The boat used to belong to Columba College and the stern was smashed when the eight was caught in an outgoing tide on Otago Harbour two years ago.
"We heard that the remains of the boat were destined for the Green Island tip and we purchased it off the insurance company," the immediate past president of the St Hilda's Rowing Club, Chris Grave, said yesterday.
St Hilda's spent $1700 on purchasing and repairing the boat and parents gave much voluntary time to make it seaworthy.
The original intention was to repair the damage and make it a training boat.
The stern was impossible to repair but luck came the school's way when the Christ's College club damaged an eight and gave St Hilda's the stern of that boat.
The parents used their ingenuity in welding the Christ's College stern on to the old Columba College boat and tested it on the water at the annual fourth term Otago Secondary Schools regatta on Otago Harbour yesterday.
It now looks like a brand new boat and it was sailed in style by three St Hilda's crews yesterday.
The repaired boat proved its worth, with St Hilda's beating Otago Boys' High School in the junior eight, and Otago Girls' High School in the intermediate and senior eight.
The most impressive crew was the intermediate eight of Georgia Lepine, Courtney Shea, Tessa Read, Elisa Adam, Maggie Burns, Meg Rutherford, Alice Back, Zoe Sabonadiere and cox Kate Horn.
The eight was christened Pieces of Eight after the regatta yesterday.
The cost of a brand new eight is $40,000.
