Yacht Building in China

Considering how well they're doing with toys & Mily Cyrus jewlery, don't think I'd trust their builds in open ocean.

Chinese boatbuilding? Errrr.....................Junk?

A family friend is in a legal battle with one of the companies over there, they straight up stoll his idea/design. You hear of boats delaminating after only coming out of the mold. Company I used to work for made a series of boats... leaked pretty much everywhere, and had to pull it apart to fix. I think if you want a good boat made out of there (the Selene 62 was ok) you have to pay more in the labour, and keep an eye on the quality control.
At the end of the day, if you make crap, you will not last long in the marine industry. I would be looking in the US/NZ/AUS, depending on where you are in the world. Cheers

Far

Didn't Cheo Lee make some half way decent boats?
Are they even around now?

Greetings,
Savasa (46' 1979 Cheoy Lee) was built in Hong Kong, a British colony until the late 90's. Not sure where in China they're currently built but I don't think they now make much under about 80'. I think CL may be a sponsor on this site.
Peter

China

I live and Work in China for the last 5 years. It is an interesting place, but need to be very aware of the market place ; Caveat Emptor is the bottom line out here.

Working with Central Government upfront and in direct manner is good approach, involving local officials to support your venture, getting incentives from Central and business agencies to assist construction and land grants for the boatyard, construction sight, etc, this is where starting point should be.

Quality in China is the biggest difference In manufacturing, it is all over the map. There are very high quality product and service available manufactured in China but it must be expressly sought out and outlined from beginning.

There are low quality and mid range available as well, and is what most frustrating for most , Chinese themselves dont really demand high quality product, good enough is good enough.

This is changing and as demand for quality standards improve, there will be improvements in the marketplace.

I wrote a review on the Cheoy Lee 68 LRC. The review, as per YachtForum standards and format, requires a bit of history. I think Cheoy Lee is one of the better Chinese builders perhaps attributed to their long history of boat building, commitment to research and development, and the family ownership with ample supply of financial backing. Please read the review on YF for additional information.

I also wrote a review on the Sea Spirit 60 Passagemaker. Again I think the history of boat building and dedication to utilizing the newest and best of products and techniques along with knowledgeable and dedicated supervision is instrumental in producing a quality yacht. For more information on this very impressive ocean crossing capable yacht, please read the review.

I realize this thread was on Chinese yards, not YF reviews, but Carl is very particular on which manufacturers he will allow reviews and I chose to review what I believe are 2 of the best trawler manufacturers in the Far East. Yes there are other good builders, but these 2 manufacturers stand out for their commitment to quality and to customer service, especially after delivery.

Judy Waldman

If a client told me they want to buy a boat to cross an ocean, in a boat under 100 feet, I would suggest a Nordhavn, which is built in China. Other high quality builders in China besides Cheoy Lee are Marlow and Selene.
Many of the Chinese yards are managed by former Taiwanese boat builders, engineers and designers who can take advantage of lower labor rates but still have highly skilled craftsman. We will be seeing more boats built in China that are very good quality.

Last year, I spent three weeks visiting about 22 boat builders in Taiwan and China. As was mentioned previously, the quality ranges as would builders in any other country. There are small companies such as Taucho all the way to the big boys like the Horizon Group and Ocean Alexander. The quality is out there, but like anything, you need to do your homework. A companies like Kingship is producing a fine product along with newer ventures such as Bering Yachts who has a banner here on YachtForums. I would not make a general remark like "Chinese boatbuilding? Errrr.....................Junk?" until you spend time out there seeing how these boats are made or walk the docks at a boat show and look at the detail in workmanship or maybe lack of. Again, I am sure some are worthy of ocean crossings and some may not be. You need to know what you are getting into and that price should not be the ultimate factor.