First large fiberglass boats

[Walter P]

Just received a copy of MarineMax Lifestyles magazine (spring 2018 edition) Naturally it is mostly
about boats that they sell but with the winter doldrums here in NJ it helps with the boredom to read
just about anything with boat pictures in it.

On page 46 there is a picture of a 1978 50' Ocean Alexander. In my opinion it is a very good looking
boat. The text claims that up to that point no yacht of that size had been made of fiberglass. This is
a good example of "fake news". Kind of makes one think that most articles etc are written by idiots
who really have no business being in their field.

I checked Yachtworld to see if there were any listed for sale and was surprised that not only were there
a few but the prices were substantial, more than an equivalent Hatteras. Am I missing something, these
boats were made in Taiwan and obviously have a following.

Walt

 

[SEVEN]

Fake news, stupid salesman.

 

[bobk]

Just received a copy of MarineMax Lifestyles magazine (spring 2018 edition) Naturally it is mostly
about boats that they sell but with the winter doldrums here in NJ it helps with the boredom to read
just about anything with boat pictures in it.

On page 46 there is a picture of a 1978 50' Ocean Alexander. In my opinion it is a very good looking
boat. The text claims that up to that point no yacht of that size had been made of fiberglass. This is
a good example of "fake news". Kind of makes one think that most articles etc are written by idiots
who really have no business being in their field.

I checked Yachtworld to see if there were any listed for sale and was surprised that not only were there
a few but the prices were substantial, more than an equivalent Hatteras. Am I missing something, these
boats were made in Taiwan and obviously have a following.

Walt

They are nice indeed. If marketed as trawlers, they usually bring more than motor yachts.

Bobk

 

[Walter P]

They are nice indeed. If marketed as trawlers, they usually bring more than motor yachts.

Bobk

I notice that most are on the west coast. That design (early models) is really nice...it was designed
by Ed Monk, Jr. It really baffles me that a boat that has small engines, in this case Ford Leamans
would cost so much, especially since they were relatively cheap when new. I can understand it with
the Hatteras LRC's because they were probably built even better than the Hatteras MY's.

Walt

 

[Pascal]

They ve been around for a while but I m always a little concerned about older Taiwan boats. Quality was never anywhere near hatteras. Leaky tanks, leaky decks, poor systems

Lately (last 15/20 years) quality has improved always I don't think the stainless is still as good

OA makes some nice large MYs these days, close if not over 100'

 

[Scarlett]

From what I see I think their high prices are due to the cost of their newer boats that people think are very good quality. On the West Coast OE has always sold for more than Hatts for whatever reason. Some brands just have people fooled, kind of like “J” boats in the Sailing world, not built real well but cost a fortune do to very clever and successful marketing. John

 

[Fanfare]

Well, the 50 Ocean Alexander is 13 years newer than my 50 Hatteras. Maybe that justifies the premium.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Well, the 50 Ocean Alexander is 13 years newer than my 50 Hatteras. Maybe that justifies the premium.

Maybe its because your boat doesn't exist. OE was the first to build a fiberglass boat of that size.

 

[bobk]

I notice that most are on the west coast. That design (early models) is really nice...it was designed
by Ed Monk, Jr. It really baffles me that a boat that has small engines, in this case Ford Leamans
would cost so much, especially since they were relatively cheap when new. I can understand it with
the Hatteras LRC's because they were probably built even better than the Hatteras MY's.

Walt

Walt, those Ford Lehmans (120 & 135 hp) were great engines. They would have been my first choice for my 48' Series I. Ten or fifteen years ago, the lore was that only one was known to have worn out and that was in commercial use on a ferry at 20,000 hours. That said, many of the Lehmans were bolted up to problematic Velvet Drives and they had some issues with marinization hardware, but the latter were cheap and DIY repairs.

Bobk

 

[Walter P]

Bob, I'm familiar with the Ford Lehmans, they had a large facility on Elizabeth Ave, in Linden, NJ years
ago. Everything I ever heard about them was good but my point was that they were significantly cheaper
than any engines that Hatteras used and yet many years later they seem to be gold.

Walt

 

[luckydave215]

My late father-in-law had an Ocean Alexander 50 mk1 that I ran.
Mystery metal stainless, wiring looked like an explosion in a noodle factory, and she probably had iron tanks, but man, what a great sea boat. Heavy full displacement hull, built like a tank. Nothing like a modern OA.
Along the way I rewired most of her and replaced much of the stainless, but the joiner work was amazing, and with 6-71Ns she burned 9 gal/hr at 9 knots. With 2,000 gallons on board she had some serious legs, we brought her home from Seattle on one load of fuel.
The boat he had before that one was an Aleutian 50 ketch with a Ford Lehman. That engine never missed a beat or had a problem of any kind, and she ran many thousands of hours.