Grand Banks 32 -- One Man's Boat

Almost everyone who has ever ventured out onto the water knows the Grand Banks range of trawler-style cruisers. Their distinctive profile can be seen in harbours around the world and they are universally recognised as being safe and comfortable sea boats.

Today most Grand Banks are fibreglass cruisers with enough engine power to push them along at up to 20 knots but that wasn't always the case.

When the brand first appeared they were American designed and produced boats made in Hong Kong and they were purely displacement vessels. They weren't constructed of glass fibre but from solid mahogany planking -- and their superb workmanship quickly dispelled any doubts about the skills of Asian boatbuilders.

Grand Banks built boats in Hong Kong up until the end of 1973, when they shifted their production to Singapore and their hulls from wood to glass fibre. Among the last of the boats to leave the Hong Kong factory was ReTreat, a Grand Banks 32 now for sale in Victoria's Westernport Bay.

She was hull number 399 of the 406 boats Grand Banks made in Honkers and today she is probably in better condition than she was when she slid down the launching slip. During her almost 40 years on the water, she has had only three owners -- the first in Hong Kong, the second in Queensland and Victorian builder David Tootell has owned her for the past 10 years.

Tootell is convinced she is the only Grand Banks "woodie" in Australia and he thinks she might be the only one in the southern hemisphere. An admitted perfectionist, he bought the boat when he married a decade ago and his new wife insisted he give up his major hobby of car racing.

"I think she now regrets saying 'why don't you go and play with a wooden boat'," Tootell told BoatPoint, "I am a perfectionist, especially with an enjoyable toy and I've thrown the book at this boat. I'm more than a little handy with timber and every nook and cranny aboard has been cleaned, rebuilt or replaced."

While Tootell says the boat can sleep six, he admits four is more comfortable -- with two in the V-berths in the bow and two in the converted saloon berths.

The original engine, one of the unbustable 6-cylinder Ford Lehman diesels that everyone reckons were originally made for big tractors, was rebuilt six years ago and has only done 500 hours since. An Onan generator has been installed to run the stove, oven, fridge and all the electricals.

A few years ago Tootell moved from Melbourne to Hastings on Westernport Bay and took his beloved boat with him. There he found he could easily potter down to Phillip Island, tie up at a marina, and spend the afternoon watching the motor racing his wife banned him from.

Now in his early 60s, Tootell reckons it is time to hand the boat over to a new owner who will give it the constant use it deserves. He is planning to move to a smaller vessel that needs less looking after.

ReTreat was recently voted as the most desirable weekend cruiser at the Melbourne wooden boat show.

Tootell is asking $155,000 for his "toy" which he thinks is a very realistic appraisal of its worth.

"I've probably gone a bit overboard with the interior and the restoration but I'm a bit of a wood turner and I can't help myself if I think something can be improved," he said.