Nailed it

John Butler

 John's hand-made nails

John makes by hand the nails that will fasten the sacrificial board to the keel. You can't buy nails like this in any chandlery shop we know. When we bump the bottom going into Havelock we'll know nothing's going to drop off.

Franklin's Boatyard

Franklin's Boatyard, Waikawa

Continuing our search for suitable slipways we looked over the gate of Franklin's Boatyard, Waikawa, Queen's Birthday weekend. It's on the site of the old Jorgensen Yard, and this suggests the slipway might well take Orion. There are two chandlers and several marine businesses nearby at Waikawa Marina.

Havelock Slipway

Havelock Slipway

On our way north in the van we went via Havelock to check out the slipway. We saw two cradles that could take Orion. By luck, we were there at dead low water and got a good look at the channel.

H.Saunders

Orion was built at Paremata, Porirua, just north of Wellington. When Costa Botes made this film — shot on 16mm by Murray Milne, and featuring poet Sam Hunt (1988) — Harold Saunders had moved his operation to Jackson's Bay, Tory Channel. The similarities of design and construction between this yet-to-be-identified vessel and Orion are striking.

Catching the Tide

Details of the construction methods, and just the joy of seeing the process as Harold and another man steam a plank, hammer it up into position, and fasten it with copper rivets, is so worth the watch. Even Sam Hunt fails to spoil the experience! The whole film is a gem, full of dyed-in-the-wool kiwi nostalgia, seascapes, rich conversation, and poetry.