Formosa 41, CT, Seawolf, Mariner...

[James S]

I had a look at the advert....looks like a lot of boat for the price.
A survey will tell volumes.

I like CT when we talk apples for apples but am only comparing the build quality of my CT48 from 1978 to a Formosa 51 launched the same day that I knew for many years after.
I think the two boat yards were owned by brothers who went there separate ways....that’s the story I heard.
I have seen some excellent Formosa’s of other vintages.

[Cheechako]

One of my favorite boats boats ever was my Tanton 44 Cutter (also called CT44). Hull shape looked like a canoe out of the water. Also made as aTanton 43 Cat ketch. One fast cruising boat and very thick hull. Typical deck core issues from leaking fittings though. Great interior design. Canoe stern. Engine placed under the sink! well forward in the boat. Two heads etc. Some had partially cored hulls though and some not.

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by zeehag

i want to cruise mine. i got her for 10k un- advertised---was a deal from a naybore.yes i would repair her and sail around the world............................................. ..........................., i choose, yes, to do my adventuring in my formosa. the things wrong are repairable. the hull IS fiberglass.......the rest uses lots of clear penetrating epoxy for strengthening.............i wont get a different boat just for the reputation.......this will do just fine, thankyou.......ketches sail differently than do sloops and cutters anyway---is

You state, "the hull IS fiberglass".....what is the cabin trunk and decks made of????

If it has the plywood cabin top, I would be very skeptical about that boat. It could be made to handle big seas but it might take a lot of F/G work.

The one that I saw crushed in NZ had no wood-rot. A lot of us cruisers got together and helped that guy repair that boat. We basically put it back together as a mold, fiberglassed the entire cabin-house and deck then tore the original cabin top out (from the inside) and threw it away.

His deck was plywood too. The deck wasn't damaged. We just removed all the teak, laid several layers of woven roving and cloth on top of the plywood deck and rounded it up to the cabin top. It was one hell of a project. It took about 8 guys, 3 weeks to complete. The owner installed the port lights and faired the decks and completed the finish work on his own. We just got it to a "Liveable" condition in 3 weeks (some of that time was due to weather delays).

It was a nice boat when he was finished. I think that he had all the confidence in the world to keep going after that. At one point, they were just going to get on a plane and fly home.

[Hampus]

Kanani, what you describe here is what I planned on doing IF I was to buy one for cruising. I don't trust playwood...

[Cheechako]

Huuuuuge job. But then if you got the boat for $10K...

[zeehag]

sea tiger is a bit fancier with the forward portion of coach house raised as well as aft portion...same layout but nicer.....yankee clipper has a flat forward cabin house roof...

[SkiprJohn]

Mine was a Mariner all wood built in Japan 1967. Click on my name and you'll see a photo. I did not have teak decks for which I was very thankful. The Mariners had some dry rot issues wherever there was glass over ply if freshwater was allowed to enter. I sailed it throughout the main Hawaiian Islands and to Washington State with no problems. Handled well for a ketch.
Kind regards,
JohnL

[pianopraze]

Out of curiosity, what is the headroom on a Formosa 41. I'm 6'4" tall.

Thanks,
Richard

[Indefatiguable]

I have a sea tiger 41 I'm half way through restoring, previous owner let water leak through the cabin top on the hard. Theres ample headroom down below - I haven't measured but I'd imagine its somewhere in the 6' 6 - 6' 9 range