An Auckland family are preparing for their first holiday on a very special boat.
It's an old Navy ship that's just been completely restored by a man who was in desperate need of a distraction.
It was a labour of love for ex-Navy man Scott Perry, who's had a tough few years.
"I lost my wife to cancer 18 months ago after a five-and-a-half-year journey," he says.
He'd quit his job as a builder to nurse Michelle in her final years, and a month after her death still couldn't face going back to work. So he decided to mortgage the house and restore a 22m former naval vessel - the 75-year-old Kuparu.
"Rather going to counselling I've decided to rebuild a boat. And she rebuilt me. And this is like a final journey," he says.
She was in quite a state and certainly wouldn't float, but after 16 months of hard work she's finally back in the water.
His family - including the pet possums and the dog - will take the Kuparu out for her first big trip this summer - finally a holiday after all that work.
Newshub.
