40' Garden Magic Dragon Sloop (1978) - SEA TURTLE

Year: 1978
Designed by: William Garden, Naval Architect
L.O.A. 40’
L.W.L. 36’6”
Draft: 4’5”
Beam: 14’
Gross Tonnage: 20
Net: 18 Displacement 16,000 lbs.
Model: Twin Bilge Keels
Class: Sloop
Mast Height: 52′
Fuel:  (2) Yamaha 25 HP Outboard / Pre-existing diesel tanks on port / starboard
Batteries: 8-bank batteries purchased during 2023.
Hull / Interior Material: Cold-molded redwood; 3 diagonal layers of 5/16” thick and narrow wood strips glued, stapled, and screwed together, 1” thick
Frame Material: Fir plywood and solid fir timber
Decking Material: Douglas Fir plywood, fiberglass covered
Portholes: Stainless Steel Rectangular
Sails: Mainsail / Genoa / Working Jib
Anchors: (3)
Windlass
Compass: Surface Mount Angler Compass, 3-5/8″ dia. x 2-7/8″ H
Lowrance Marine GPS / Sonar / Fish Finder
USCG Documented

Our 40-foot sloop Sea Turtle was built in 1978 from an exclusive design by renowned naval architect William Garden.

Globe-trotting sailors Michael (“Shelley”) & Jane De Ridder, of British Columbia, made this design famous. They asked Bill to design a redwood and fiberglass vessel to their specifications. They sailed their “Magic Dragon” all over, including to New Zealand – and lived aboard for several decades.

A sailor from Washington State saw the Magic Dragon and begged the owners for the original design sketches. In 1978, he built a sister ship, also in redwood and fiberglass (hull and interior). He named her the “Sea Sonsy.” In 2000, when that sailor became elderly, he sold her to a couple who proceeded to live aboard.

In 2008, while wandering the Port Townsend Boat Yard, we came across the Sea Sonsy in need of restoration. My husband immediately fell in love with her – it took me a bit longer to see her potential. We changed her name to Sea Turtle because…she reminded us of a beautiful turtle!

We spent the better part of that year restoring her. Instead of replacing the worn-out diesel, we opted to use outboard motors instead – and that has served us very well. She currently sports two Yamaha 25 HP outboard motors that move her at approximately 8 knots at cruising speed.

We sailed on Puget Sound (Salish Sea) and Canadian waters for pleasure and she was a pure joy. Her living quarters are spacious and comfortable for one person or for a family. Her twin bilge keels make her super steady even in choppy waters. Additionally, such a design ‘takes the ground’ more easily on tidal grids for maintenance and repairs without the need for expensive haulouts. While more popular in Europe than in the United States, twin bilge keels lessen the draft and make for more ease in cruising shallower waters. In the event of an accidental grounding, they keep the boat upright and can reduce or prevent hull damage from the boat falling over. The photo below shows Shelley and Jane De Ridder and their Magic Dragon “beached” comfortably on her twin bilge keels.

The Sea Turtle, sister ship to the Magic Dragon, has very comfortable living quarters for one person or for a family:

Main salon settees sleeps 2
V-berth sleeps 2
Stern stateroom sleeps 2

My husband has passed away and she’s too much for me to handle solo. I am offering the Sea Turtle to anyone who may want to sail her across oceans or merely live very comfortably at the dock. It’s important to me that she is appreciated and loved.

She is not only a very unique, comfortable, and beautiful sloop, she is also a magnificent sailing vessel – and a family-sized boat that can handle offshore conditions for comfortable long-term cruising.

Asking Price: $60,000