Cheoy Lee trawlers

Any opinions of Cheoy Lee trawlers from the seventies?

C l trawlers

I have a 1979, 46lrc. Built like a tank. Teak decks a problem, if still present. Fit and finish, average. Not a GB. Well thought out, for the most part.some blister issues but repairable. Overall, a 40 yr old boat will need tons of attention..helps if you’re handy, otherwise many boat bucks.

We looked at a 66 a few years ago. Amazing amount of interior space, great layout for a charter boat. The more we dug into it the more problems we found.

There was quite a bit of hidden hull and bulkhead delamination, rotten wood, etc, but not sure if that is build quality, maintenance issues or catastrophic failure.

Very possible the boat had a fire and also at least partially sunk. Broker refused to admit to anything. That was only a sample of one but it wasn't good.

Cheoy Lee has a very strong reputation for quality and a heavy build.
I currently own a 1991 year model and spent almost $4000 on a very extensive survey. I’ve owned the boat for 2 years and it has been amazing. When I hauled the boat, there were zero blisters. Boat has been in the water for 28 years and no blisters. I’ve never owned another boat that has held up like that.

Thanks for the replies and it sounds like I need to take a closer look, I'm going to wait until it's above zero out however.

Taras said:

Cheoy Lee has a very strong reputation for quality and a heavy build.
I currently own a 1991 year model and spent almost $4000 on a very extensive survey. I’ve owned the boat for 2 years and it has been amazing. When I hauled the boat, there were zero blisters. Boat has been in the water for 28 years and no blisters. I’ve never owned another boat that has held up like that.

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Where was the boat kept for all or the majority of those years?

No challenge, just adding to my knowledge base on hydrolysis/blisters.

Cheoy Lee I believe have had more a couple 50+ models cross the Pacific on their own bottoms.....speaks well that someone would trust them for the trip....past thread material.

In the early 80s I was looking at a ouple of their sailboats because of their rep....not sure jf their power side was similarly built.

Quality build ifall systems upgraded replaced buy pos day last 10 years good buy. Otherwise bring your $50k plus budget. That's for sure.

I have a 1988 Choey Lee 52’. Quality build, state of the art at time of build. Time has passed on though so newer build techniques have supplanted older. Still, the hull is solid glass, only cored on deck and above. Built like a tank and drives like one too, but it will outrun a Nordy. Mine never had teak decks. I have found delamination on a transom hatch cover and now I find a soft spot on the foredeck that I suspect is caused by water ingress through a windlass throughbolt. Time catches up with everything I guess. Just something else to deal with. On an early 70’s boat I would expect many time related issues. The price should reflect that.
Built in Fiberglass fuel tanks!!! That’s a very good thing. No leaky steel tanks.
Well laid out machinery spaces. Good quality fittings.
Interior teak likely needs rework. Windows might need resealing due to age.
Everything depends on how well previous owners have kept up with maintenance.
Look carefully. It’s a nearly 50 year old boat, no matter who built it.

Cheoy Lee was a quality ship builder and boat builder long before most of the other Chinese yards. I would put their construction equal to any of the same time period. Still any boat that age has been exposed to whatever all it's owners did or didn't do and so may be far from the quality that left the factory.

boatpoker said:

Venerable Taiwan Trawlers

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Very nice article but didn't see it's connection to Cheoy Lee.

A couple of notes on Cheoy Lee. Started in 1870. 4th and 5th generations of the Lo family now running things.

1870? Building boats this whole time? That's very cool.

Fish53 said:

1870? Building boats this whole time? That's very cool.

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Here is the link to their story.

https://www.cheoylee.cn/?_page=archive&_func=history&_lang=en

I think sometimes we just don't realize the nature of some Chinese builders and their heritage.

I have a huge boat crush on the CL 66 LRCs. Beautiful inside and out, built like a tank and transatlantic range.

With any boat of that age initial build quality probably isn’t the issue. But rather the maintenance that has been given to the particular boat. You just have to examine it carefully and get a really good surveyor. Expect that there will be issues, just how bad are the issues and are you willing to accept the issues and deal with them or not.

There is a forum member who recently crossed the Pacific with his Cheoy Lee 47. I think he posted updates on his progress on the forum, but I can't remember his forum name at this point. I get updates through a club newsletter. He loves his Cheoy Lee as can be seen from his website. Link below.

About

Found the post about the Pacific crossing.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s36/crossing-pacific-47-1972-power-vessel-39252.html

We own a 1981 46 LRC. Very impressed with the build quality. Very good design of this particular series, imo.

We looked long and hard before we decided on our boat and are almost no models from that era or today that I would trade her for. Just right for us.

LowNSlow77 said:

Found the post about the Pacific crossing.

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s36/crossing-pacific-47-1972-power-vessel-39252.html

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That's great, thanks.

