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

[ColdWaterBlake]

Now you make me want one even more than before. We are very attracted to the looks and the bowsprit. Just trying to decide between the CT-54 or the Formosa 51's.

[ColdWaterBlake]

I bet the 2 knockdowns scared you pretty bad? Did you have the wooden mast? We plan to live aboard once we buy one. So the upkeep should be manageable. All I hear is how poorly they sail, but then I watch people on YouTube ripping right along with the 51's

[Bycrick]

They were both over before I had time to get scared. Not only that, but I was numb and tired. Both happened 40+ days into a trip, 2 people, no autopilot, 3 weeks of winds 20-30 knots (as reported by CG). I was a lot younger and a whole lot stupider. I was (politely) rigorous (maybe paranoid) about upgrades and maintenance. Nothing substantial ever broke at sea, but it politely waited until I was in port so that fixing it cut into my drinking time. Not to mention my drinking budget. With a 51'-54’ you either need a lot of money or have to enjoy sanding and varnishing.

They can be a good boat if they’re well taken care of. They can be a fun boat if you’re willing to go in the direction they’ll sail well. Anywhere else requires a lot of time and patience. I found that lots of places I took mine, the winds were light or contrary. I bought a bigger boat, more living room, same amount of maintenance only different systems, sails a lot better and has far less storage than the smaller boat. You pays your money and takes your choices.

[Jim Jones]

That was an interesting read. Yet I still want one. Anyone got anything new to add to this long running thread ? Lets keep it alive....the Formosa 51 is a classic boat. Seems you either love them or hate them.

[Opalchip]

Hi all - there was an interesting article on the Taiwan building/design scene in the July 1984 issue of Yachting. And believe it or not, the whole thing is available online! Be aware when you get to bottom of page 81, you will need to scroll down to page 109 to resume. Here's a link that should get you there - I saved all the pages locally for ,y future reference, because no way to know how long Google Books will keep it available.



Link here: https://books.google.com/books?id=hv...ntal#v=onepage

[BillyOram]

I loved the thread. A beautiful boat indeed. Anybody here able to give an inexperienced sailor crew time on a 51?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Opalchip, and BillyOram.

[BillyOram]

Thank you GordMay