I purchased a 1983 30' Tung Hwa clipper in 2011. It is a Taiwan sedan style boat built at the Lien Hwa boat yard. I'm not sure if that boat yard produced boats with better materials??? but It has teak decks, PO replaced fly bridge teak with fiberglass, original tanks (no outside/top rust), fiberglass hull that is extremely thick.... Decks are surprisingly solid after 30 years. I've owned the boat for 5 years and found that it's not practical to chase problems on these boats. I fix things as they come and maintain her very well. I do not treat her as an investment.... I treat her as a tool, a vehicle to experience family memories. I don't expect to get what I paid for her when I let her go (although I'd get more right now). I'm perfectly willing to donate her, if necessary, once I use her all up and get every last positive memory from her.... Kinda like a car. With that said, I did get the boat under covered moorage to minimize potential water intrusion. It's been operating wonderfully for 30+ years..... I have no doubt It'll be around for decades longer. My family has been so blessed with the performance of this boat and its Lehman engine, which has never let me down. We take it all over the San Juan islands and the Canadian Gulf islands. The NW has been a wonderful experience boating.
If you go into a TT with the knowledge of what to look for, the proper expectations, you can get one sized right and close to your price range. Just don't be the person to replace everything, financially dumping your retirement for the next boater to enjoy... Ideally you'll find a boat that some other poor soul did the work for you, spent their own money to "get it right". It's a $30K boat after all, a memory maker, not an investment. Good luck!
