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Seal Sailboats

Explore Seal sailboats and the details behind each model. If you are shopping for a Seal sailboat, we keep an eye out for Used Seal Sailboats.

Model ↕Listings ↓Year Built ↕LOA (ft) ↕Beam (ft) ↕Draft (ft) ↕Disp. (lbs) ↕Hull ↕Designer ↕Rig ↕Keel ↕
Seal 286 for sale197628 ft9.83 ft5 ft7,200 lbsMonohullAngus PrimroseMasthead SloopLifting
Seal 222 for sale196821.75 ft7.75 ft3.83 ft2,400 lbsMonohullAngus PrimroseFractional SloopLifting
Seal 262 for sale197826.33 ft9.25 ft4.5 ft5,000 lbsMonohullAngus PrimroseFractional SloopFin
Seal 362 for sale197636.09 ft11.61 ft6.23 ft20,393 lbsMonohullE. G. van de StadtMasthead SloopFin
Seal Sinbad—197121.75 ft7.75 ft3.83 ft2,400 lbsMonohullAngus PrimroseMasthead SloopLifting
Seal 37—196037.33 ft11.8 ft6 ft32,000 lbsMonohullWilliam GardenCutterLong

Seal sailboats: three names, one grounded lineage

"Seal" has named three unrelated sailboat lines. The best-documented is a British lifting-keel lineage that ran from the first Seal 22 through a change of ownership into Parker Liftkeel Yachts. A second, the Dutch-designed Seal 36, also called the Zeehond, came from Ricus van de Stadt's design office in a choice of steel, wood, or aluminum construction. A third, the Seal 37, survives mostly in catalog references, with little authoritative documentation behind it.

Origins and ownership

John Baker built the very first Seal 22 to designer Angus Primrose's original design at the end of the 1960s — accounts date the first boat to 1969 or 1970. Ron Holland later designed the Super Seal 26, which followed the 22 and the 28 in Baker's Seal lineup. All the Seal-banner boats — the 22 in several variations, plus the 28 and the 850 — were built by Baker before Bill Parker took over the line and introduced the Parker 27, 275, 285, 21, 235, 31, and 325, with the Parker 21 derived from the "Mini Seal." Under Parker, the new models progressively moved the ballast from inside the hull down into the keel, a departure from the original Baker-built Seals. A third designer, Tony Castro, entered the family through the Parker 31, itself evolved from his Passagemaker 30, which developed further into the Parker 325. Across the combined Seal and Parker lineage, production totaled nearly 1,000 boats over four decades, ending with the Parker 335, built by Parker Liftkeel Yachts in 2009.

Not the same Seal

Ricus van de Stadt's production-yacht career began in the 1930s, when door manufacturer Bruynzeel commissioned him to design a series-production plywood daysailer, resulting in the Valk in 1939. Decades later he designed the Seal 36, a flush-deck cruiser offered in a choice of steel, wood, or aluminum construction, with displacement varying by material. A third boat, the Seal 37, has a far thinner paper trail: catalog records credit the design to William Garden, but little authoritative documentation survives to confirm it.

Who Seal is for

Buyers after the well-documented story are looking at the Baker- and Parker-built lifting-keel lineage, with its multi-decade production run and a ballast arrangement that moved, across the change of ownership, from inside the hull down into the keel itself. Buyers who land on a Seal 36 are looking at a separate Dutch cruiser, built to order in one of three materials. A boat sold as a Seal 37 carries the least documented pedigree of the three and is worth treating with particular caution.

Frequently asked questions

01Are all sailboats named Seal from the same builder?+
No — the name covers three unrelated lines. The best-documented is a British lifting-keel lineage built first by John Baker and then by Bill Parker, who renamed later models Parker. A separate Seal 36, also called the Zeehond, was designed in the Netherlands by Ricus van de Stadt. A third, the Seal 37, is credited in catalog records to Pacific Northwest designer William Garden, though little documentation survives.
02Who designed the original Seal 22, and when was it built?+
Angus Primrose designed the Seal 22, and John Baker built the first one at the end of the 1960s — accounts date the boat to 1969 or 1970.
03How does the Seal lineage connect to Parker Liftkeel Yachts?+
Bill Parker took over the Baker-built Seal line and introduced the Parker 27, 275, 285, 21, 235, 31, and 325, with the Parker 21 derived from the 'Mini Seal.' The new models progressively moved the ballast from inside the hull down into the keel. Combined, the Seal and Parker lineage totaled nearly 1,000 boats over four decades, ending with the Parker 335, built by Parker Liftkeel Yachts in 2009.
04What is the Seal 36, also known as the Zeehond?+
A flush-deck cruiser designed by Dutch naval architect Ricus van de Stadt, offered in a choice of steel, wood, or aluminum construction, with displacement varying by material — 9.25 tonnes in steel versus 8.25 tonnes in wood or aluminum.
05What is known about the Seal 37?+
Very little. Catalog records credit the design to Pacific Northwest naval architect William Garden, but little authoritative documentation survives to confirm the connection.