 After searching worldwide for the right boat to be the Venture,  Peter Jackson (I) (qv) found and purchased the Manuia, in the  South Pacific island of Tonga. Several set pieces were added to the  50 year old vessel to make it resemble a 1930s freighter. Film crew  were forced to abandon the boat during filming in March 2005 when it  sprang a leak and began to take on water off New Zealands Kapiti  Coast. Emergency repairs were carried out and it sailed back to  Wellington, where the remaining boat scenes were shot without  further incident.