About a Formosa 56 Ketch

[sailingdutchboy]

Perhaps a bit late to respond in 2020 to this post from 2017... but anyway.

We sailed from California to French Polynesia and had an amazing there.
It was just our family of 6 with the youngest being five.
I essentially short-handed this Formosa 56 "Gryphon", as other than special manoeuvres like docking, I essentially single-handed her, while my wife took care of the children. If you're not racing, and trying to get the best performance out of a blue water cruiser, one can quite easily manage her by yourself with a bit of planning. We did install lazy-jacks in Pape'ete (Tahiti) to make dowsing the mainsail faster and easier. Replacing a hanked-on foresail with a roller furler further made things easier. This fin keel vessel handles great, one can spin in place in the harbor and handles fantastic in the open water and felt safe even in bad weather. of course it being a ketch makes it all easier to handle and provides options for balancing things out nicely.

The places one can visit, and the fantastic views from the water and out in the open ocean are just a very special experience. Although are certainly times that I do not enjoy the maintenance, I do love the liveliness of the teak and the character it provides. This will always be a personal preference, but to me the classic lines and wood make it so much more enjoyable.

We have since settled down in Oahu (Hawaii, USA) and our focus has now shifted more to other activities and hobbies, so we have listed her with broker now:
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/198...sa-56-3689051/.

Whether you get our boat or not, I highly recommend taking the chance to sail a boat beyond just day trips and taking the time to learn to manage a larger boat and expanding your horizons.

[AKA-None]

That’s a clean looking boat you have there

[sailingdutchboy]

Thank you!