Sad detail before boat owner found dead on yacht moored in Sydney’s north shore

A boat owner who was found dead on board his luxury yacht had spent over a year renovating the vessel in order to race it in Queensland next week.

Boatie Peter Ray and brothel owner Lixen Wang , both aged in their 60s, were found about 9pm on a bed inside the 47ft vessel, named Taloha, which was moored off Tunks Park in Cammeray.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Duo found dead on luxury yacht.

Ray, who owned the yacht, and Wang had arrived at the marina in separate cars, which were towed from the carpark on Thursday.

The pair had planned to spend Monday night on the boat.

The alarm was raised on Wednesday when they did not return.

It has since been revealed Ray was due to sail to Queensland next week to compete in a racing event, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Ray’s ex-wife Andrea told the masthead the devoted father of three had spent the past 18 months renovating the boat.

She believed Ray’s journey north was an attempt at a “fresh start”.

Detective Inspector Siobhan Munro said the pair’s cause of death was still under investigation.

“The circumstances surrounding how long they’ve been on the vessel and when they died is obviously under investigation ... but information provided to us is that they left on the Monday and they were discovered at 9pm on Wednesday,” she said.

“At this stage, we don’t actually know what’s happened.

“The cause of death is not obvious and so all evidence is being considered, and all information will be taken on board at this time.”

Munro added that when police boarded the vessel, they believed they may have smelled some type of gas or fumes.

“Precautions were taken and Fire and Rescue NSW crews were called, but that is certainly forming part of our investigation,” she said.

Local man Nathaniel Murphy told 7NEWS.com.au he went past the vessel as police were inside.

“I’d been travelling past the boat for a few days now and couldn’t say I’d seen anything suspicious,” he said.

“I had also spoken with one of the guys from the marina and they had said they were a new client who’d been travelling in the boat and had only been here for two to three weeks.”

A crime scene has been established and detectives are investigating.

“A number of items have been identified at the scene and will be taken for forensic examination,” police said.

7NEWS understands gas cylinders were among some of the items seized.