boats not made in China?

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"I've read quite a few mentions of "dutch steel" and similar in my time here on this forum. Are there particular brands or makers....or are they all one-off custom boats built by general shipyards?"

A visit to a large bookstore will usually have a good international magazine section

Pick up a couple of British sail and power mags and you will find many offshore suitable production boats in GRP and steel, in the brokerage listings.

I googled ,, "River" brand of dutch boats and got some yachts and some barges , but its a place to start.

Don't know if a brokers site like Yachtworld will let you specify country of origin but it might be worth a look.

Journey ends like Trinidad and Panama sometimes have inexpensive "this is not for us"boats for sale.

Good luck hunting.
 
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I just had this pop into my youtube suggestions....a make I've not so far heard of
https://youtu.be/SqkWnEYDbeg

Jefferson.

I searched but cannot find a web site for them but it seems that they may be made in taiwan. Not exactly made in "the west", but it looks to kinda sorta maybe a similar design to what I've been seeing in the Selenes and Nordhavns.
 
Mortensi said:
Huckins in Jacksonville Florida will build you a dream boat.
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googled it
Wild...I used to live about 1-1/2 miles from them many years ago...used to pass that place all the time, never knew what it was....and currently live about 20 miles away...
nice classic look to their boats for sure.... all planing hull stuff though...not what I'm dreaming of these days.....
 
ddw36 said:
Except for human experiments, officially, our government does not support slavery or mistreatment of AmerIndians. On the private level, however..........


Re: Non-Chinese boats, if you can afford a new build, you could buy plans for a George Buehler Diesel Duck 462 in steel, take them to a reputable non-Chinese builder, and pay not much more than building in China, possibly less than $1million.
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There is a boatyard in Antalya, Turkey, that has built steel DDs. The south coast of Turkey has many boatyards competitive w/ China. Sorry, can't remember the name of the boatyard.


I'm sure many, if not most of these Turkish yards, have built a variety of yachts of various materials, and I'm sure they have plans on hand for many makes of boats, including the DDs.


And, you take delivery in arguably the best cruising ground in the world, with the option of going in any direction you want afterward.
 
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Conrad said:
Although they are primarily building the Fathom line, Park Isle has on occasion built beautiful passagemakers and are located in beautiful British Columbia.

https://www.parkislemarine.com/new-index
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I'm finally getting back to look at some of the links posted here.....

these look very nice. Don't see many searching online for them though...for sale, youtube, etc.... the royal passagemakers look to my eye sort of an old style, but I like at least looking from "a distance"
 
ksanders said:
Well... They are not passagemakers like the Kady or Nordhavn's you mentioned but...

The Bayliner Coastal Cruisers were all made in America, and I think the Hatteras LRC series is also an American Made boat.

Bravo for trying to employ your fellow Americans!
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Hatteras LRC’s were made in New Bern, NC. Hatteras plant is still there, but they stopped producing the LRC in the 80’s. We own a1977 48 LRC and love the boat. She is a very solid boat. Holds 1300 gallons of fuel and has a somewhere close to a 3000 NM range.
 
skyhawk said:
I've been daydreaming over boats such as some by Selene and Nordhavn in the roughly in the say 43 ft to 55 ft range
both made in China for the most part as I understand it...well I understand Nordhavn makes some of their line in Turkey too....


What are some equivalent/similar brands not built in China?
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Aren't Fleming built in Taiwan? Slightly similar to Selene.
 
ci said:
Hatteras LRC’s were made in New Bern, NC. Hatteras plant is still there, but they stopped producing the LRC in the 80’s. We own a1977 48 LRC and love the boat. She is a very solid boat. Holds 1300 gallons of fuel and has a somewhere close to a 3000 NM range.
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Yes it's funny, folks think Nordhavn invented ocean crossing cruisers...

Yet The Hatteras LRC's were plying the oceans when Nordhavn was not even a dream yet.
 
Is the original post about boats made in China, mainland China or about boats made by Chinese people, Taiwan and China?
 
I have noticed lately that these threads often go off subject and off the rails.
 
Anyone considering a Nordhavn that is built in China should understand that those boats are built by an American company (Pacific Asian Enterprises, Inc. of Dana Point, CA) and a Taiwanese company (South Coast Marine) doing business in China. Project management is by PAE, management is by South Coast, and the actual labor is by Chinese citizens employed by the South Coast. In other words, a China-built Nordhavn is not built BY China but IN China.

Most Nordhavns larger than 50 feet are built in China, but other Nordhavn models are built in Taiwan and Turkey.

Personally, I've been immensely pleased with my Nordhavn which was built in Xiamen, China. I visited the factory twice and I'm most impressed with the modern boatbuilding techniques and the quality of the yachts. I've owned my Nordhavn for 16 years and put over 40,000 NM in her wake.

Milt Baker, Nordhavn 47 Bluewater
 
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stubones99 said:
Volvo has a good reputation in heavy equipment and OTR trucks, but on the marine side, they have one warehouse in the US, and everything has to ship out of there, and the parts prices are high, if the parts are available. A dock neighbor gave up and re-engined his boat because it was on the hard waiting on parts most of the time. He said at least he gets to use it with the different engines, and the older Volvo engines ran some of the time.

Finding a volvo service center is rare. Sure, mechanics may work on them, but they're not volvo trained, which means you pay their rates while they figure it out. I hear that in other parts of the world, it is different, but I don't live there.

