Fred Shepherd 55 ft Gaff Ketch 1909 - Sold

Built by one of the best English yards of the time and launched in 1909; Owl is very much an Edwardian yacht, whose successive owners have done well to maintain her origins, especially on deck.

Her ketch rig enables her to be sailed effectively with a small crew. She is moreover a sea kindly vessel that has crossed the Atlantic; very balanced and comfortable. While substantially authentic she is however no mere museum piece but a living being and one that has proved popular for chartering. She could equally serve as a fine family yacht and to that end the volume in the accommodation below so characteristic of Fred Shepherd; provides ample space.

VAT is unpaid on this yacht

In the 1920S OWL was owned by a Mr Andrews, who had her cut in two and lengthened from the original 41 ft on deck to the 55 ft she is today. After the Second World War she was owned by David Burnett for some 30 years. In 1961 she was stolen but rediscovered dismasted some years later in New Caledonia. Burnett re rigged her and in 1974 sold her to Petit, a Frenchman. Much later in 1990; found in a state of abandon, she was restored. She has since crossed the Atlantic and participated successfully in the Antigua Sailing Weeks both in 1997 and 1998 and in the America's Cup Jubilee in 2001. Since then she has been in the Mediterranean.

- Pitch pine hull planking on oak frames
- Copper and bronze fastenings
- Teak deck on ply

From aft
- Passarelle
- Varnished teak taffrail; bronze fairleads each side over
- Teak decks
- Bronze Panama eye fairleads in bulwarks each side
- Bronze stanchions and guardrails fwd each side
- Bronze mizzen horse and ash blocks
- Bronze twin bollards each side
- Teak wheel and steering gear housing
- High cockpit coamings
- Wood and brass spoked helm wheel aft in cockpit
- Grated teak sole and seating each side
- Brass steering compass binnacle
- Mizzen mast with ships bell
- Butterfly skylight over aft cabin
- Teak and bronze deck cleats
- Main companionway hatch with sliding roof
- Deck prisms each side
- Meissner bronze ST sheet winches each side on deck
- Lewmar bronze sheet winches 1995
- Butterfly skylight hatch over saloon
- Life raft stowage
- Butterfly concealed hatch
- Dorade vents each side
- Single spreader main mast and boom with bronze fittings
- Navigation lights o boards in shrouds
- Bronze staysail track
- Fore hatch with port lights
- Chain hawsers and bollards each side
- Hydraulic windlass
- Bowsprit
- Bow roller
- Admiralty 60 kg anchor and chain
- CQR 35 kg anchor

- Accommodation for up to 10 persons in 4 separate cabin areas; joinery in varnished teak
- Access by sliding hatch mid deck and companionway steps down to lobby
- Navigation and chart table with stowage under and to sides to stbd
- Short corridor aft

Master Cabin
- 1 x Double berth to port; drawer under and locker aft
- Dressing table, hanging cupboards and drawers under on centreline aft
- Lamp over
- 1 x Single berth to stbd drawer under
- Reading lights
- Skylight over
- Doorway forward to lobby

Head Compartment to port
- Auto WC
- Shower
- Decorative wash basin with pressure hot and cold period taps
- Lockers under and over with mirrors
- Deck head lights


Saloon forward
- 2 x Long settee berths; one each side
- Pilot berths outboard
- Port berths conver to a double berth
- Drop leaf dining table offset to port
- Shelves above and outbard
- Locker port side fwd
- Period lamps on fwd bulkheads
- Skylight over
- Doorway to galley forward

Galley to port
- 4 Burner gas hob and oven
- Top loading fridge
- Hinged folding worktop
- Stainless steel double sink with mixer tap

Single guest berth stbd
- Mirrored lockers above and outboard
- Reading light and deck prism above
- Doorway forward

Fore cabin
- Slatted batten sides
- 2 single berths; one each side, stowage lockers and drawers under
- Shelves forward
- 2nd fridge

Gaff Ketch rig
- Pine main and mizzen masts, booms and gaff
- Bronze mast and spar fittings
- Galvanised standing rigging
- Bronze SR fittings
- Bronze halyard winches on main and mizzen masts
- Spectra backstays


Incidences sails
- Main sail 2006
- Mizzen sail 2006
- Staysail 2006
- Boomed staysail 2001
- Jib 2001
- Flying jib 2006
- Balloon jib
- Tri radial spinnaker 2001

- Perkins 4236 M 90 HP Diesel engine 1996
- 2 x Stainless steel fuel tanks 180 litre total
- Maxprop propeller
- 11 x Batteries 24 V and 12 V
- Shore power
- 2 x Stainless steel fresh water tanks tot 200l
- Hot and cold pressurised water

- B&G depth sounder and Log
- Garmin 210GPS map
- Sailor VHF
- Furuno radar
- Robertson Auto pilot
- Radio and hifi

- Arimat 10 pax life raft new 2016
- Electric bilge pump
- Manual bilge pump

Significant works including
- Substantial replacement of some teak deck planking and re caulking
- New batteries installed
- New engine silencer block
- Refurbished autopilot
- New anchor
- Fitting of new bronze cleats on deck.
- Fitting a new double berth at port aft cabin
- Enlarging two of the individual ingle berths
- Creation of the single guest cabin fwd starboard opposite galley
- Fitting electric auto WC and black water tank
- Numerous minor works

Annual maintenance
- Approx 3 months of maintenance for two people