Cheoy Lee Midshipman 40
 

Hey Everyone,

So in the last thread I posted, it was recommended by the community that I narrow my boat search to Ketches since I have a bridge height restriction where I live which is 55' on due to the I-95 bridge over the New River in Ft. Lauderdale. I've evaluated a few, and due to my limited budget only old boats are appearing in the list. Nothing local though....till today!

I see a listing for a Cheoy Lee Midshipman 40 with the following specs:

50 HP Perkins that was installed in 1994, 1600 hours
New Roller Furling in 2001
Rigging & Chainplates replaced in 2001
Lewmar winches (these must not be original for Cheoy Lee)
Aluminum Spars (I think these are replaced too,originals were wood, right?)
No word on electronics...how much would it be to install new Radar on mizzen mast, Depth, Wind meters. I intend to use a pair of panasonic toughbook tablets with electronic charts and NMEA handheld gps attached for navigating at the helm and down below.


"Teak decks removed & resurfaced". The listing is a bit vague here. I read it to be that there are no longer any more teak decks, in that they were removed entirely and the deck resurfaced with glass. It could also be read that they were simply removed, resurfaced/refinished and then reinstalled. If it is the latter, then I'm running away. If the former, how well do these kind of arrangements hold up, as in do decks adapt well to having teak removed and direct pressure on them from foot traffic?

In any case, this boat is listing for a price range I can get into...coupled with its 4'6" draft, I'm seriously evaluating it. I know wiring on this builder has a rough reputation, but other than that what other stuff should I look for? Wiring I know, but what else? I'm not expecting a thrilling ride on this one (27000 lbs of displacement) but will she serve me well on a down island hop in a few years?


Let the comments and feedback flow!

Thanks

--night0wl

Some answers I posed to the owner:
> What condition is the auxillary engine in (when was it last run)? I see it was new in '94, but what have been your issues with it since (if any).

It hasn't run in almost 5 years, since going into storage. I've never had any issues with it

> The electronics - can you give a catalog of what is on the boat and functioning/non-functioning

See the survey. Everything was working when it went into storage


> What is the mast height/bridge clearance (I life in FTL, west of I-95)

I don't remember - maybe 44 ft??? The paperwork with that (measured by a rigger after new mast up) is on the boat


> The teak removal/resurfacing...who was the contractor or marine yard that did that work? Or was it a DIY?

I did it myself. More work than I ever want to do again. It looked great when I left, but needs a new paint job now. There were boards wearing thin that were buckling. I was going to screw them back down, but everyone told me I'd make leaks if I did it that way. I loved the teak, but the interior temp dropped substantially, so a white deck is much more appropriate in FL

The teak decks were, in fact, removed!

> When you say the Mizzen mast is in good condition...can you elaborate?

Sail is in good shape, mast was new in late 2001

> Any blistering?

Survey said 6, but he only marked 5. I took pictures of the spots


> Any upgrades to wiring and other electrical appliances

Prior owner, see survey

My main question would be was the engine fogged before the boat was put into storage. An unfogged engine sitting in Florida humidity for FIVE YEARS is likely to be a big chuck of rust on the inside.

Looks like the engine was sprayed with anti-siezing...but the owner makes it sound like it was the exterior of the engine. Never heard of that. I guess the truth will come out when I check out the boat.

Niteowl,
are you gonna be able to sea test the boat? Are you close enough to spend some time with this boat, more that just a few hours? Last fall i found a boat i've always liked that i could afford (Vagabond 47).... it was love at first sight, i saw her at the dock and had visions of topless girls in bora bora:D , winning the newport to bermuda.... on a V47, yea right.... anyway i got all swept away. the broker let me spend the week-end on the boat at the dock and i came to understand why i could afford this boat... she was great tied to the dock but i could not afford to make her sea worthy. at first i thought i can fix this, and this, and this, and this, ect... my point is if i had not spent time with the old girl her price and sexy lines would have sucked me in before i realized she wasn't right for me. good luck and keep us informed......

The deck job is MOST Suspicious as there was probably significant underlying damage to the deck core that was never addressed...just covered up.
With all the other issues, I would run away from this one.

What all other issues? Length in storage?

Given the information above, at what price would the boat have to be to warrant making the 1 1/2 hour drive (each way) to check it out? A gut feel would be good. After all, how often do you see a 40' ketch on the market?

Probably not. I think it would be one of those plays that you look at base price and start lowering based on everything the survey reveals wrong...and stick to it. No wiggling at all. Given that its a ketch with 44' mast (vs Pearson Ketch's with 52 or 58' masts), it's not going to be a racer by any means.

Why were chainplates replaced with the rigging? Water intrusion? 5 years not running an engine is problems. Electronics need replacing. What shape are all sails in....my guess is not good since not mentioned and sitting gathering mildew or sun damage for 5 years. "Only 6 blisters"....and this is before YOUR surveyor finds everything else that is wrong.

If you've got the time and the energy for a project boat it never hurts to look but this one says "neglected" to me...and neglect is more of a problem on an old cheoy lee than n an old production boat.