Even if you get a new boat with Volvo engines, someday, it will be older, and someone will have to fight the battle getting spare parts...

Speaking of sabre, if you look at YachtWorld sabre, you'll see quite a few Volvo powered boats available. If you watch boats being listed and then sold, you'll see most of them are Cummins powered... A Cummins powered sabre don't last long, compared to the Volvo glut on the market.

While my experiences are not personal, and who knows if it is "current", I saw my friend experience unending pain with his volvo engines and no problems with cummins. This was 15+ years ago, and I still won't go see a volvo powered boat. They wanted to show me the latest Palm Beach boats, and I saw the "powered by Volvo" floor mat and declined.

Others on TF will swear by Volvo engines, but a few TF'ers swear at them. The last thing I wanted to do is find out first hand that the volvo service issues are still a thing.
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We owned a 2009 Tiara Sovran with Volvo D600 IPS drives for 7 years (600 hrs) before selling her last spring to be begin our live aboard trawler search. Engines ran great with absolutely no problems while we owned her with the exception of a fluid leak in the drive transfer case found in the survey and which Volvo handled under warranty. We did our own engine and IPS drive oil changes. IPS drive oil cost was steep at $600 per change. Very efficient engines - we cruised between 16-18 knots and burned around 16 gallons an hour. Both CT (McDonalds Marine) and RI (Point Judith Marina) are certified Volvo dealers.
 
Woodland Hills said:
Is the original post about boats made in China, mainland China or about boats made by Chinese people, Taiwan and China?
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How about boats made of materials made in China
Resins, fibreglass, consumables,pumps, lights, instruments etc etc etc.
 
If you are willing to consider older boats, and ones a bit bigger than the size-range you indicated, try Burger Yachts. I spent a lot of time watching their boats being built in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and while they are known for large multi-million dollar yachts, they have built quite a number of "smaller" boats in the 59' - 75' range, all of which have beautiful, classic lines, at least to me. Quite a few are still around, and listed on the usual brokerage sites. Good luck!
Peter
 
Simi 60 said:
How about boats made of materials made in China

Resins, fibreglass, consumables,pumps, lights, instruments etc etc etc.
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And asking about it on a computer partly built and more likely than not assembled in the Guangdong province, or an iPhone mostly assembled in the same place.
 
ksanders said:
Yes it's funny, folks think Nordhavn invented ocean crossing cruisers...

Yet The Hatteras LRC's were plying the oceans when Nordhavn was not even a dream yet.
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I am impressed, most people don’t realize Hatteras was doing it before most of the well known trawler manufacturers today! The 65 LRC is very impressive.
 
Simi 60 said:
How about boats made of materials made in China
Resins, fibreglass, consumables,pumps, lights, instruments etc etc etc.
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I was wondering since not wanting a boat made in China is a decision based on political considerations: opposition to their government. Not wanting a boat made by Chinese people is something different.
 
Much of what goes into building a Nordhavn is made in the USA and other countries around the world and sent to China for installation. My main engine and backup ("wing") engine, for example, are based on John Deere engines marinized by Lugger in the USA. The two generators are Northern Lights, built in the USA but using Japanese engines. The exterior gel coat for my boat was made in South Carolina. The aluminum framed hatches and doors and windows were made in Canada. Virtually every pump onboard is American-made. Likewise, the fridge and freezer (SubZero). Nordhavn uses many top brands in construction, virtually none of them Chinese. But the fiberglass hulls, decks, deckhouses, and all structural components are laid up in China by Chinese workers. Likewise, the woodwork, cabinets, and joinery are all built in China. It takes a village!
 
ddw36 said:
There is a boatyard in Antalya, Turkey, that has built steel DDs. The south coast of Turkey has many boatyards competitive w/ China. Sorry, can't remember the name of the boatyard.
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That would be Asboat. https://www.asboat.com.tr
The major difference btwn the two countries is the cost of the actual build. Pandas do it cheaper - but you'd better hire an archectict or surveyor to stand there and watch them build it. The Turks have been in the biz for 2000 yrs - they build better and you don't need to watch them like hawks. The interior workmanship is superior in every way. I've had the opportunity to build and motorsail many gulets coming out of Maramis yards.
 
skyhawk said:
kind of a silly doesn't really matter daydreamer's question here....

I've been daydreaming over boats such as some by Selene and Nordhavn in the roughly in the say 43 ft to 55 ft range
both made in China for the most part as I understand it...well I understand Nordhavn makes some of their line in Turkey too....


What are some equivalent/similar brands not built in China?

mostly coastal cruising for a couple, but would love the ability to cross to Europe from the East coast of the US.
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Mortensi said:
Of ALL the great things in the world to day dream about, you pick this? When you dream of women, is it Mellisa McCarthy that ‘floats your boat?”
Just rather odd. Odder still is people here responding as if he’s serious.
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You do realize this is the Trawler Forum, correct?

We actually kind of like trawlers here.
 
Try looking at Carver Yachts. The "in house" approach, made in USA., will be our choice. If you're looking for a coastal cruiser, built and nicely appointed, the new and used models are really nice. They employ the Cummins, and a lot more.
 
Sonship 66-110 foot built just down the road has appealed to me but way past my price point. Have not seen it mentioned here.
Sonship.jpg
 
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