I know you love your boat but be honest, it looks pretty much like all the other boats out there. Be it a 17-foot center console, a 30-foot weekend cruiser or sailing sloop, or a 50-foot sportfish it's really not all that unique.

Captain Lucas Smith is an exception to that rule.

You may have seen his vessel Osprey around the harbor, anchored out at Morris Island or cruising in and out of Shem Creek. Once you see his boat it's hard to forget.

Lucas grew up on Sullivan's Island and spent lots of time fishing and hunting the area waters. Ever since he got his captain's license he wanted to find a boat that he could charter.

Just over two years ago his dream came true.

Lucas had been perusing the ads on eBay where boats are a dime a dozen — but the size of boat he wanted cost a lot more than a pair of nickels: $50,000... $75,000... plenty over $100,000. And then he came across the Blue Heron II.

Crafted back in 1960 by the legendary boat builder Gillikin out of Harker's Island, North Carolina, although she looks like an old-timey northern-style trawler with the wheelhouse all the way aft and her distinctive twin smoke stacks, the boat was built to be a headboat, taking 50 or so people bottom fishing. She was one of five 61-foot sisterships all carrying the same Blue Heron moniker and run as a commercial fishing fleet for a decade or so. Blue Heron II was sold off and taken to Florida but eventually found its way back to the Swansboro, North Carolina area.

However, in 1996 when the US Coast Guard changed the rules and regulation governing passenger vessels the owners didn't want to make the investment to bring her up to snuff. So, she was sold to become a private foredeck shrimp boat. She was a solid, rugged boat with massive white oak ribs on 18-inch centers sheathed over with 2-inch-thick mahogany planking. Her deck was planked in juniper and she was powered by a pair of 350hp turbo-diesel Cummins engines fed by not two, but four 450-gallon fuel tanks, all plenty solid for the rigors of the shrimping trade.

But she had one flaw that would doom her as a shimper.

Because of the considerable drag imposed on a boat with large shrimp nets deployed over either side, a typical shrimp boat has a rudder as big as a barn door. This boat, however, was designed with more standard-sized rudders so her shrimping career was short lived and she was sold again.

By 2007 the gentleman that owned her gave her away to a nephew who owned a waterside restaurant and simply wanted to have the boat docked there to serve as a floating bar. But as a non-boater, in very short order he realized that the maintenance required to keep her in good order was way beyond his knowledge and means. That's when he decided to put her up for sale on eBay. There was no reserve on the boat, bidding was slow and Lucas Smith made his move. He got the boat for a bargain price not to be disclosed here but figured even with major repairs it was still a good deal.

A few days later Lucas headed for North Carolina along with a diver and a diesel mechanic. The diver checked the bottom and running gear while the mechanic tinkered with the motors. After about an hour of finding no real problems the mechanic said, "What the heck, fire her up," and the engines roared to life. Lucas was ecstatic.

"It was the deal of the decade," he told me. "I'm like the Jarod (of Subway advertising fame) of eBay."

That was 2 years ago when he re-christened the boat Osprey and went to work.

Since then it's hard to fathom the amount of effort that's been put into this Grande Dame of the water. When I asked him to estimate just how many man-hours had been put into the project so far, Lucas just sort of gasped.

"Oh my God... two years, every afternoon, weekends....."

Sanding went on for a solid month, then the caulking. Aside from just general painting and clean up Lucas has been refurbishing just about every inch of the boat with everything from cabinets where there were none to a rich pine paneling throughout the wheelhouse. And then there's all the improvements the Coast Guard insists on to be certified as a passenger vessel. Fire suppression systems, railings, wiring—the list can seem endless.

But it's coming to the end.

"I expect to be fully certified soon," he beams.

Beyond the cosmetics and requirements Lucas has been installing a lot of creature comforts to make this vessel as comfortable and fun as possible for the passengers she'll be carrying. In addition to the on-deck shower the head has a large semi-circular shower stall if you want to strip and shower off after a swim. There's a full galley inside but the main deck will be outfitted with a bar and large table for everything from a Frogmore stew to steamed oysters cooked right on deck. There's seating for a few dozen on the foredeck and Lucas even installed a number of rod holders all along the railing in case you get tired of waiting for a nibble. The versatility of the sorts of events and activities Osprey can accommodate will be near limitless and as a bonus, because of the boat's high gunnels and situating of the railings it's extremely kid friendly.

As I was leaving Lucas asked me to please make one absolute point.

"I could not have done this without the help of so many people and I could never thank them enough."

You just did, Lucas.