A Newfoundland man who spent years building the pirate ship of his dreams hit a rock on his maiden voyage after surviving a mutiny attempt.

John Keefe, 73, spent 4½ years building the Golden Eagle, a 34-foot- long, 12-foot-wide pirate ship replica with an 85 horsepower diesel motor.

"Now every piece of board, planks, spars, whatever, riggings I put it on myself … the only help I had was my son helping to put the motor in," Keefe said.

Keefe, who is from Newville on New World Island, donned an eye patch and a sword to watch his creation be dragged from his property by an excavator to the ocean nearby.

"We came from Ireland, and I think somewhere along the line that some of my descendants were pirates because I always loved pirates and every pirate movie that I could see I watched, and pirate boats I love them."

But the Golden Eagle's maiden voyage was short-lived when Keefe's brother — upset over a land dispute — tried to stop the launch.

He sat in front of the boat until the RCMP arrived and convinced him to move.

The Golden Eagle's smooth sailing then hit another snag when the ship hit a rock 100 feet short of the water.

Keefe said he hopes to have the Eagle repaired, and relaunched, in the next few days.