Newbie question buying used boat

What do I need to look for on a 1985 35' CHB? Are Yanmars good engines?
Thanks
James

I am no CHB expert but I do know that many of them have soft decks, leaking window frames, rotten superstructure coring, corroded steel fuel tanks and a few other things. Not to turn you off, it is the nature of the beast. Get a good surveyor who knows something about these so called Taiwan Tubs to give it a good going over. There is nothing inherently wrong about a CHB but you need to know the condition. Some which have had all of these things taken care of are worth a lot more than those who haven't.

Yanmars are very good engines. It is doubtful that one was installed in your boat from new, so it must have been repowered. How many hp or what model Yanmar does the boat have?

David

Thank you so much for the reply. It has two 100 hp Yanmar 4PHM-TE which mean nothing to me. I'm coming from a Pearson 34 sailboat with 25 hp. Walked around decks and they seem solid. Will definitely get a surveyor. Anything else I need to be looking for? I notice you have a Mainship. Are they cousins to the CHB? Probably will need to do a dingy like you have. Any suggestions on davits, reinforcing swim platform, etc? Thanks again, James

FYI, CHB is a brand from Chung Hwa, one of many builders in Taiwan in the 80's. No better, no worse than most of the other trawlers from Taiwan. By the mid-80's they were starting to figure things out. A twin-engine 35 is rather unusual, and the Yanmars may be original. They are much smaller than the standard Ford Lehman and Perkins motors used in most trawlers of that vintage.

By the mid 80's, most Taiwan builders had molds for the superstructure, so rotten plywood is less of an issue. Window leaks were still common. Does the boat have teak decks? If it does, expect some soft coring in the decks from water getting down the screwholes that fasten the decking. $$$.

CHB was better about sealing limber holes in the stringers than many builders, but that's certainly something your surveyor will want to check. Where are you located? I'm a retired surveyor, and may be able to refer you to someone.

Is the boat listed on Yachtworld? I don't find any 1985 CHB's. There's an '85 Chien Hwa 35 with twin Lehmans in Nova Scotia, asking $76K, that's the closest I could find.

I think I found it, listed as an '84, on Lake Texoma. Are you in McKinney, TX? This 35 has the full-beam aft cabin, nice and roomy cabin, bigger than the 34. With twin engines and a generator, this boat will have a crowded engine room, which can affect maintenance.

$69,500 is close to the top of the price range for this year of boat. Looks well equipped. If it's spent its life in fresh water in covered moorage, it could be a gem. How many hours on engines and generator? Maintenance records? Looks like the Yanmars are original equipment, according to the listing.

If this is the right boat, let us know and maybe I can recommend a surveyor.

I found another boat with a picture of that engine on Yachtworld. It does look old enough to be original. I don't know anything about them, but I think I would get an engine survey done in addition to the traditional hull survey.

But also call your local Yanmar dealer or maybe the US distributer Mack Boring and ask about routine parts: exhaust elbow, raw water pump and impeller, fuel pump and see if they are available. They may not be readily available and if you can't get parts, a repower to a modern engine will cost almost as much as you will pay for that boat.

My boat is a downeast style and is very different from a CHB but most Mainships are flybridge trawlers similar to the CHB. Marine Traders are close cousins of the CHB as both were built in Taiwan, some of which probably in the same yard.

My dinghy is connected by a Weaver Davit system that lets the dinghy flip up on the stern. But with a couple of nylon web straps you can do the same thing.

David