Taiwan trawlers and the engines of the era

Boats by era, 1975–2010 · Power boats

Thousands of affordable trawlers came out of Taiwan in the 1970s and 1980s under dozens of names, often from shared molds, and many still cruise. Quality varied by yard and improved in the early 1980s. Most had simple, long-lived diesels that are no longer made but still supported.

Where they came from

• Taiwan yards began building fiberglass pleasure boats in the 1960s. A 1979 industry report, quoted by PassageMaker, counted about 10 builders in 1973, 20 in 1976 and 65 to 70 by 1979, with an estimated 1,700 to 2,000 trawlers built in 1978, mostly for the US.
• The same hull could be sold as a Marine Trader, CHB, Puget Trawler, Albin, North Sea, La Paz and more. Molds were lent between yards and designs copied, so it can be hard to know who built a given boat; the hull ID prefix sometimes helps.

Quality by year

• Early boats had real quality-control problems. Pacific Yachting (2022) says the industry improved markedly after about 1981 and suggests focusing on 1982-1990 models; a trawler surveyor quoted in 1998 advised buying the latest model you can afford.
• Some early boats had all-wood deckhouses, and fiberglass over wood walls varied from very thick to paper-thin. Most builders were making all-fiberglass houses by the early 1980s, with exceptions both ways. Removing the shore power inlet shows a cross-section of the wall.
• Hulls were often heavy and resin-rich, and both magazines say blisters are less common than on newer hulls. Yet PassageMaker also describes surveyed examples covered in blisters, so check each boat.

Known trouble spots

• Leaky teak decks and windows, rot in wood-cored superstructures, wet stringers, steel fuel tanks, and uneven wiring, often made worse by owners' add-ons.
• Most are not bluewater boats. Both magazines describe them as well suited to coastal and protected waters once brought up to standard.

The engines: mechanical, then electronic

• The 120-horsepower Ford Lehman diesel powered a large share of these boats; PassageMaker (1998) put its share of the Far East market in the 1970s at 80%. The Perkins 6.354 was the other common choice.
• Perkins says the 6.354 was introduced in 1960 and the last one was built in 1996. Neither engine is made today, but Pacific Yachting (2022) says spares are still easy to find.
• US emission standards for new recreational marine diesels phased in from 2006 to 2009 by engine size. BoatUS notes that many larger engines built since about 2006 have computers that need a mechanic with the right equipment.

Sources disagree on Horsepower of the naturally aspirated Perkins 6.354 marine diesel — left out rather than guessed. Check your local authority.

General guidance for recreational boaters, researched from the sources listed and written in our own words. Your equipment manuals, local knowledge, the Navigation Rules and a qualified instructor come first.