# Looking to Purchase Cheoy 38 Offshore & Looking 4 Advice



## Tradewinds32 (Sep 28, 2012)

I have been looking at a -- Cheoy lee 38 Offshore, 1982 Model

It's a project boat but not a loser (my view).

Buy for $ 5,500.00
trucking cost $ 2,500.00 to my property

So, $ 8,000.00 in boat. I understand the final cost -- will be another $ 35 K to be ready for blue water, or more $$.. 

I'm retired now and have been planning for a Caribbean trip from Panama City, FL and a little further as time goes on. I have a Catalina 25 and it has served me well over the years but not the right boat for long trips & open ocean cruises.. 

I have read up on the -- Cheoy 38 Offshore and has a good rating. This boat was a one owner boat and it has been around the world a couple times (so I was told).. I'm wondering how this boat would weather a storm ? I realize that it's your job to steer clear of storms but things happen; also the value of seamanship is a big factor as well. 

I'm really asking other Cheoy owners or folks that know this boat -- what they think of this boat... be it .... Good or Bad or Middle of the Road. 

Thank You,

Avery


----------



## mdi (Jan 15, 2009)

Choey Lee Owners Forum


----------



## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

If it has teak decks it is not something I would buy.

They leak, cost a fortune to replace and make the boat significantly hotter in sunny weather. 

If it has wooden cabin sides these are prone to rot where they join the deck and even the timber for the job will give you sticker shock.


----------



## kd3pc (Oct 19, 2006)

TQA is correct - if it has teak decks...walk

they were good boats, considering their age when compared to similar age boats....however they were made in the far east and like Marine Traders (trawler/power boat) build quality was all over the place.

I have seen flawless ones and some that required every piece of metal installed to be reinstalled in the first year of owner ship, when new in the late 70's and early 80's. Wood work was most of the time quite good, but mechanicals not so much.

They are narrow in comparison to boats of today, and sail slower and react slower as well.

This one may make a decent project, if you have deep pockets, but you could spend twice your acquisition costs just taking up the teak decks, if it has them, and redoing the glass work.....UNLESS you do all the work yourself. Removing teak is not for the weak kneed or soft hands crowd, and the redo of the deck, glass work and fairing is almost as bad.

Side wood can be resealed or epoxied, unless your wood is totally gone.

btw, I owned a clipper 33 and was part owner on a 38 and then a 41 offshore..


----------



## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

HighFly_27 said:


> Yes,
> 
> I have been reading quite a lot since I posted this thread. This boat had a lot of good things going for it (money spent) like the >> the haul was completely done, new mast, etc. . I have read alot & quite enough about the up & down workmanship to scare me off the deal. This top seal job is as a major job. Also, I will Not be completely happy with the boat when it's redone (slow & other items).
> 
> ...


You are a lucky man! I love seeing these boats on the water and in port, but I don't think I could ever own one. I must admit I stay off any of them that are for sale just so I do not do the fatal thing that would be to fall in love with one!


----------



## dstrattn (Oct 8, 2012)

If you are talking about a Cheoy Lee 38 Offshore, I would check out the Cheoy Lee association website as suggested for information that is reliable. I have owned a 1980 Cheoy Lee offshore 38 for 5 years and have had no problems with mine. These are very well built boats and many have made the journey around the world. Good examples that are ready for sailing are generally selling for 45-55K

They were not built in the far East to my knowledge rather they were built in the then British Hong Kong Cheoy Lee Shipyards. They claimed to be built to the Loyds standard.

There is lot's of Teak both on deck and below. Like most boats with Teak decks properly maintained will not leak. The teak Decks can be removed and I have seen a few that this has been done to -certainly an option if the decks are to far gone to repair.


----------



## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

dstrattn said:


> If you are talking about a Cheoy Lee 38 Offshore, I would check out the Cheoy Lee association website as suggested for information that is reliable. I have owned a 1980 Cheoy Lee offshore 38 for 5 years and have had no problems with mine. These are very well built boats and many have made the journey around the world. Good examples that are ready for sailing are generally selling for 45-55K
> 
> They were not built in the far East to my knowledge rather they were built in the then British Hong Kong Cheoy Lee Shipyards. They claimed to be built to the Loyds standard.
> 
> There is lot's of Teak both on deck and below. Like most boats with Teak decks properly maintained will not leak. The teak Decks can be removed and I have seen a few that this has been done to -certainly an option if the decks are to far gone to repair.


There is a reason why they get called LEAKY TEAKIES you have accepted that they have lots of teak now accept that they also leak.

The leaks can be fixed but the ingress of water especially into the plywood cored decks usally means you have a rot problem to deal with as well.

Removing teak decks and the top skin and the rotten ply then cutting new ply to size and reskinning the deck is a monster job. Get the likes of Charlie Cobra to do it and I would guess at 20k + DIY 18 months hard part time graft and 18 months lost sailing.

There are LOTS of boats that can be sailed right away. Life is short go sailing!


----------



## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

Avery there is a cautionary saying about building your own boat. It is not kind.

