Tag Archive for: Million Dollar Cruise History

Million Dollar Cruise When Purchased

After he sold the Hydrofoil Wayne had a variety of careers until he met up with the love of his life Betty.

Together they planned to return to the lake with a lovely traditional launch and so the search began. Eventually they found the bare bones of what they wanted in Rotorua being a gorgeous old English steel river boat from the 1950’s in a very dilapidated state.

Million Dollar Cruise Strapped Up Ready To Go

So after purchasing what was basically a hulk they transported her to just north of Wellington and then sailed her across Cook Strait to Nelson. The gifted craftsman of that City completely stripped her back to bare steel and started a massive refurbishment and rebuild over a six month period retaining only the propulsion plant and steel hull, everything else was replaced and she emerged like a butterfly from a chrysalis as the stunning Million Dollar 1.

Million Dollar Cruise Boat in Transit

Her journey then continued on the back of a truck down through the Lewis pass and on into the Mackenzie country to her final destination the cool clear waters of Lake Wakatipu where she rapidly became Queenstown’s favorite Launch.On the water and away she goes

Wayne Perkin's Old Hydrofoil

Find out the history of Million Dollar Cruise.