A police witness has told an inquest there are no plans to avoid a repeat of a situation in which a search and rescue controller had no trained staff to help him.
Inspector Dave White made the comments at an inquest into the death of 19-year-old Geoffrey Hampton, who died in his father's arms after more than 12 hours in the water off the Wanganui coast in February.
The police officer controlling February's search for the three missing men in the runabout had no-one to help him, despite requesting assistance from 11 search and rescue personnel.
Mr White, operations manager for the police central district, said excluding that incident, he had never heard of a search co-ordinator not being able to get trained staff to help with searches.
He told the inquest that search and rescue controllers were now more likely to call on search advice from the Coastguard and the Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
Call for checks on fiberglass
Maritime New Zealand wants to investigate the fibreglass used in many recreational boats to see what effect age and exposure to the weather have on the material.
Maritime investigator David Billington says the deterioration of the Hampton runabout's 27-year-old hull could have led to water entering the boat's void space which would have made it easier for a large wave to swamp it.
Mr Billington says it is possible that other fibreglass boats could also have latent fractures and Maritime New Zealand should review the longevity of the material to determine what impact age and weather have on it.
He also wants Maritime New Zealand to to review the seaworthiness of the remaining glass craft vessels manufactured by the Cook brothers in Christchurch to ensure they do not have inherent design flaws.
