Name Blue Linnet

Linnet was originally built in 1938 by J, G Forbes and Sons in Sandhaven, Scotland as a North Sea herring drifter and seine netter. Soon after building she was requisitioned into the second world war operating between Fraserburgh and Scapa Flow. She continued fishing after the war for herring in the North Sea. In the early 1960s Linnet was sold privately and converted to a cruising motor vessel, she was then used as a family boat cruising the UK and France, she then remained in this same family ownership for over thirty years based in her home port of Salcombe. The current owners purchased her in 1995 and embarked on a five year no expense spared rebuild and re-conversion.  During the rebuild she was stripped to an empty boat with the deck and wheelhouse removed. She was the reframed and re-planked above the waterline, new bulwarks with a solid Iroko capping rail, new deck and wheelhouse. A complete electrical re-wire using tinned ship’s wiring cable, new steering gear by Wills Ridley and complete fit out for liveaboard and/or charter to MCA small boat code of practice Cat 2, this included the addition of four water-tight bulkheads. The Gardner 6L3 engine was professionally rebuilt by Hubbard Engineering, Brixham. . All work carried out professionally.

Following the rebuild the current owners then lived aboard for over 15 years traveling around the UK and Ireland. The owners also planned to convert Linnet to a gaff ketch sailing boat and to that end rig plans were drawn up professionally by Tommy Nielson of Gloucester with stability calculations completed by a naval architect. These plans can be included in the sale. During the rebuild the mast partners and bowsprit samson posts were installed ready to take the new rig.

Linnet has accommodation for up to eleven persons in six separate sleeping cabins comprising three doubles (one ensuite), two twin cabins and one single cabin. All fit out is of a classic boat look using beautifully painted T&G and solid Sapele. There are two additional large, shared heads and showers. The large forward heads also accommodates a washing machine and tumble dryer. In the aft section there is a superb galley with seating area. In the deck house there is a large saloon fitted out with beautifully varnished hardwood and a separate wheelhouse containing the helm with the original traditional ship’s wheel and modern navigation equipment. There is a large tool and miscellaneous storage cabin up forward on the port side. The focsle is accessible from the deck through a watertight hatch, the focsle is separated by a steel watertight collision bulkhead. This area is used to store the anchor chain, ropes, fenders any other miscellaneous items, there is a small work bench with storage above for more tools. The windlass motor is mounted under the deck head.

The vessel is extensively equipped with modern electronics and navigation equipment including two electronic chart plotters, two radars, fish finders/echo sounders and a commercial grade auto pilot and helm steering system. She has a 12kva silent generator which produces both single and three phase AC power. The 24v DC system is charged by AC powered 50A charger which includes a 4000w sine-wave inverter and by two large 500w solar panels. All wiring is commercial quality fully tinned ships wiring cable. The equipment aboard is all heavy-duty and commercial grade.

With the space available and a range of over 1800nm she would make the perfect sea-going private live-aboard with the full potential as a business charter vessel* including plans to add a sailing rig. The huge forward deck space provides the perfect platform for water sports-based activities such as Scuba diving, Sea Kayaking, paddleboarding or cruising or as a private vessel with a huge amount of room both on-deck and in the accommodation.

The current owners have cruised extensively around the UK and Ireland and continue to maintain and use the boat mostly for family summer holidays and cruising around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. The boat is currently located in her home port of Falmouth, Cornwall.

Linnet will be on the slip at Falmouth for three months undergoing a scheduled refit until July 2024, a great opportunity for any prospective owner to view the entire boat and to undertake an out of water survey while avoiding lifting/slipping costs. 

* For charter a latest MCA license would be needed but this is not seen as an issue given the provisions already made during rebuild.

** Blue Linnet is a Part 1 UK registered vessel, which is the most internationally recognised form of registration, with the added benefit of making it easier to raise finance through a marine mortgage.

In February 2019 Blue Linnet retrieved almost four tons of plastic from the isolated beaches on the Isles of Scilly by Clean Ocean Sailing, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIfSWe6p7yU. The plastic was stacked on the deck and returned to the mainland for recycling.

Update, June 2024: Vessel for sale.