Formosa 41, CT, Seawolf, Mariner...

[Hampus]

What are your experiences and general ideas about these boats?

/Hampus

[zeehag]

these are heavy tanks that sail slow and show racing sailors that gentlemen NEVER sail to weather....the cockpit is not developed, and is modifable, the decks suk, all of them have same issues--depending on previous ownership and history. .there are some pristene and some skows, as in every group of boats.....if you like a heavy tank requiring about 15-20 kts of wind to begin the sail , then ya got the boat....there are wonderful things and there are shitty(skusame) things about her/them....depending wha tyou want and need in a boat and for what reason youi are considering ...she will never race.(duh)....best with a forestaysail......decking issues from hell---repairable in many different ways....there is no god of boat mfgr. the design is good---lots of headroom and lots of storage--hanging lockers and shelves--when they are still there----! the deck surfaces are wide with no stumbling blox for going forward--i like that. the bulwarks are high enough that my tall maine coon kat is safe from sudden overboard falls--unless he is on the rail...large enough to reside aboard in comfort sand relax and not have to see anyone who is on board of ya donot wanna---and enough work to keep everyone busy. they are beautiful--the kind of boat that makes you love or hate--isnt anything in the middle....they grow onya like a wooden boat...and they are a small tallship---if you have or buy one---have fun and good luck.....make sure the price is right according to the amount of refit is needed......and buy interest in the company making cpe's.....the best thing to have on board these is a gallon or 2 of that stuff.
later---i LOVE mine, and mine has more issues than scott makes tissues.......kd

[bob perry]

Remember, these are all similar versions of the same parent design by builders of varying degrees of quality. So while you can lump the design characteristics together I think you will find build details very greatly. Maybe not given they were all built so long ago.

I consider this parent design the "father' of Taiwan boatbuilding.

[Hampus]

Thank you!

I kind of figured, but at the right price it could be worth it
Are the decks laid on top of GRP?
It's a beautiful boat BTW!

[Cheechako]

I love the layout of the one with the lower section in the center of the cabin trunk... formosa or Seawolf...?. A lot of chopper gun was used in these and watch the plywood in the cabin and cockpit. Like Bob said, find a good one. Gentlemen motorsail to weather anyway....

[zeehag]

choppergun???? more like plywood made of philipine mahogany----i have found none of the 1980's choppergun stuff in my 1976....but the philipine mahogany rots at the mention of the word water and does it rather quickly.....the decks are originally teak decking applied over philipine mahogany plywood decking. add the screws that were used to fasten the teak, get rotting decking.all of them used the same woods and fillers--different families put the boats together and each family was different in the way in which they put them together---some werent as good as the others...hence many differences in quality--not only between families working but also in the workmanship as each family made more and more boats. not much quality control...the layouts are mostly the same---and the main saloon is grand and a stepo down from the galley and dinette, and the master stateroomis a small step up from the main saloon, as is the head..there are differences in the forepeak---some are berths and some are toolrooms/workrooms....

[Hampus]

Thank you!

Still not uninteresting at the right price. Bu I should probably have another $15000 to put in the deck right away

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Hampus

Thank you!

Still not uninteresting at the right price. Bu I should probably have another $15000 to put in the deck right away

i found mine for 10k....there is one in maine for 15k.....on ebay.....they are and will be more out there------they are great boats after the repairs are effected--i donot wanna get rid of mine-----lots of room and good lines.....and they are a tank...i wanted a seatiger but i got a yankee clipper......make sure the dragons in the mnain saloon are able to see each other for luck....fair winds and have fun!!!!.i wish i still had the teak decks.........

[bob perry]

I don't think anyone even had a chopper gun in the early days in Taiwan. Everything that I saw was hand laid up using copious amounts of mat and roving. Laminate thickness was seldom an issue. Unless you were trying to save weight. And they were not.

[Cheechako]

yeah... maybe not, I remember inspecting one and the interior inside the hanging lockers etc appeared to be chopper, but may have just been mat. (is mat the one with multidirectional weaving and roving the heavier stuff woven at right angles?) Cant remember. (not sure I want to!)

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

yeah... maybe not, I remember inspecting one and the interior inside the hanging lockers etc appeared to be chopper, but may have just been mat. (is mat the one with multidirectional weaving and roving the heavier stuff woven at right angles?) Cant remember. (not sure I want to!)

mat is the chopper gun multidirectional non woven stuff that sux in seawater and roving is the woven stuff looks like cloth..some of them used a lot of mat in the interior..over the roving--i am finding my 10 k baby is like that anyway----they all different depending on the family putting them together....hank mckune used mat between layers of roving for strength, he said......i donot know if the formosas had that kind of forethought or just have it for saving money in the construction........

