Murray Wakefield was last seen in Port Chalmers on May 10 about 10.30am.
A search party including police, LandSAR, coastguard, surf life-saving and the Police National Dive Squad have been searching Otago Harbour for Mr Wakefield since then.
A police spokeswoman said they would search the harbour again today.
His brother, John Wakefield, said he and his family, who are all living in the North Island, were "hugely appreciative for all his mates, the community" and the effort emergency services had put into finding Mr Wakefield.
"Muzz’s been well looked after for 10 years down south — the efforts have been huge and we all really appreciate it."
His parents, Allen and Susan, his children Mathew and Olivia, siblings Jasen, Salena, John and Ronda, and his seven grandchildren would all miss him.
He said his brother was the kind of man to give someone the shirt off his back.
"He probably couldn’t own anything bloody worth any money because he’d give it away.
"Muzz was just so kind-hearted, he’s got thousands of mates."
Mr Wakefield — also known as Muzz or the Black Dog — was born in the Bay of Plenty and spent his childhood in Tāneatua, a town near Whakatāne.
Before moving to Port Chalmers, he worked on the West Coast aboard a fishing trawler.
"He’d go out for a month, maybe six weeks at a time and that’s when he started living on a boat — he didn’t want to have a house because it wasn’t going to be lived in half the time.
"He enjoyed living on the boat, and he just kept doing it," his brother said.
Mr Wakefield moved to Port Chalmers about 10 years ago to work for Port Otago.
John Wakefield said everyone liked his brother, a happy "man to himself ... not a bad bone in his body".
