Mr Dick's life revolved around the ocean. He was an avid lover of the sea and the Tamar River.

He built his first boat as a child in his mother's backyard and built a career in shipping as the owner of LD Shipping.

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Mr Dick's son Warren Dick said his father was an old-school businessman who treated a man's word as his bond.

He said his father taught him how to be a good judge of character.

"He was a bit more of the old-school type of persona where a handshake was as good as a contract," Warren said.

"He took people on face value and done a lot of business that way - very different to how business is done nowadays.

"A man's word was enough for him - he was a bit old school like that."

Growing up, the Dick children spent lots of time around ships. They learnt to sail and were regularly with their dad on the ocean.

Warren said some of his fondest memories he had of his father were the times they spent together on the boat.

"Seeing the East Coast of Tasmania and how wild it is and how untouched it is was one of the highlights of growing up with him," he said.

"Anything to do with boats was his whole, more or less his, existence. Boats were his passion so to speak and always have been."

Although the family is still coming to terms with the loss of their father, Warren said there was a sense of relief at his suffering finally being over.

Mr Dick was fighting blood, lung and bone cancer when he died earlier this week.

Warren said it was horrible for the family to watch their father waste away.

"It is something that I don't think any family should go through especially dad the way he lived his life," he said.

"The size of the gentleman - in his heyday - he was a big framed bloke, you know quite large.

"To see people go through that it is quite heartbreaking and quite disturbing for the whole family.

"Not a good one but he is in a better place there is no more pain so that is a positive."

Mr Dick's funeral will take place Thursday, February 18 at 10.30am at the Franklin Grove Centre.