Taranaki Daily News

A summer’s day dream

- Jane Matthews

Spending a summer’s day on a picnic table with the barbie cranking and a beer in hand is Steve Hartley’s dream.

He also likes fishing too and on Waitangi Day he combined it all off the coast of Taranaki.

Hartley, 28, and Frenn Williams spent the day with mates fishing from their picnic table-barbecue boat.

The three-metre vessel, which is classed as a raft, floats on six 200-litre plastic drums, has a 15 horsepower motor and cruises along at about five knots. Its features include 10 beer holders, chilly bin mount, built-in barbecue, four rod holders, umbrellas and room for up to 10 people.

Hartley said the idea came about after many weekends floating on a river on airbeds in Taupo¯.

‘‘We always wanted a boat together.’’ Using a bit of ‘‘Kiwi ingenuity’’ they discussed things like putting a weed eater on the end of an airbed until they realised they needed somewhere to sit onshore too.

After throwing a few ideas back and forth, Hartley said they thought of a floating picnic table.

‘‘And we could bring it out of the water at night to sit on.’’

The pair designed it on the computer and built it four years ago for a cost of around $1500, which included the funds for two fishing rods.

It’s been in Lake Taupo¯, Lake Karapiro, and the Waikato River but lives in New Plymouth so is occasional­ly launched off the lee breakwater boat ramp and spotted off Nga¯motu Beach – like it was on Wednesday.

Hartley said it tends to always turns heads.

‘‘It gets a lot of attention. ‘‘Everyone cracks up when you’re going past.’’

It even brings in rewards too – the day out brought minimal fish to the table but luckily some admirers who had been out diving shared their haul of mussels with the picnic boat crew.

Despite the positive attention from the public, Coastguard New Zealand national board member John Linn said the boat’s crew should have had lifejacket­s on.

‘‘Have fun but also be safe,’’ Linn said. ‘‘If it’s under six metres they should be wearing them all the time.

‘‘It’s the skipper’s responsibi­lity.’’

 ?? SIMON O’CONNOR/ STUFF ?? The picnic table boat was created five years ago and frequents New Plymouth’s Nga¯ motu Beach.
SIMON O’CONNOR/ STUFF The picnic table boat was created five years ago and frequents New Plymouth’s Nga¯ motu Beach.

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