It has floated above the Northwestern motorway horizon for over 16 years and is loved and hated in equal measure.
But whatever your opinion, the boat known as the Toroa has earned its place in Auckland's history.
The vessel dates back to 1925 and is the last of its kind. Since 2008 lovers of the Toroa have laboured to restore her, fusing 40 tonnes of steel in the belly of the ship's body.
"We reinvented a whole lot of Victorian ship building practices that are pretty much obsolete," says Toroa Preservation Society member Peter McCurdy.
"The main problem we are facing is securing enough funding required to complete the project. Because of the size of the project a lot of hours have and will continue to go into it."
Mr McCurdy says he's optimistic that the public will eventually love the restoration, saying the haters haven't seen all the work that has gone on inside of the vessel.
In the meantime the band of volunteers maintains a positive outlook.
"It says something about the human spirit with all the odds stacked against us we continue to defy the odds and build something beautiful from something broken," he says.
Those wanting to volunteer should contact crew@toroa.org.nz
Newshub.
