142 Boating New Zealand
The first boat he built on the property was a 6.1m clinker
launch powered by a 30hp Perkins diesel. As there’s never
been road access to their property, apart from the twice-
weekly mail boat, their own boat was their only method of
travelling to and from Picton.
Those first few years were hard and there was no shortage of
work. In addition to boatbuilding there were 500 sheep to shear,
gardens to plant, roads to build and children to home-school.
Around 1978 Saunders built a 14.4m x 3.6m boatbuilding
shed next to the cottage, primarily because it enjoyed bettersun and views. He then began building a new six-bedroom
house for his family. After doing the foundations, floors and
walls, the local Council decided the house was in the wrong
place and slapped him with a stop-work order.
He objected and the Council took him to court. It took
five-years of legal posturing before the Council finally
admitted it was wrong and allowed Saunders to finish
building his house.
Meantime, he had built an even bigger boatbuilding shed,
27.5m x 12.2m, complete with a mezzanine office.An hour later and
we’re exploring one of
the most interesting,
treasure-filled
boatbuilding sheds
I’ve ever seen.