Restoring a Tasmanian Icon: The Little Blue Boat

For generations of Hobart residents, the Little Blue Boat was simply part of the landscape.

Officially named Sea Breeze, the boat sat on its mooring at Montrose Bay beside the Brooker Highway for almost 50 years. Thousands of people passed it on their way to school, work or the city—often wondering who owned it, whether it still sailed and why it always seemed to be in exactly the same place.

Sea Breeze was built in a Montrose backyard by carpenter Robin Attrill in the early 1970s and launched from Macquarie Wharf in 1976. The 24-foot river cruiser was constructed with a celery top pine hull and used by the Attrill family before gradually becoming the quiet blue landmark most Tasmanians remember.

From storm damage to a new beginning

In August 2024, severe winds snapped the boat’s mooring chain and drove Sea Breeze against rocks and the nearby boardwalk. Its mast broke, the hull took on water and many people feared the boat would be lost altogether.

After the rescue, Sea Breeze was sold to The Wooden Boat Centre in Franklin for just one dollar. Under the guidance of head shipwright Cody Horgan, staff and volunteers began the extensive job of stripping, repairing and rebuilding the vessel.

The restoration has drawn support from across Tasmania, including donated celery top pine for work on the hull and deck, salvaged Oregon for the damaged mast, transport assistance, paint and countless hours of volunteer labour.

The Fibreglass Shop has been pleased to support the work with boatbuilding materials and workshop supplies including:

- West System marine epoxy
- Compset 521 laminating resin
- Marine and exterior plywood
- Brushes and application equipment
- Varnishes and finishing materials
- Abrasives
- Masks, gloves and Tyvek protective overalls.

Traditional skills supported by modern materials

Restoring a wooden boat requires an understanding of both the original structure and the modern materials available to preserve it.

Marine epoxy systems can be used for bonding timber, laminating, sealing porous surfaces, filling and fairing damaged areas, and applying reinforcing fabrics. WEST SYSTEM’s wooden boat restoration guidance covers repairs ranging from deteriorated planking and frames through to bonding, coating and final finishing.

Compset 521 is a low-viscosity, Australian-made laminating epoxy intended for thin-film laminating and marine applications. Its different hardener speeds allow the working time to be selected for the size of the job and the conditions in the workshop.

The protective equipment matters just as much. Removing decades of old coatings, sanding timber and working with resins and paints creates dust, vapours and repeated skin-contact risks. Masks, gloves and disposable overalls help the volunteers concentrate on the work while reducing unnecessary exposure and contamination.

Blue again

Sea Breeze appeared during the 2025 Australian Wooden Boat Festival while restoration work was still underway. Since then, the team has continued preparing the hull, repairing the structure and working towards returning the boat to the water.

In June 2026, The Wooden Boat Centre announced that the restoration was nearing completion. After inviting the public to vote between several shades, the winning colour was Bondi Blue. At that update, a replacement motor had also arrived, with the team hoping to return Sea Breeze to the water once the exterior work was complete.

The Little Blue Boat became an icon precisely because it was so ordinary. It was a family-built wooden boat that stayed in one familiar place long enough to become part of the memory of a city.

Its restoration is a reminder that Tasmania’s maritime heritage does not live only in museums or famous vessels. Sometimes it sits quietly beside a highway for half a century, waiting for a community to realise how much it would miss it.

The Fibreglass Shop is proud to support The Wooden Boat Centre and the volunteers helping give Sea Breeze another life.