The 8.5m Protector, bought for $75,000 in 2013, has been out of action since early last month and is not expected to return to the water until next week.
In the meantime, the city's coastguard operation has been relying on its volunteers' own boats, Coastguard southern regional manager Cheryl Moffat, of Christchurch, confirmed yesterday.
It was understood a section of a previously repaired Protector pontoon failed during an operation to recover the body of free diver Michael Hodges, who died off the Otago Peninsula coast on February 3.
Protector, which was carrying members of the police national dive squad, limped back to Portobello.
Dunedin Coastguard president Bill Dickson confirmed a glued section of a pontoon had begun leaking and ''taken a bit of water'' during the recovery operation.
The leak did not affect the boat's buoyancy, but the decision was made to ''err on the side of safety'' and return to Portobello, he said.
''They just didn't want to push it.''
The vessel was sent to Bluff for repairs and other maintenance on February 23.
Protector was due back on the water again in Dunedin next week, he said.
Ms Moffat said Coastguard operations were not affected, as the organisation relied on volunteers' own ''very capable'' boats if needed.
''One way or another, we can respond in these situations when the vessel's away.''
Protector came to Dunedin after almost a decade of use by Coastguard Waihi Beach and was heralded at the time for being more powerful, and able to operate at a longer range than Coastguard Dunedin's old 6.8m Naiad.
Ms Moffat said yesterday repairs were expected to cost ''a few thousand dollars'', but could be covered, if necessary, by a combination of local funds, lottery grants and government funding for emergency repairs.