_"Fools build boats for wise men to sail"_

Expect your FIRST boat build to take much longer than you think.

Here is a good example and also an excellent record of a build of a 44 ft Roberts in steel. CLICKY

It is also worth noting that they had a scare on their first offshore sail and seem to have given up on the idea.

As a full time liveaboard myself I would make a lightweight 44 footer about the max you would want and something around 38 to 40 ft ideal. If you want a steel boat then look at the French sites as they build a variety of steel boats, not pretty but good cruising boats. I would buy and not build at your age. There are too many sad stories of people not getting to enjoy the fruits of their labours.


----------



## Paul Ames (Feb 7, 2013)

Hi Google Cheoy Offshore 38 , "Quest". It is in serious need of TLC. You will have to replace the spars to begin with. Look it up.I owned a CL 38 for 15 years. I cried the day I sold it. It was a gem and I singlehanded it with ease. I hated the isusu motor but it was indistructable. The electrical panel needs to be upgraded and the battery box expanded. I doubled the insulation in the ice box and added a refrideration unit. I have sailed it in 50 knot winds with comfort and confidence with a storm jib up running down wind. I have sailed it in a whisper with a genicer and autopilot and read a good book for the day. If you get one you would be fool to let loose of it. Ray Richards did a superb job on the hull lines and the boat sits the water like it was born there. Do not put a wood stick on it. It will be much stiffer on a beat with an aluminum stick. I miss mine now after selling it 20 years ago.

Paul Ames


----------



## Paul Ames (Feb 7, 2013)

Hi Again
Some added information. I last saw my boat in Seattle at Elliot Bay marina. The boat was originally named ECHO which was on its main sail. I do not know where you are but if you could find and get ECHO you would be a happy happy sailor


----------



## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

dstrattn said:


> If you are talking about a Cheoy Lee 38 Offshore, I would check out the Cheoy Lee association website as suggested for information that is reliable. I have owned a 1980 Cheoy Lee offshore 38 for 5 years and have had no problems with mine. These are very well built boats and many have made the journey around the world. Good examples that are ready for sailing are generally selling for 45-55K
> 
> They were not built in the far East to my knowledge rather they were built in the then British Hong Kong Cheoy Lee Shipyards. They claimed to be built to the Loyds standard.
> 
> There is lot's of Teak both on deck and below. Like most boats with Teak decks properly maintained will not leak. The teak Decks can be removed and I have seen a few that this has been done to -certainly an option if the decks are to far gone to repair.


Last time I looked at a map Hong Kong was in the far east. While it was a colony of the British, it was located in the Far East, and is of course now part of China. I believe they have moved there shipyards to Mainland China now.


----------



## deniseO30 (Nov 27, 2006)

The op made one post over a year ago.....


----------



## captain conrad (May 18, 2006)

I have a 1977 41 offshore with teak decks that don't leak.
It has had some issues the chain plates need to be inspected they have a tendency to corrode,I have replaced the engine perkins 4-108 and up graded many systems elctrical 12V and 110 DC plumming etc.Its a labor of love I don't want a newer boat,this one sails like no other in big wind and waves.Its safe and comfortable not fast. Fortunately it has a modern in mast roller furling and roller furling head sail with a large inventory of sails.
I love Cheoy Lees there the prettiest boat in the harbor if well mantained.


----------



## Paul Ames (Feb 7, 2013)

Hi again. Looking at the replies I see a lot of concern about Teak decks, Far East builders and performance of the CL Offshore 38. So I thought I would offer my views on these.
1. My 38 was with me from the day it was built in 1979 until I sold it in 1994. I had no problems with any structural element in the boat. No leaks from the deck,no leaks at the chain plates, no leaks at the hull to deck joint.
2. It was, as all Cheoy Lees were in those years built in Hong Kong on Lantau Island. I was in the yard every Sat and Sunday watching it get built. My presence had nothing to do with the quality of the boat. I just wanted to watch. I sailed it away from the yard. I sailed it in Hong Kong for a year and they shipped it back to Seattle and sailed it there for a number of years and finally to San Francisco where I sailed it on the Bay---usually in 25 to 30 knot winds.
3. The early "pretty" clipper bow CL's were good for sailing in strong winds as they were very heavy displacement boats with bow to stern keels. The Offshore 38 was a modern design by Ray Richards and had a cut away keel with a skeg hung rudder which made the boat track like an arrow ( a straight one) and allowed it to be very responsive to the helm, would sail in slop and in a whisper with great performance.
4. The boats that have given boats a bad name in the Far East are all built in Taiwan or China by Taiwanese or Chinese companies that come and go. The current yard of Cheoy Lee has moved to China and is still owned and managed by the Lo family. The yard builds modern high end motor yachts now. It s set up as a very technological modern plant run by well educated highly experienced members of the Lo family ( I think the third or fourth, maybe fifth generation since Cheoy Lee was founded in Shanghai) and produces some of the finest high end motor yachts on the water. Unfortunately the margins on motor yachts are much better than on sail boats so they do not make sail boats anymore.


----------

