Kha Shing/Spindrift 40 Comments

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dfharris02

Member
Joined
May 28, 2016
Messages
21
Location
United States
Hi:

I'm looking at a Kha Shing/Spindrift 40 and wondered if anyone has experiences with this boat. I thought the general build quality (and wiring) looked good. The boat is relatively tall for a 40 footer so any comments on how she handles underway would be very useful. I did check the tanks and luckily I could not see any rust on top, in front, or on the bottoms. I could not see the tank side against the hull. Engines are twin Volvos [FONT=verdana,helv,arial,san-serif]TAMD 40A with 1800 fresh water hours.

Thanks!!!
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Kha Shing is Trader in Europe

It turns out that Kha Shing yachts are successful in Europe with a line of boats branded under the name "Trader". The write ups are generally very positive (built quality, safety on deck, and sea keeping) and they sell many models. Here are two great articles to download, one a review of the Trader 41+2 (our Kha Shing/Spindrift 40 with a third cabin) and a history on the line published by Kha Shing. www.tradermotoryachts.com/ClassicTraders.pdf

They have not done themselves any favors from a branding perspective by having so many different names for the products. The boats appear to be very consistent which is more important than brand consistency, except for resale.:lol:

ClassicTraders.pdf
 
My 52' Kha Shing was built like a tank and I'd still have it if it weren't for the great Avalon storm around New Years in 2014. She lost her mooring and ended up on the beach, destroyed. I loved that boat. Had the Volvos 6 cylinders. Very efficient and extremely solid. Great room and layout. I enjoyed looking at all the solid Teak framing that the boat was built with (solid FRP hull).
 
We have a PT-52 (essentially a Kha Shing) and love it. Great vessel that has been to Long Beach, CA and back to Seattle on its own bottom 2x without any drama.
 
curious, we are currently looking to first time buy and I have seen a Kha Shing Spindrift pop up and never heard of it. Did you buy this boat? if so, how do you like it? Any other first time buying tips also appreciated. ty
 
Hankster, which Spindrift are you looking at, it is down in Miami?
 
I would be more concerned with the Volvos than the boat. How many hours on them and do you have a maintenance history?

pete
 
Hankster let me give some honest feedback, but it's just my opinion. I viewed that boat with my wife. Overall it is in decent shape and shows well at initial viewing.

However the teak decks (negative #1) need to be re-cauked, especially up on the bow. Appeared to be original caulk, so who knows what is happening underneath them through all those cracks and separations that I saw.

My wife hated the interior arrangement. It is a 3 stateroom design, in a 40ft boat, so obviously the 2 SR's up front will be smaller. That's not a big deal, but we have no need for 3 SR's. (Issue #2)

Also, #3, this is the worst part (perhaps worse than #1). It is a galley down design. Nothing wrong with that and my wife prefers that to galley up. However, it is galley down in the aft stateroom, not up front where you would normally see it. Tiny galley.

Of course if you're not a full time live aboard and will do all of your cooking up on the aft deck then that's not such a bad thing.

The Volvo's look clean but they need a mechanic to really check them out. The broker (salesman) seemed like a nice guy, but he kept emphasizing how the handrails had been recently varnished... like 3 or 4 times kept repeating.

Anyway, we passed on it. If you don't mind driving 3+ hours then go see it for yourself.
 
Isn't it funny or sad that brokers focus on such trivial details that they can speak to.
 
Hi: It's now 2020 and I'm entering my fifth season with my KhaShing 40, "Alameda Star" Here are some macro comments:

1. The boat is very well made and most systems are accessible. I've had to re-bed a few ports, including the main salon windows, which I consider standard maintenance items for a vessel approaching 40 years old. The glasswork behind the ports is nicely finished and impressive, they didn't skimp. The boat has no leaks and my boat came from the factory with fiberglass nonskid decks. The wiring is beautifully laid out and the electric system is robust.

2. The Volvos are fantastic and miserly. They have been the most reliable engines I've ever had on a boat and now have 2400 hrs. I've had a mechanic replace some cooling system gaskets, a water pump, and temp sensor. I had to replace the hydraulic steering station in the flybridge but that had nothing to do with the engines. Regular maintenance includes oil changes, filter changes, etc. They start right up and are quiet. These engines are Volvo-TAMD30A (165hp/turbos). At cruise (2000-2100 rpm) they sip fuel, about 1.5 gallon per hour per engine. Amazing!!!!

3. The KhaShing is very easily handled due to the twin screw arrangement. She actually does not have that much windage (I don't use the enclosure for the sundeck) and is simple to dock. I operate her in SF Bay where is can get boisterous, but she's basically a battleship and just plows through. She doesn't like it on the beam, but I knew that going in. She's slow 7-10kts depending on the current. I don't care because I have had sailboats so this is like warp speed for me. She is very very comfortable underway and exceptionally quiet.

4. The admiral, my wife, loves the boat. Her favorite so far (...we used to have a Grand Banks 32). She loves the cabin and the sundeck. The only problem is that I also have a Downeast 38 sailboat and I can't get her to go out on that anymore!! The KhaShing 40 is fantastic for entertaining. Mine is the two cabin arrangement with a down galley forward so all the spaces are "adult" sized. The joiner work is gorgeous..in fact, I immediately re-bedded the ports so that there would be no water damage on the interior wood.

5. The gelcoat is amazing for 40 years. While the color is a little dated, cream, it retains great shine with just regular waxing. There is just enough teak on the outside to look nice, but it only takes two hours to revarnish twice a year.

6. There are some oddities worth noting. The upper flybridge controls are not synched with the lower station, in fact, the upper controls lock out the lower controls. This is fine once you're used to it, but can be quite disturbing for the uninitiated. The hatches and ports are all. of a very high quality stainless, but the life stanions are not the same quality and they seem to rust. The swim platform is fiberglass over teak...odd and probably saturated with water at this point. These complaints are minor.

Overall the KhaShing 40 is excellent and since they don't have brand recognition they are of tremendous value in today's market!
 
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Nothing we like better than hearing from someone who loves and is proud of their boat. Unless maybe it is a post with some pictures.

pete
 
So, out of curiosity, what's the approximate cost to re port a port? and what size?
thanks
 
KhaShing 40 Ports

Hi:

It was inexpensive because I did not have to replace the ports, just re-bed them. The small opening ports took about 1 hour each to rebed, I've done 5 of them, so I probably have $40 in 3M 4200 bedding compound.

The salon windows required the removal of dried out rubber tracks. These were replaced with stainless steel tracks, upper and lower. The total cost for those was about $300. The 3M 4200 bedding compound was another $40. Each side took me about 5 hours to complete.

My guess if you went to a yard that each port would cost $200 (including labor) and the main salon windows would be in the neighborhood of $1200-$1500 each, including the tracks.
 
Thanks for the update! We have had our 1986 Khashing 40 for about 6 months. We’ve been slowly fixing her up and took our first overnight trip this past week. We are very happy with so far.
 
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