I'm new to the forum and very pleased to find the wealth of knowhow and experience here. I'm looking at a lot of boats in the 60' range and generally like the Hatteras 58 LRC and the 63's. But I've come across some Taiwan boats that have good layouts for liveaboard. One is a 60' Lien Hwa. Can't find very much information on the boat or the manufacturer. I've also seen a 63' Angel that had a nice layout and a Marine Trader. I'm wondering if it makes sense to consider any of these or stick with Hatteras. Any thoughts would be helpful.
Interesting that you liked the Angel and Trader, Lien Hwa built them also. They and most other Pac-Rim built boats, are on par with other products from over there; IMO cheap and not to trust your life on. Keep looking for a Hatterass. BTW, Lien Hwa started in the 50s as a flour processing plant. Now days they have several food groups including pizza and many, many other companies. https://www.lhicholdings.com/en/ Not a note about building boats but I know it is them.
Older Taiwan boats had issues in many of the systems like fuel tanks, plumbing, wiring etc. Stainless quality as well We were hit pretty bad by Irma back in 2017 or 2018. There was a beautiful 60+ canoe stern Choy Lee two piers down from us. The damage to the boat was very telling with the entire superstructure was telling with the entire FB ripped out and flipped on the dock. My hatteras just 300 feet away survived with bad dock rash. Bad enough to have grinded 20’ of toe rail on one side… it survived though. Had re tab the ER bulkhead which had been pushed in a couple of inches but not a single stress crack on the hull side which as left unsupported for ove 25 feet.
Capt. Ralph referred to these boats as Pac-Rim; in the trawler world, they are known as Taiwanese Tubs. Some are better than others but they all have the common known weaknesses that Pascal lists. There have been thousands of the TTs successfully cruised and enjoyed, but there is no question the quality of the TTs is no where near Hatteras. There are a few Hatteras 58LRCs for sale but IMHO they are overpriced. On the other hand, they are selling at inflated prices because, well, they can and at this point, probably deservedly so.
When I hear about a boat that is hard to find information on, I get less interested. Is there a Lein Hwa owners group? I think what I call "sitability" is critical in any boat search. Can one sit on the boat and be comfy and happy with the surroundings and view and access to galley and stateroom and engine room...that sort of thing. I have seen that look decent in some of the Asian boats. Sonora, CA. Is your project to cruise the Bay and Delta and maybe hop down to Channel Islands or... No doubt one can do all of the above with a sound hull and propulsion with the right weather windows.