Custom built motorsailer: One Man's Boat

When a boat is as good-looking and as well-built as this, it is hard to believe that after about 30 years the owner can’t find anyone who can remember who designed her, who built her and when she was launched.

The current owner, David Sellar, would love her to be from the yard of the famous Halvorsen brothers but Sydney yachties with an eye for such things reckon the flare of the bow is wrong for a Halvo.

So the mystery remains. The bloke in Queensland who sold Sea Shell to Sellar reckoned she was built in Pittwater in the 1980s but whatever evidence he had was lost when he died of cancer a few years ago.

He had apparently bought Sea Shell when he was diagnosed with the Big C and his doctor advised him to stop work and to "get a hobby". The boat became his hobby and he spent the rest of his life fitting it out.

He apparently stripped out everything in the hull the hull and started fitting out the interior from scratch. A whole new interior was installed and an aft cabin added where the large open cockpit had been. In 2005 it was finished off with new electronics, new hatches and new windows.

Today the interior still looks brand new.

The stern modification may have given extra sleeping space but almost everyone who sees the boat reckons it was a mistake and the restoration of the cockpit now would be the ideal move to restore it to the classic shape of an old Sydney motor sailer.

David Sellar and his sailing mate bought the boat in 2009 and sailed her back from Queensland to Pittwater and spent "a lot of money" making her suitable for family cruising.

"Our biggest expense was buying and installing a new Beta 35hp diesel," Sellar told BoatPoint, "We asked one boatyard for a quote on restoring the cockpit but the bloke said 'about 20 grand' and we decided we could live with the rear cabin. Since then, I've often thought we should have got quotes from a number of boat builders because there is no doubt she would look better without the stern cabin."

But the current design gives what Sellar calls "a perfect year-round boat". With the clears rolled down around the existing centre cockpit she can be used comfortably in any weather and the stern cabin gives comfortable accommodation for an adult or two children.

"It is the perfect boat for a couple or a small family," Sellar says.

But with his co-owner moving to Melbourne, Sellar recognises that he doesn't use Sea Shell enough -- especially when he has to operate "Dad's taxi" to children's football matches on Saturdays.

The boat, which is 40 feet overall, is constructed from 20mm Oregon planks and they are sealed and caulked with epoxy resin. Sellar says recent inspections have shown the hull to be in excellent condition.

The boat features twin berths in the forepeak, a large saloon with a semi-circular dining table that can convert to a double berth, a large galley and an inside steering station. There is a second, outside, steering station on the roof of the rear cabin.

Sea Shell is fitted with a Raymarine autopilot, a Navman GPS/Plotter, Raymarine speed and depth gauges, a 2500 watt inverter, a flat panel TV and hot and cold running water.

The alloy mast has stainless steel rigging and there is a Profurl furler on the headsail. All the windows and hatches were replaced during the previous owner’s interior fitout.

A holding tank for black water also was installed during the interior fitout but it has never been hooked up to the toilet. Sellar says he and his co-owner never bothered because there are too few places in Pittwater to pump out.