[Hampus]

Yeah, I saw the 10k one, but I'm not death defying and wouldn't attempt to sail it across the Atlantic (live in Sweden). They seem to be a bit more expensive here in Europe I'm afraid. I have my eyes on a Sea Tiger for €30.000 that's approximately $38.000

formosa 41 for sale

I've restored old teak decks before, and from the look of this one, it need some work. From what I read I'd guess that the infamous playwood core has had it too.

The million dollar question though; would you circumnavigate her? Also, how poorly does she really sail upwind? My current boat is "quite" similar to the Tayana 37 when it comes to hull shape and she's no racer upwind either. I usually get overtaken by the new plastic bath tubs (which is why I bought me a nice set of stinger missiles ). What I'm getting at is this: We all come from various other boats, thus we have different referrences and it's hard to get a feeling for performance just reading what others think. I probably won't get a chance to sail one as there are none around Will the Formosa sail upwind at all, or is she dead meat?

/Hampus

[Kanani]

I had a '74, CT41 ("Moonwind"). It was a pretty decently built boat. The decks & cabin house were F/G. The decks were covered with teak, of course.

I loved the lay-out below. The engine was under a small cabinet in the main salon. Remove the cabinet and you had total access to the engine. What a dream to work on.

I didn't sail that boat a lot. I purchased it in '91 in Hawaii as a fixer-upper. Overhauled the Perkins 4-108, re-rigged it, refinished the masts, fixed some cosmetic stuff, sailed it around the Hawaiian Islands some then sold it for a tidy profit.

Going across the Molokai Channel was to windward. She did well in 25kts of wind and big seas. Got plenty wet and had zero leaks. Going down-wind was a different story. She hobby-horsed a lot and it was a very different motion. My wife (who never got sea-sick) got sick. I learned to sail her more on a broad reach and just jibe down-wind. She made better time that way anyway.....

The guy that I sold it to sailed her to Japan and still has her.

On one of my many trips to New Zealand (1985), a CT41 with the plywood cabin house came in with the entire cabin crushed in. It took on a big wave and the cabin just crushed. They had to take the wife and child off by helicopter, dropped pumps down to the boat and extra crew. The guy motored in about 100 miles with those pumps running.

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by Kanani

I had a '74, CT41 ("Moonwind"). It was a pretty decently built boat. The decks & cabin house were F/G. The decks were covered with teak, of course.

I loved the lay-out below. The engine was under a small cabinet in the main salon. Remove the cabinet and you had total access to the engine. What a dream to work on.

I didn't sail that boat a lot. I purchased it in '91 in Hawaii as a fixer-upper. Overhauled the Perkins 4-108, re-rigged it, refinished the masts, fixed some cosmetic stuff, sailed it around the Hawaiian Islands some then sold it for a tidy profit.

Going across the Molokai Channel was to windward. She did well in 25kts of wind and big seas. Got plenty wet and had zero leaks. Going down-wind was a different story. She hobby-horsed a lot and it was a very different motion. My wife (who never got sea-sick) got sick. I learned to sail her more on a broad reach and just jibe down-wind. She made better time that way anyway.....

The guy that I sold it to sailed her to Japan and still has her.

On one of my many trips to New Zealand (1985), a CT41 with the plywood cabin house came in with the entire cabin crushed in. It took on a big wave and the cabin just crushed. They had to take the wife and child off by helicopter, dropped pumps down to the boat and extra crew. The guy motored in about 100 miles with those pumps running.

i want to cruise mine. i got her for 10k un- advertised---was a deal from a naybore.yes i would repair her and sail around the world...no they relly do not point---neither did the gaff riggers these try to succeed in cruising---these were built in the 1970's ....prior to this, sailcruising was done under gaff rigging, as the boats were solid......those didnt point either. these point better than does gaff rigging--i know--i was taught for my sail learning on 36 feet of gaff rigged racing sloop on the hudson river in NY state. i LOVE this formosa even wioth her defects, and oi just realize i have to watch weather windows for winds and no weather----wow----also i have to have a perfect engine. and i know what i have to repair and what just needs to be shored up------these are not racing boats nor are they sloops or cutters..they are slow comfy liveaboard cruisers. they heave to nicely and ride comfortablyin a big wind--they sail upright in winds my ericson flies in.....on her side........so, i choose, yes, to do my adventuring in my formosa. the things wrong are repairable. the hull IS fiberglass.......the rest uses lots of clear penetrating epoxy for strengthening.............i wont get a different boat just for the reputation.......this will do just fine, thankyou.......ketches sail differently than do sloops and cutters anyway---is

the sea tiger for 38k is a good price---i could not find one under 42k.......i like those best.........

[Hampus]

What's the difference between Sea Tiger and Yankee Clipper?

/Hampus