32' cheoy lee offshore 1978

[DeftxM]

I'm looking at a 32' cheoy lee offshore teak deck was stripped off and fiber glassed. No soft spots. Come with ssb VHF GPS radar solar panel windvane steering. Looking for a long range offshore cruiser . Any thoughts?

[Cheechako]

If it's a plywood deck and house, but glassed over... RUN! If it's a molded deck and house it may be OK. Although back then a lot of chopper gun was used.... on some of the boats anyway.

[gjordan]

A surveyor going over the deck and house will tell you a lot. Thousands of boats have glass over ply, and if well maintained, they last well. The big issue is WELL MAINTAINED???? I like the looks of the older Cheoy Lees, but be aware that Taiwan Stainless Steel all needs to be carefully examined. That means pulling all chain plates and stem head fittings, etc. Actually, that should be done on any 30+ year old boat. It sounds like it is pretty well equipped. Good Luck. _____Grant.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by gjordan

A surveyor going over the deck and house will tell you a lot. Thousands of boats have glass over ply, and if well maintained, they last well. The big issue is WELL MAINTAINED???? I like the looks of the older Cheoy Lees, but be aware that Taiwan Stainless Steel all needs to be carefully examined. That means pulling all chain plates and stem head fittings, etc. Actually, that should be done on any 30+ year old boat. It sounds like it is pretty well equipped. Good Luck. _____Grant.

Yeah, I don't like it when I hear it's been "glassed over".
OP: Be sure to read the Rebel Heart debacle before making a decision to buy a Ply decked boat!

[DeftxM]

Thanks I'll look more into the deck. I haven't heard about plywood thought they were all teak. Anyways I'm looking more into this boat. Any thoughts on a kit built west sail 28? West sail 32? Island packet. 27? Thanks guys

[DeftxM]

[QUOTE=Cheechako;1566461]Yeah, I don't like it when I hear it's been "glassed over".
OP: Be sure to read the Rebel Heart debacle before making a decision to buy a Ply decked boat![/QUOTE what's the rebel heart debacle? So the boat has had 2 owners. The first one ripped out the deck a while ago. No soft spots

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by DeftxM

Thanks I'll look more into the deck. I haven't heard about plywood thought they were all teak. Anyways I'm looking more into this boat. Any thoughts on a kit built west sail 28? West sail 32? Island packet. 27? Thanks guys

Westsail 32-Bulletproof Cruiser
Westsail 28- less known of the two
IP 27-will hold resale value well.
All good boats.
Just be careful of any Asian boats built in the 70's some much better than others.
The Rebel Heart debacle was a recent event where an Asian built boat with Ply decks came apart in less than storm conditions. Family had to be rescued. Boat was well cared for, but some things are hard to find....

[chris in SG]

[QUOTE=Cheechako;1566629]Just be careful of any Asian boats built in the 70's some much better than others.
QUOTE]

Suggest you visit some of the Cheoy Lee Owner's groups and websites. You will find all the build details. Much more helpful than these pathetic generalizations, masquerading as expertise..

[Cheechako]

[QUOTE=chris in SG;1567118]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Just be careful of any Asian boats built in the 70's some much better than others.
QUOTE]

Suggest you visit some of the Cheoy Lee Owner's groups and websites. You will find all the build details. Much more helpful than these pathetic generalizations, masquerading as expertise..

Never offered myself as an expert. I have inspected etc quite a few older Cheoy Lee's though. I would definitely rate the 70's ones as bottom feeders construction wise when it comes to Asian boats , albeit pretty designs.
Like most others on this website, that's an opinion not an expert rating!

[chris in SG]

I may have over-reacted. Apologies for that, but my main point is that there's so much specific information out there on the web, why do we need to generalize?

Just by way of example, I googled Cheoy Lee Offshore 32 and found a list of owners immediately. I expect the majority of them would welcome enquiries about the build of their sisterships. No doubt they would be loyal, but not blinded by loyalty.

[chris in SG]

Here's the link I was referring to:

RichardOwners

[Cheechako]

A quik search comes up with these comments on the net: (each paragraph a different commenter)

The price was right and the hull looked good, no blisters. So I climbed the ladder and
saw dry, cracked and damaged teak decks. I want to buy a small blue water boat for my wife and I to travel on when we retire in 15+ years. A full
keel and small cockpit were nice to see on this boat but it has water damage to the interior wood and over 1000 holes in the top due to the teak.

Many years ago, we considered purchase of several Cheoy Lee boats. My general impression was that the glass work was rough , that the joinery was flashy but not robust, and that extra weight and maintenance of the wood spars were undesirable.

Downside = they are old boats, thin teak decks, Cheoy Lees tend to leak from the top down...every one I have seen has H2O damage both cosmetic and structual due to wood rot from water intrusion under the decks and inside the cabin.

No two Cheoy Lees were built the same. That's part of the problem. I'd run...

Based on a short tour of the Cheoy Lee yard in 1970, I'd say that a "production run" was a little like having a subdivision of houses all built to the same plan by different building crews. The same, but not the same.

A lot of the early Cheoy Lee boats were glass hulls with wooden decking and/or houses. What could possibly go wrong?

Bob Perry: The Cheoy Lee pictured is not mine. It's a Brewer design. The OP's Yachtworld link is my 48. Mine were good designs built to CL's standards whih at the timne were not very high. The ballast was cast iron as far as I know. CL was an unusual yard in that the sons of the founder ran they yard and at least one was a college educated NA. His name was But Yang Lo, good old But Yang. They did all their own engineering. I did no structural drawings for them at all. In the end I thought it was becoming a problem as I noticed some changes to the designs, for instance they built the CL 35 with a deck stepped mast and I cleary designed a keel stepped mast, An angry exchange of letters followed. I could see problem on the horizon so I chose not to do anymore boats with them.

Hmm well in my boat hunt I looked at two boats that the owners described as Cheoy Lee built that had wooden cabin sides. Nicely rotted in one case and concealed under some recently applied glass cloth.

….back to Alabama, they put her right into the slings and picked her up,,,,,with full tanks. The hull pulled away from all the bulkheads and stiffeners allowing diesel and freshwater to flood the boat. They wanted us to try and put humpty back together again.. We took the job on a strict T&M basis but it was quickly decided that the hull was a total loss…..

We had one of the late 1970's Richards designed Offshore 41's. Beautiful lines, pretty pretty boat. Flexible doesn't even begin to describe. She had a deck stepped mast and, due to the big open layout and circular dinette, NO bulkheads in way of the the chainplates. The yard didn't bother trying to bond the cabinets and furniture to the hull, it just sort of floated around.

She came with the toerail drips pre-installed, until we were done rebedding all of the hardware she was truly a Cheoy Leaky. A turning block pulled out of the toerail in about 20 kts upwind under #3. Still, I loved that boat. Until her, I only got on boats to go to starting lines, I learned to love cruising from that gal.

Parts of the deck were apparently cored with potting soil,……..

[chris in SG]

Seems to me you can pick and choose depending on the point you want to make. Here's another current quote from here in CF:

"Re: Cheoy Lee 44
I own a Perry 44'. Bought it as an original 1982 boat that had no systems, not even refrigeration. I wanted the boat for the structural integrity of the overall boat. The hull and cabin top are laid up like a tank and it still manages to sail very well especially in big seas that send other newer bleach bottles scurrying for cover. I have done a massive refit on the boat and turned it into exactly what I wanted at about a third the cost of other pedigree boats available. Like any older boat there will be issues and quirks but you cannot beat the layup in these old Hong Kong boats."

Oh, sorry, that's an 80's Asian build, not 70's..