as $120,000. December 2006Mr Sutherland reports $73,000 raised for stage 1 of restoration, another $60,000 needed for stage 2. Hoped sea trials would begin by end of 2007.
May 2007
Mr Sutherland asks Dunedin City Council (DCC) for $25,000 for final stage of the restoration. Project estimated at $160,000. DCC agrees to $20,000.
November 2008
Work completed on vessel's hull, Otago Harbour Ferry Inc (OHFI) fundraising to complete the boat's superstructure. OHFI reported to need $81,000 to complete what is now $200,000-plus restoration.
May 2009
OHFI asks DCC for $70,000 to complete a $320,000 fundraising drive. Mr Sutherland says group raised $250,000 towards the project.
May 2009
John Deere engine pictured in ODT being lowered into hull. March 2010OHFI reports $315,000 raised for the project.
October 2010
Mr Sutherland tells ODT OHFI has raised more than $350,000, and was seeking a further $65,000 to relaunch the ferry.
February 2011
Dunedin deputy mayor Cr Chris Staynes says council not keen to provide more help until vessel is in the harbour. Money raised reported as $380,000.
May 2011
Council refuses to grant $25,000 for the project, raises concerns OHFI had not taken up offer of help from the council economic development team to put together business plan.
August 2013
Vessel back in harbour, Mr Sutherland says project cost $460,000, needs another $6500 for stability testing and surveying.
