Formosa Boats - Your Thoughts ?

[KairosKona]

There are several bluewater cruisers in the 30' range that may fit your requirements. One to look at would be the Cape George Sailboats out of the Pacific NW. Also and old tub called Fantasia 35 had a nice layout, but was not a real fast passagemaker. Nor'Sea makes a 27' thats pretty cool, but probably yoo small for you. I also agree with Mr Perry in that the Ta Chaio yard built some nice boats! In addition to the CT line, I think they also made the Mason sailboat, which is outta your price range, but a sweet boat as well.

David

[bob perry]

Ta Chaio did not build any Mason boats that I am aware of. Ta Shing built the Masons and that quality is a cut above that of Ta Chaio (CT).

[Hampus]

This is our Transworld 41 http://gallery.me.com/hampus_mat#100...r=black&sel=21 built by http://www.transworldyachts.com/ Click on "Sailboat" to the left and you get a picture of one. I think they are still in production. Same hull as the Formosa/CT/Island Trader/etc 41, but with a center cockpit. The interior layout is totally different from the lot of them, so is the way they were/are built. The Transworld were built without plywood core in the decks, it's just teak directly on GRP, no core. Masts are stepped on dec and not on the keel, for good and bad. Chainplates are on the outside of the hull and are reinforced with GRP on the inside instead of plywood. Tanks are real stainless steel. Pretty much everything that's considered to be bad or poor quality with the rest of them have been built away by the Trans World yard. Ours is a 1979 and she's still in excellent condition, still free from rot (except main mast step which will be fixed later this month). they usually turn up if you search ads for either Trans world 41 or, for some reason, Island Trader 41.

/Hampus

[Stevens 47]

Bob, I think the Ta Chaio yard also built the Kelly Peterson 44 and 46. Is that your understanding?

While researching the Stevens 47. I think I read that Bill Stevens saw the plans for the S&S design while ordering the the Peterson K/P 44 into his charter business. Thus making me think that Queen Long may have built some of the 44's or maybe he just saw the S&S design while being in TW, its all so confusing.

[anjou]

Thats a beautiful boat Hampus. It has all the features im looking for without the dramas.
I saw a Formosa 41 at the weekend and it was a poor example, lots of wood issues, spent way to much time in the sun and no love.
I was amazed at the wasted space aboard too, but yours has been better designed and is far superior in my opinion. The two boats are closely linked though as they share common components like the cabin lights etc.
I love the galley as part of the passageway to the aft cabin, it doesnt waste any space that way.

[rtbates]

Have you thought about a houseboat? They have all your requirements.. Only problem is they don't sail and they look like hell, but talk about room to roam!

[KairosKona]

Mr Perry, Good Catch on Ta Shing! I always seem to get the two confused! Love those Masons. Now if I could borrow your plans for the CT-56 or Formosa 56 and have them build one for me..... :-)

Hampus, Real nice boat! You Swedes get the nice boats AND have the prettiest girls! LOL I liked the master cabin and that hard dodger/pilothouse is real cool!

David

[CMD84]

Anjou,

I've been living aboard a Formosa for six months now (as of yesterday!), and while we've certainly hit some stumbling blocks (read: a rotten deck core that we replaced over a cold New England winter), we're quite happy with her livability. I'll hopefully have more insight into her sailing performance at the close of this weekend, when we finally get underway. And while I've been lax in my posting this past month, I've been attempting to chronicle the highs and lows of the past six months on my blog: Sea Trials: Our Life Afloat. Good luck in your search!

[drew.ward]

I have always been in love with these boats since I first stepped foot on one. Other than Tondaleyo (92' Burger) I have never seen another sailboat that looked more long-term livable.

One of these years I'd still love to have one with the pilothouse setup.

[Ocean Girl]

Anjou,
As a single handing gal, I will give you my 2 cents
The formosa is too big and will sit at the dock unless you find crew. 41 formosa is almost 50 loa(?). It a great boat with pros and cons. I delivered one, 500 miles in the ICW and her best attributes was the space down below and her thick thick hull. We were caught by a storm, which sent huge logs/trees at five knots or so down the waterway, we hit a few of those head on and she just shook em off. The decks were rotten, and we had to "chop" the mizzen down to keep it from falling down on its own (no yard facilities). she leaked so bad, I slept in a garbage bag in my bunk to stay dry. When I got back to port and told my friends about the trip, they said how sorry they were that I had a bad trip. I told them "are you kidding? I had a blast!" What I'm getting at is I wanted the ocean so bad that I conformed to what ever I needed to do to get out on her. The comforts came later. I'm not suggesting you sleep in a garbage bag, but the more you are around boats the more you will be willing to trade off some comforts in order to get out there.

I think for your experience level, wants, and needs the Hans Christian 33, may be a good one, or the Baba. But they are out of your price range. Thw Westsail 32 would be around your price range and has that traditional lines that you like. Also consider living on a house boat, like rtbated suggested, have a sailboat tied up to her. It also sounds like you are not completely sold on the primitive lifestyle, I call it civilized camping It is clear that you are being "called to the sea" as they say, you will find your boat, or as I like to say, she will find you. Stay patient, remember to have fun, this is all part of the adventure.

Hope this helps, sorry if it comes off preachy!
Erika

PS - I live on my 30 foot Cape Dory (9 foot beam), at first it seemed small, now it just feels perfect. Also, you can order a real mattress from companies that will cut it to fit in your bunk/v-berth. I have memory foam and love it.

