“Yacht to be Sensational”

Sea Sensations featured in Port Townsend Leader news story, October 2021:

Michael Effler and his partner Erin Leader met 35 years ago, and they’ve been creating beauty in boats ever since.

Effler was at the first-ever Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend 45 years ago, and worked on traditional wooden boats.

“The character and feel and romance,” and “classical lines of traditional boats,” were what mesmerized Effler, and soon seduced Leader too.

Together, they are Sea Sensations, a custom design and restoration duo who’ve worked on traditional sailing and classic motor yachts for the past quarter-century.

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Sea Sensations featured in Bainbridge Island Magazine

Sea Sensations’ Erin Leader and Michael Effler and their beloved award-winning ‘family’ of wooden boats were featured in the Summer 2019 article, “Always in Style: the Intrigue and Romance of Wooden Boats.”

“The first five years of (Leader and Effler’s) relationship they walked docks, looked at various types of boats and considered what they like best. Design has long been a thread in their lives. Shortly before they met, Effler started their main business, International Design Concepts, with clients including medical spas, wellness centers, day spas, and hotels. In 2001, the couple parlayed their passion for wooden boats into Sea Sensations, a business that specializes in design and renovation of classic sailing and vintage motor yachts.”

"Effler and Leader have seen up close how people react to the beauty of wooden boats. When they took Sea Dream to the Lake Union Wooden boat festival in 2015, more than 320 people came on board,” Leader said. "Having these beautiful things in your life, sharing them with other people, that’s why we like festivals.”

Thank you Bainbridge Island Magazine!