Vintage Open River Estuary Launch for sale in Venice Italy

Lady Betty would originally have been a steam launch, in fact an Admiralty pinnace built as she was in Queen Victoria’s reign. She is of double diagonal teak construction and extremely robust. Exported after one of the Phillips classic boat auctions in Henley on Thames she was originally restored in Holland in 2013 by her purchaser who fitted a diesel engine. He used her there before he decided to eventually resell through HSC and she arrived at our yard in the UK.

Subsequently the boat was resold to a customer in Venice starting a charter business with electric boats. He had the boat fitted with a state of the art electric propulsion system and Lady Betty has been very successful for them as part of the Classic Boat fleet in Venice. However they are now looking to exchange her for something larger. The hull is painted navy blue which contrasts beautifully with the varnished mahogany interior. A full length solid canopy was added prior to export. There is masses of seating for up to 12 people and table space for al fresco picnics on board.

The 6 kw motor is paired with 24 kwh of battery power so plenty for at least a day's cruising.

They certainly don’t make boats like this any more. If you are interested in testing the boat this spring you may have to fly out to Venice where Lady Betty continues to be popular for charter. Shipping anywhere else in Europe is easy to organise on a trailer as is re-importation to the UK. However a private owner would have to pay VAT on import. For a commercial operator this would not apply.