'76 Cheoy Lee Clipper Ketch

[Jack Lahr]

Suggestion: locate a reputable surveyor in the boat's neighborhood and do a telephone negotiation to buy a couple of hours time for the surveyor to do a walk through and give you a telephone report on his views on the boat's condition. Surveyors are typically very responsible and you'll be likely to find out for a couple of hundred dollars whether this is worth pursuing.

[Jack Lahr]

PS if the preliminary surveyor report is good enough you can then go see the boat, make an offer subject to a survey and the surveyor you first contacted may agree to credit your first payment toward the "real" survey.

[somanyboats]

We have an offshore 41. well made,sails beautifully. I looked hard at the listing, didn't see anything that was troublesome. The decks are done, the masts look good. I would ask for a lot more pictures and details, and then take a trip to see it.

[Rick Williams]

The boat will be very solid, "unimpressed with light winds" was a description of my DE38: a similarly built boat. Not fast but very stable.
I was sucked in by the looks and find myself in the middle of a 4 year rebuild.
The teak below looked absolutely fabulous when it was new but will suck all your time keeping it up and it will never look fabulous again.

[category4jay]

Awesome "looking" boat. Certainly the envy in most harbors anywhere. But as it's been said. Be prepared to spend spend spend even after an extensive survey survey survey.

[redhead]

"Unimpressed with light winds"

We had a Pearson 365 that was a pig in light winds. Barely made headway in under 15 knots. We bought a Max prop thinking to improve the performance, but the most impressive improvement was in light winds - she would ghost along in 3 knots of wind. Max props are spendy, but definitely worth it in my opinion.

Again, if all you're looking at is the original low price, my advice would be to keep looking. If you're in love with the beauty of the boat, you're a goner....

[rogern]

OK, now I'll tell you what owning one is like. We own a '72, schooner rigged. When I bought her, the P.O. had had the masts replaced with custom aluminum spars from England, the chainplates replaced with big external stainless straps, the aft cabin bulkhead strengthened and a boomkin added to eliminate the need for running backstays - all at the old Cherubini yard, where she'd also had the teak decks replaced with a new one by Teak Decking Systems, put in a Yanmar 4JH2-TE and installed a holding tank.

Even given all that, she's a **** ton of work to keep up. Acres of brightwork. If the portholes leak, or the caulk fails along the teak cladding on the outside of the cabin top, you'll get leaks on the inside of the cabin that will destroy the veneer if not quickly repaired. Leaking hatches are a bear to repair. The "stainless" cleats aren't. If the old copper plumbing is still in place, you'll need to rip it out and replace it. There's not a lot of living space below, but there's plenty of storage. We have 150 gal of water capacity, a huge fridge, and carry 100 gallons of fuel, giving us ~ 600 mile range under power.

She's not just built like a tank, though, she's got beautiful functional lines. The flared clipper bow gives her lots of reserve bouyancy, and with her full keel and slack bilges makes her very sea kindly as well as seaworthy. She'll take a lot more than you will, something we count on.

She's beautiful when she's kept up, and I love her. But, I'm 60 now, and if I had it all to do over again, I'd buy something like a Amel and to hell with looking good. Maybe... I'm a sucker for a pretty boat.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.
Cheers!

[OzClipper]

For 25k I would not hesitate if the out of water survey did not indicate any serious issues. Choy Lees and in particular the clippers are high maintenance, deck leaks, minor osmosis, electrics, fittings and continual need to attend to varnish but if you enjoy the maintenance as I do then you will be rewarded with an extremely sea worthy yacht. They are slow in light winds and need lots of sail forward (Genoa) in those conditions but when the breeze is solid and the toe rail is dipping it is a great sail. Have the survey and go from there.
PM if you want any specifics.

[Bill Seal]

Originally Posted by Jack Lahr

Suggestion: locate a reputable surveyor in the boat's neighborhood and do a telephone negotiation to buy a couple of hours time for the surveyor to do a walk through and give you a telephone report on his views on the boat's condition. Surveyors are typically very responsible and you'll be likely to find out for a couple of hundred dollars whether this is worth pursuing.

Surveyor? Loreto? This is BAJA!
You'd probably be lucky to get a phone call to there, let alone a haul-out
Of course, the last time I was there was about 40 years ago, but I doubt things have changed all that much.

[Celestialsailor]

I'm heading that way in about 3-4 weeks. Looks like someone wire brushed what was left of the varnish. I doubt anyone is going to go to Puerto Escondido to see it. Basically the intersection of No and Where.
How would you get down there? Where would you stay? Loreto was a community that basically failed. It's almost a ghost town. Fonatur is there no charging for what use to be free.

"For 25k I would not hesitate if the out of water survey did not indicate any serious issues."

Out of water survey...Ha!

[zeehag]

surveyor in loreto--get kjels christian from san diego--yes pricey but you will know all that is wrong and all that is right with the boat. he is HONEST and SMART. best in san diego./ brokers dislike him due to his honesty. many have lost a sale due to his excellence. worth every penny spent.
cheoy lee are good boats-- all boats need maintenance- there is no need to diss a boat ye donot in person know. i have sailed a 42 with my local friend here in mazatlan--btw--his is for sale..hahahaha
there are many things that can be done to negate the wear and tear on a wood topside boat-- the hull is fg and topsides wood, just same as formosa and others made in taiwan.
they are excellent cruising boats. slow in light winds, per norm with CRUISING boats-as opposed to the sleek performance cruisers, of which many different designers have drawn for cheoy lee as well. i prefer the traditional clipper bows (duh, i has a formosa) yet they do get up and go faster than a formsoa in same airs.
if you are in love with the boat, go for it. there is nothing like the reget of following the pack and getting something you are not passionate about.

[Towley]

Thanks for the replies guys! Really great to get a whole bunch of opinions. The boat is quite a way away from where I am (Vancouver, BC) so I think I'm going to let this one go, it probably isn't worth the flight only to find out its a dud, I'm also sure its priced at $25k for a good reason!

The search continues!