I’ve got a 47 seamaster. 1973 think they only made like 6 or 7 but I can tell you this boat is solid as a rock. A lot of the original systems still operating as well as the original engine. I don’t regret buying it at all.

I'm on my 2nd Cheoy Lee, The first a cheoy Lee 50 (54LOA) Tricabin. Which we lost in Hurricane Irma. The second we purchased a few months back a 55LRC that had been extended to 67ft LOA. Like most boats they have the good and bad points. The first Cheoy Lee (Jon Cannon) give excellent help even if your boats from the 70/80's. next is the built in fuel and water tanks, a huge problem solver. No metal tanks to worry about. Both my Cheoy Lee's display good sea keeping qualities, particulary with the Naiad stabilizers. Far better than the other harder chine trawlers I've had. Cheoy Lee have also been very good at matching engines to there craft for max fuel economy. The other good thing is they were built with not a lot of high end frill's and can be found very reasonably priced and if your good with your hands the worlds your Oyster.

The not the best, leaky teak decks, just rip them up and glass them. The next beautiful woodworks and teak veneer, sadly because of the poor ply it's seems to delaminate sooner than some other boats. One other thing of the time is the use of single wire cable etc, can make wiring work a tad frustrating. All in all it depends on how the P.O.'s have looked after the boat.

The end result is would I say buy a cheoy Lee. YES. But be prepared to invest time and effort in it the same as any boat.

We LOVE our '79 Cheoy Lee 46LRC! Echoing others, she's built like a tank. In other words, very solid bones!

Coincidentally I ran across this last weekend:
https://sarasota.craigslist.org/bod/d/englewood-1977-cheoy-lee-28-trawler/6789785618.html

I thought about it for too long and the boat was sold, I appreciate all the kind responses and I'll certainly keep Cheoy Lee on my list.

Fish53 said:

I thought about it for too long and the boat was sold, I appreciate all the kind responses and I'll certainly keep Cheoy Lee on my list.

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He who hesitates is lost.

Ive just bought a CL 55 in Auckland New Zealand and loving it. He needs a bit of TLC but nothing serious.. Running twin M.A.N. Engines. Built like a tank is a very good description.

Great to hear it, always found them value for money. mine the one I found was basically abandoned and needed extensive work (which is still ongoing , but near the end. Mine was built in 1981. And the designer designed an aft cockpit extension for it and it was built by Bradford. Not sure the year it was done but it fetch's the LOA to 67ft with swim platform etc. It has somewhat added nicely to the lines and taken the chunkiness out of the boat. Mine has Cat 3208 NA's with only 260hrs since major overhaul and two new powertech genny's again only 250hrs each. The rest of the systems needed to rebuilt. Currently installing 1200watts of solar new battery cables etc right through the boat. 10xL16 Trojan batteries for the service. We can carry 3500 galls of fuel in 5 tanks. If you wish to stay in touch PM me and I can supply more details of the enhancemets I've done or in the progress of doing.

We have a 1986 Cheoy Lee 40 LRC, La Vita Dolce. We have only been in the water with her since February, but have found her very comfortable, both in her interior spaces and headroom, as I am 6'4" and in her motion in a seaway.
Built like a tank, yes, very much so. Former owner said that when he removed the teak from the decks, that the decks were actually solid fiberglass, and not cored. The stringers and engine beds are solid fiberglass "I" beams, as are the bulkheads and tank walls. Previous owner had replaced all windows with aluminum frame units, properly bedded, so no new leaks there.
We are making a late start cruising up the east coast to either the Canadian canals / Great Lakes, or to New England for the summer, returning to Florida and the Bahamas for the winter.
She handles very nimbly in docking, (twin Lehman 135 naturals), but as must be with her fine bow lines, she wanders a bit with a following wind or sea. Autopilot helps a lot, when it can be used.
Hope to see you all on the water this year or next.
JohnS

Martin J said:

Great to hear it, always found them value for money. mine the one I found was basically abandoned and needed extensive work (which is still ongoing , but near the end. Mine was built in 1981. And the designer designed an aft cockpit extension for it and it was built by Bradford. Not sure the year it was done but it fetch's the LOA to 67ft with swim platform etc. It has somewhat added nicely to the lines and taken the chunkiness out of the boat. Mine has Cat 3208 NA's with only 260hrs since major overhaul and two new powertech genny's again only 250hrs each. The rest of the systems needed to rebuilt. Currently installing 1200watts of solar new battery cables etc right through the boat. 10xL16 Trojan batteries for the service. We can carry 3500 galls of fuel in 5 tanks. If you wish to stay in touch PM me and I can supply more details of the enhancemets I've done or in the progress of doing.

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Hi Martin
Would love to stay in touch
Gavin.fredericks@yahoo.co.uk

Cheoy Lee 34

Hi all,
New owner of a CL 34 circa 1984. Slowly piecing together its history and keen to learn more about this model from other owners.
Regards,
Steve
Brisbane Australia