[hlemail]

Anjou,

You started with saying that you needed a 30 - 36' boat. I think you got it right there, especially for single handing etc.

Since you are in the UK, you should look at the older Swedish boats made by Hallberg Rassy, Malo, Najad. They are not the lowest cost boats, but are closer to being a cruiser when they were made. As such will fit a live aboard needs better that the Plastic Fantastics of today.

You can visit my site to see a Malo 34 just to get an idea what is available closer to your length (not too big to handle). Sailing Vessel "OLEANA" - Home and h's Page - SeaKnots

Just type in the boats make into boats.com and you can see most that are for sale.

Good luc in your search.

[SariTimur]

Anjou,

My two cents worth. I have a William Garden Ketch 43 foot . The hull was laid up by a yard that went defunked while building it called Duncan Marine but the original owner bought the hull and fitted it out in a container port in Taiwan in Dec of 1980. And yes she has had all the problems that people talk about with the Formosas. But after 22 years I still love her to bits and I have lived on her all of that time. The guy I bought her from was single handing her and I have done most of my sailing two handing though when we race we take more (yes we can race the old girl so she does sail). I two handed across the Indian Ocean and back, as most people will tell you that two handing means you need to be set up for single handing and with an auto pilot I think she is. Probably even with out an auto pilot but wouldn’t really want to try. She is a drama bringing in and out of the marina (we warp out) so that’s when I really like having a second person to handle the warping line. But she can be handled by yourself. I do recommend you get some practice with some mates and bumpers first! My biggest gripe with the boat was with the deck. They used a sandwich of fiberglass plywood and fiberglass and laid the teak on top with screws. The plywood rotted and caused rot in all the stringers and Sheer Strake. Those all needed replacing. She now has a solid fiberglass deck with the teak on that. Another thing to watch is you said she has wooden masts. They are pretty and hold up well when things go wrong we parted a main shroud with everything up leaving Africa and the mast just bent slightly while we quick gybed around to take the strain on the other shroud to drop sail. But they are prone to dry rot. I had to pull them every couple of years and scarf in a new piece. Finally one year after a quick fix before heading out to the islands I had to head up to the top of the mast to sort out the halyards while under sail. The bosun’s chair broke and no safety line (you get complacent when you are up the masts every two months varnishing and that darn safety line keeps hitting the varnish). Anyway that told me to order new aluminium masts which we did to a slightly bigger size and now she even goes forward in a 4 know breeze.

The point of all this is. I still love the boat though I have sunk my fortunes into her more than a few times. I have friends that keep buying and trading boats cause they do this or that better or now it is time for a bigger boat etc but in reality they always griped about what their boat wasn’t from the start. If you love something you will stick with it, and still appreciate it after 22 years and laugh about the pains she causes. I do recommend that you take anything you buy out for a test drive and I would mean more than just once around the harbour. Try sailing on all tacks raise lower and anchor and be on board for docking in and out to see how she handles.

Far too long of post but cheers.

Mark

PS I always use a safety line now when going aloft

[mesquaukee]

It’s the romance.
Where would you prefer to be enjoying your evening cocktails watching the sun set. Aboard a cold white plastic boat or aboard one that enjoys your loving attention.
Go with your heart. You will have fewer regrets.
PS You may not have time to think about them.

[Ocean Girl]

Anjou,
Rereading my post above brings to mind maxingouts post about negativity (I was running on two hours of sleep sorry ) - Just because I couldn't single hand a formaosa when I was new to sailing doesn't mean you can't. You are obviously a intelligent person doing her research - you will figure it out.
Erika

PS
The sailboat from Captain Ron ( the movie) is for sale here in Kemah, Texas- she has major issues I'm told, but probably could be had cheap ? ?

[Hampus]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Anjou,
Rereading my post above brings to mind maxingouts post about negativity (I was running on two hours of sleep sorry ) - Just because I couldn't single hand a formaosa when I was new to sailing doesn't mean you can't. You are obviously a intelligent person doing her research - you will figure it out.
Erika

PS
The sailboat from Captain Ron ( the movie) is for sale here in Kemah, Texas- she has major issues I'm told, but probably could be had cheap ? ?

I think Captain Ron's boat is a Formosa 51, which means that it's over 60 ft LOA. It has a bathtub though The Formosa 41 is as you say, large and heavy and difficult in tight marinas. Especially when single handing. At sea though, I think they are a joy to sail and single handing is not a problem. They are very easy to handle, the ketch rig makes the boat easy to balance and sails are of a nice and managable size.

They are often cheap, which is good and they have a bit of a bad reputation, often undeserved. It all comes down to how they have been maintained in the end and you usually get what you pay for. Sure, they often suffer from rotting decks and rotting masts, but many of these boats are close to 40 years old and any other boat with wooden masts and wood cored teak deck with 40 years of service would be suffering from the same issues. Again, how the PO maintained the boat during those 40 years determines the condition today.

And they do not sail as slow as people say they do. They also sail way better to weather then those mean, mean voices claim

Anjou, if you want one, buy one, but spend enough money and do enough research to make sure you don't end up with something that requires too much work from you, or you might just get sick and tired of it. Hire a surveyor!

When you look at your boat, walk on the decks, run your hands along the wooden masts and feel her taking off with 5 knots on a reach with force 3 winds, steady as an iron, you can smile to yourself knowing that you have the most beautiful boat out there And I guarantee you, in that very moment, you will have forgotten all about rotting decks and mean people calling your boat a Taiwan Turkey

/Hampus