'79 Formosa Ketch: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

[Alan Wheeler]

Wow, that is so pretty.
She's sitting very high in the water. Is she unloaded or is that how she sits???

[Jack Tar]

No Alan that's how they all sit. It's a good 53" to 55" of freeboard depending on fuel and water aboard. 400 gallons of diesel and 500 water. I would be glas to share more photos just shoot me an E mail.
dgyoung_2000@yahoo.com

[Captain Dugan]

Thanks for the lead. I am looking for a boat for under 200K 47 ft or larger. Lot's of tankage. sill sail puget sound and Alaska for 2 years then to Hawaii and south pacific. Have a B&B on the water in Gig Harbor WA - Boat will stay at my Deep water dock when not in use. Would love lots of space and lots of accommodations. I also have a trained large dog and need a vessel suitable for him to come along. I know it is allot to ask but I want to try.

[S/V Antares]

The quality of the Tiawan builders varied dramaticly over the years. As did the American builders. For thirty+ years I was facinated by the boats at the yearly boat shows as they became better and better as did the materials available to build them. In a world of "Clorox Bottles" Formosa boats and their brethern looked salty, fanned many dreams and earned their place in cruising lore. For cruising the world I would prefer the QE2 but will settle for a less agressive agenda and the boat I have.

CSY Man, Is your buddy looking to cross oceans or Biscane Bay?

[Ex-Calif]

capt. Dugan - Is this supposed to be connected to your other thread? If so I will move it for you. Looks like you replied to an old 2006 thread...

[Solosailor]

I sailed one on a beautiful sunny day. It was suppose to be a little race in White Rock, B.C.. We weren't even in the race. The damn thing would not point to the wind at all. I mean at all. It only move forward with the wind on the beam. I tried everything but now-go. I would not touch one with a ten foot pole.

[Jack Tar]

Always nice to read such a negative post. Thanks in advance. Perhaps if you knew how to sail a Ketch you might have made some progress. Either that or the bottom was as foul as your attitude.
Although Formosa's are not known to point well neither are many of the other William Garden designs. After all we are talking about a vessel with a displacement of 52,000 Lbs empty. The trick is to use a large head sail without the Staysail being up. Full main and then slightly to wind on the Mizzen. You must have also been in light air. Formosa's like wind. I havent had any problem and can actualy steer the boat with the mizzen. Angelique will sail at 1/2 the wind speed down to 5Kts. She prefers 15Kts and sails upright up to 25Kts. Above 25 she sails well with just the headsail and mizzen. Stick to sloops and none of your friends will know. Oh one last question. Were you at the helm or just a looky lou.

[Solosailor]

Jack Tar, here's something you don't see often on the Internet. An apology. My remarks were flippant and out of line. Sorry.

You are correct. The winds were light, about 10 - 15 kts. The owner of the boat did say she requires more wind. I believe him, yet at the same time I felt I should be able to get her to point just a little! So often we must sail in light winds and that would drive me crazy. The bottom was very clean as she had just been hauled. I did take the helm but to no avail. It's fair to say this type of boat is not my cup of tea. I am sure for many it is their ideal boat. As you said it is heavily built and has plenty of room and deck space. To be totally honest, I would classify this boat as a Motor-Sailer.

In contrast, I sailed a Cutter rig Pilothouse Vancouver 32 offshore this summer. What a wonderful boat. Stiff as hell and it sailed like stink!

[Jack Tar]

Enough said: I do get upset when remarks are made about my boat. Nope they dont point well but the vessel you were on should have been able to fo better than a beam reach. Something must have been wrong. Sail set or perhaps an adverse current. As stated befor the only hard thing for me with Angelique is when I tac. The head sail tends to foul the struts on the front of the mast unless you hold the said aback untill through the wind.

Thank you for the Apology. I can relate. So can I borrow your 10' pole some time LOL

[roverhi]

I tried to deliver a ct41 from LA to SF in the '70s. Boat sailed like a pig. It would actually surf backwards rather than sail forward. Because of a design f/u lost the engine soon after leaving MDR. Took 5 days to sail to Santa Barbara. At one point we were doing the backward surfing routine when a racing fleet came out of either Channel Islands or Ventura, sailed around one of the Channel Islands and back home. We got to wave at them as they went in both directions while we wallowed for another two days before finally reaching SB.

The boat had been built for it's airline captain owner who'd gone direct to the yard and ordered the boat. It's appearance was outstanding. Hand carved varnished teak everywhere. Unfortunately, it was all surface fru fru. The boat leaked like a sieve even in the benign weather conditions we were in. Lost the engine because they hadn't looped the fuel tank vent and the vent scooped water into the tanks at very gentle angles of heel. Fastenings were suspect bronze that looked like they'd taken sand castings and filed them to resemble a screw. Broke more than a few trying to fix the ton of things that were wrong with the boat.

Since then, have seen a number of CT41's sitting derelict with rotting decks and cabins. Swear they were built without absolutely any caulk.

Even if all the structural problems are handled, the poor sailing qualities remain. Believe the sailing abilities carry over to the 51 as well. On a single handed passage to Honolulu from Kona in our Westsail 32, left a 51 over the horizon in my wake in a matter of an hour or so. Conditions should have been ideal with strong trades on the beam. I was doing hull speed with surfing bursts to 10 knots, they were looking good but making way less forward progress.

Aloha
Peter O.

If I was going with a Taiwan boat, would probably buy a Peterson 44. They are of an age of the CT's so have some issues but it's largely age related, not poor construction. Sailing wise, they are reported to be worthy of their designer. Watch out for the tanks. If they haven't been replaced, it's an expensive refit.

[Solosailor]

Jack Tar, I think we could all use that 10' pole at times. As you will see here I have been considering a WS32. Not exactly a speed demon. Great deal of wisdom from people here advising me against buying it. I think I should take their advice.

Almost every boat has it's place. I once owned a Catalina 30. Now many people would say; why would you buy one of those. Well, it was the right boat for me at the time. I could only afford a small boat. It had to "fit" me, my wife, three kids, there friend (limited to one per outting) and a large dog. So it worked. It was also easy to resell.

It sailed pretty good too. I learned so much from that boat.

[Jack Tar]

I must have a sign paseted somewhere saying go ahead abuse me. WTF is it with these guy's . Thank God for 400 Gallons of diesel and a 135 Hp John Deere turbo. As for the Peterson 44 just try and get comfy in one. I can put 15 people in my salon an still have room. Nothing like a Formosa for living aboard or cruising. I have to go now my guests want to use the Jacuzzi.

[Solosailor]

Jack Tar, your point is made with me. All you can do is smile Jack. Don't stay in the hot water too long.

[S/V Antares]

Wish mine had a queen sized bed that was not a triangle! 2 heads you can read the sunday paper in. All these cruisers might rember that the engine is on more than the stories mention. Few heavy built comfy boats point like a j-boat but who cares? Fall off and enjoy the ride!

[Captain Dugan]

Thanks everybody for the info. I saw the boat today and will think about it. I'm looking for a bit faster and more state rooms. Might move up to a 61 ft.

Tim