‘Drop it off and run real fast’

‘‘Being in hospital and finding out this boat has been stolen is a real kick in the guts.’’ Vaughan Hill

Vaughan Hill is a survivor but the theft of his modified boat while he was in hospital last week is a ‘‘real kick in the guts’’. The theft made a tough week even tougher for the 46-year-old who lost his right arm in a shark attack while harvesting paua off Pitt Island in 1996.

Hill was in Dunedin Hospital last week after ‘‘smashing’’ his left shoulder during a hunting trip in Glenorchy, near Queenstown, on April 4.

And the day after having surgery in Dunedin, a Timaru friend called him with the news that the boat he has restored and modified over 10 years to suit his condition, had been stolen from his James St home in Timaru.

The Quill, Hill said, was a very

distinctive left-hand steer alloy pontoon boat that had been modified so he could continue his love of boating and share that love with daughter Isobel, 13.

Hill said Isobel was very upset about the theft and his distraught daughter told Stuff that ‘‘the boat was everything to us’’.

Her advice to the thief was: ‘‘Drop it off and run real fast’’.

Hill said the boat was reported stolen on April 6.

‘‘I am unsure what day it was stolen but it must have been sometime between Friday, March 29, and Saturday, April 6.’’

The pair moved to Timaru from the Chatham Islands in 2012 and brought The Quill with them.

‘‘This boat meant a hell of a lot to us as it’s been modified to be user-friendly for me.

‘‘Isobel has grown up on this boat and we used it to get out and do what we love to do.

‘‘Being in hospital and finding out this boat has been stolen is a real kick in the guts. The whole thing is not good timing.

‘‘Once they realise, whoever it is who has taken the boat, that they have got something that is pretty unique, then hopefully they will realise it’s a f... up and do the right thing.

‘‘Just leave it somewhere, no questions asked, otherwise Isobel is on the war path.’’

Hill said his shoulder was still ‘‘pretty’’ swollen. ‘‘It is shattered; all the muscles were ripped off the bone,’’ he said.

‘‘This has all combined to be gutting as a lot of me has gone into that boat. Over time, we have made it to suit my condition; it’s quite a cool boat.’’

Hill said the boat, valued at about $30,000, was insured.

It had a Yamaha V4 130 horse power motor and Mercury 5 hp auxiliary outboard motor on a single axle trailer with the registration U403Q.

A police spokeswoman said inquiries were ongoing.

JOHN BISSET/STUFF Vaughan Hill and daughter Isobel with a picture of The Quill, which they have spent countless hours working on in an effort to modify it so Vaughan, who lost his right arm in a shark attack, can share his love of the sea with his daughter.

Police are investigating the theft of the boat.

The rare left-hand steer alloy pontoon boat was reported stolen from James St in Timaru on April 6.