Ladybird For Sale

[Andrew Scullion]

Ladybird For Sale.

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Ladybird has been our family's pride and joy for over ten years.
Now that my two children crew are ages 15 and 13, and both now bigger than Mum, it is with great sadness that the family consensus is Ladybird is now too small for us and is therefore up for sale.

Ladybird has been meticulously maintained and upgraded to high standards over the past ten years and is therefore in great shape for her next adventure.

Ladybird is a bone-dry boat, which is quite something, and has been kept on her trailer under cover at my house all the time we are not sailing her.

I completely de-kit her, sails, battery, engine, spars, everything off, every time, clean her out and leave her with a dehumidifier.

The engine gets flushed and serviced every trip and the battery is left on a trickle charger.

The sails are stored flat in a loft. I am a bit OCD about the sails, I have a dingy racing past, ask any of the owners attending the CC rallies about how fast Ladybird is!

Details list:

United Kingdom Certificate of Registry Name and Official Number of Ship LADYBIRD - SSR106352

Hull Identification NumberZA-ZENCA013C300

Hull build number 31 was built in 2003 (I have all the documentation)

Anchor - Stainless steel chain with spliced-in 8-plait anchor braid warp, very long (at least 60m for emergency anchoring in deep water).

Harken roller furling upgrade - Both Genoa and Staysail.

All blocks replaced - Quality Selden roller bearing running rigging throughout.

All ropes replaced - Quality English Braids ropes throughout, most replaced last year, including eye splices where needed.

Jammer upgrade - Some of the sheet and furling system jammers were replaced with Spinloc gear.

Solar panel - Permanent deck mounted with charge controller. Keeps the battery good for a two-week trip no problem.

All woodwork - Kept maintained. Stern half of the rubbing strake and mast was refurbished last year, spars the year before, and handrails the year before. (The forward half of rubbing strake is this year's job to do but it is not bad)

Bow sprit upgrade - Refurbished and preventative upgrade with epoxy at the stainless steel bracket where many get water damage.

Stainless steel mast gooseneck upgrade - This is a custom fitting and raises the boom to give better headroom in the cock pit. A very nice upgrade.

Deck halyard fittings upgrade - There was a known weakness in the factory-fitted deck hardware for both South African and Honnor Marine boats and this has been sorted with strong fittings.

Bow sprit stays upgrade - A Dyneema cascade system means that you can easily raise and lower the bow sprit when entering a harbour and quickly convert it to a tripod to use for lowering the mast single-handedly. This is excellent for trailer sailing.

Engine mount upgrade - New engine mount of laminated oak with rubber vibration mounts built into the bolted system so there is less vibration to the cock pit when motoring. This made a big difference.

Outboard engine - 6 HP Mariner, almost as good as new, preventative corrosion treatment of internal parts, new cooling impeller on the last service, always flushed with fresh water. Includes alternator and cable set up to charge the battery when motoring.

Cock pit external fuel tank - This means you can go on long trips with no worry about running out of fuel.

Mainsail - Good condition, new tell tales on the leach.

Mainsail luff rings upgrade - The previous owner added leather rings to the mast for the mainsail which makes hoisting and reefing the main easier.

Boom cover with boat's name.

Staysail - Good condition.

Genoa - Good condition.

Yankee - Brand new and never used.

Complete re-wire - New electronics throughout, including new LED nav and anchor light, LED interior lights, new marine grade wiring, including up inside the mast, GPS and AIS receiver ships radio. This is great for navigation, which means that you do not have to have an extra chart plotter constantly draining the battery.

New wind arrow with radio antenna - new coax wire through the mast.

Custom-made teak nav station upgrade - A beautiful compact nav station addition to the cabin bulkhead.

Depth sounder - Cock pit mounted with transducer in forward under bunk locker.

Centre plate refurbishment - Boat raised, plate removed, centre plate box refurbished, complete underwater hull epoxy treated protection including plate, before new anti-fouling, this was a preventative precaution, there was no osmosis.

Centre plate mechanism upgrade - Plate pulley wire replaced with Dyneema and new rope installed.

Swim ladder fault damage refurbishment - The factory-fitted swim ladder by the previous owner and some boom impact damage was evident on the transom when I bought the boat. It turns out that the ladder had not been installed properly. The stern was repaired and strengthened and the ladder supported properly.

Rudder upgrade - The previous owner strengthened the rudder as there was a known weakness in the top where the tiller joins the rudder. There is plenty of information about this on the forum and I have helped other owners upgrade their rudders with a design for the strengthening plates.

Companionway hatch upgrade - New teak fitted and improved hatch with new lock system.

Spray hood - This folds flat easily and gives good protection to the cock pit when at anchor.

Custom DIY water tank - This is a modified jerry can which fits into the triangle space inside one of the lockers and gets you more room for gear.

Disappearing galley upgrade - This I designed and made myself. Stainless steel gimble and a camping stove set up which clamps to the centre board case and gives you a full safe gimbled sea cooking capability, but also packs down compact in less than a minute.

Teak cockpit upgrade - The previous owner had lovely teak added to the cock pit.

Vango tent - Slightly modified and works as a great cock pit tent.

Logan table - Cabin and cock pit mounts for the teak table.

Compass - Removable which mounts in cock pit when needed.

Fenders and mooring warps - New warps and 5 fenders.

Spar cradles - These are not pretty but hold the spars when towing the boat so there is no damage to the woodwork and are designed so you can still get down below when the boat has the mast down which is really useful.

Full boat cover - This can be used with the mast up or down.

Trailer refurbishment - New uprated brake hitch mechanism, new keel rollers with stainless steel bars to prevent corrosion, new bunk rails and refurbished brakes, new spare tyre and two main tyres in good condition.

Trailer guide legs - These slot in and help line the boat up to get it back on the trailer making things much easier, especially in a crosswind.


There is probably something I have forgotten but Ladybird is ready to be used and well-equipped for her next adventure. Please feel free to contact me to ask any questions.

I can send you a lot of photographs if you are serious about making an offer and you are welcome to visit to view the boat. Currently located in Goxhill - North Lincolnshire.

I would like Ladybird to bring another crew the same joy, and that journey starts with you getting great value for money.
As you can see, I have invested a lot into keeping Ladybird in top condition, but it is hard for me to judge what she is worth so I am open to reasonable offers.

Regards Andrew