'I never stopped looking': Man finds his stolen boat after nine years

Mr Newton said he stumbled across the boat in February this year while looking for a vehicle to tow his current boat.

"I drove into a property and I spotted it," Mr Newton said.

"I said to the gentleman who owned it, 'if I told you that is my boat, would you believe me?''

"He replied, 'I can tell by the look on your face that you are not joking'."

Mr Newton said the gentleman was incredibly cooperative and gave his boat back with no costs involved.

"I did pay for the motor that the gentleman installed, it was the right thing to do," he said.

Mr Newton said the boat changed hands five times in the nine years it was missing and was never picked up as stolen - even though he reported it to police and Marine & Safety Tasmania.

"This was because it was never listed as a stolen vessel," he said.

"This made it very difficult to identify the boat as stolen when it changed hands all those times."

Mr Newton said he treasured the boat and spent lots of money doing it up - now the boat is in a poor condition and desperately needs restoration.

"The motor was shiny, inside was brand new, everything was in excellent condition," he said.

"It'll cost me about $33000 to get it back to the state it was in.

"I had fond memories in that boat, I felt safe in it after having several strokes - due to the way it is uniquely built.

"My dear friend who passed away a few years ago, build the canopy that has been ruined.

'It breaks my heart to see it in this state."

Tasmania Police said the vessel was reported stolen in 2015.

Tasmania Police said when reporting such matters, people are encouraged to provide as much information as possible, including the boat's registration details and photos if possible.