The story of Brian Wilson's Starlight began in the mid 1990's over a three year period, as Brian chugged away on what would turn into a long living legacy. Fondly named "Indian" by Brian (a long tale we will save for another day), the sturdy Starlight was designed by David Beatty from Elliston in South Australia and has travelled with Brian to Bribie Island, Toronto Wooden Boat Festival and Narooma to name a few annual adventures. Towing Indian is surprisingly easy, cruising at 90-100 km when the road permitted, she sat nicely on the dual axle trailer, making for a timely pilgrimage to Narooma.

Dave Giddings (Owner of DRIVE Marine Services) was so impressed with the room inside and the lovely lines of the Starlight. At 19ft the Starlight proved to be super comfortable and cosy to catch a few z's after a day of cruising. Dave had a light bulb moment as he wondered to himself why on earth weren't more of these beauties out on the water! He begun quizzing Brian on the whereabouts of the designer (David Beatty), and after flicking through Brian's well read copy of AABB #34, he found David's contact details within its tattered pages. But alas the phone number was disconnected so he resorted to old fashioned ink and paper. Just before Christmas 2014 Dave received a beautifully hand written letter from David Beatty detailing his love of building boats over his years. After building eight (8) different boats, David Beatty now is a proud owner of an Alan Payne "Koonya".

Ensue, brings us to present day, with David Beatty agreeing to DRIVE Marine Services promoting Starlight plans for sale to builders! This great little boat is perfect for both the young and not so young who are after a great coastal cruiser to go short term cruising and racing. Dave also considers there may be scope to lengthen her out to about 22ft to improve on waterline length and provide more cabin space.