Review: Cheoy Lee 68' Long Range Cruiser

Continuing with the trawler characteristics, safety features become mandatory inclusions. The sea chest for engines’ and generators’ intake and the discharge posts become a compelling way to eliminate the number of thru-hulls and appeal to the trawler aficionado’s compulsion for reducing risk potential. Of course the watertight engine room adds to that comfort level. Not only is there a full-size engine room entry from amidships through a watertight door, but there is also a smaller aft entry watertight door connecting with the master stateroom. Aside from convenience, it’s a nice safety feature to have an exit at each end of the engine room, perhaps the ultimate in redundant safety features.

Aside from the 6’5” headroom and gargantuan size in general, noteworthy features include the centerline stainless steel work station and sink, meticulous labeling on all pipes and equipment, excellent wire bundling, and the sea chest as noted earlier. The sea chest intake picks up for the air conditioning (seven air compressors), the two main engines and the two 20kW generators. The discharge posts, standpipes, are for the air conditioning cooling water, galley sink, dishwasher and engine room bilges, where the ac condensate flows. The only other thru-hulls are for head discharge.

The engines are continuous-duty; D-rated 315 hp and are each surrounded by a safety rail for working in all sea conditions. The fuel system is simple and redundant. There are two saddle tanks, a forward and aft tank, and a day tank. There is a manual and electric fuel transfer system, primarily used for adjusting trim; the feed into the day tank is manual, electric, or by gravity. The exhaust risers are simple yet well supported and a testament to the Cheoy Lee engineers. The wet exhaust exits hull-side just below the waterline, with barely audible subsurface gurgling without the soot.

Aft of the foyer is the watertight full size door entry to the engine room. It’s not just the fore and aft doors, the engine room is watertight as are the bilges, including an absence of limber holes. All tanks are integral to the hull, something Cheoy Lee has been doing since the fifties; as well, they are double lined. The engine room is spacious, clean, well lit, and supremely organized with every function having its designated space which makes for an inviting room for work performance and maintenance.

Naiad 9 square foot stabilizing fins are hydraulically powered. The hydraulic steering is powered by a PTO off each engine. It might be beneficial to have a backup system so that in case of dual engine failures (bad fuel?), you wouldn’t also lose steering. But then without the engines, you’d probably have bigger problems than steering. Would also be nice to have the hydraulic system support the bow thruster. And engine room air conditioning would be an added plus for what comes close to being an ideal engine room setup. These are issues perhaps being addressed in subsequent hulls and might also come under the “semi-custom” capabilities.

Of course standard expectations include tank tender, inverter, fire suppression system, camera, Glendinning cable, oil transfer system, isolation transformer and a long list of engine room specifications. Overall, the engine room was a design that worked well on the hundreds of prior Cheoy Lee long-range cruisers; Cheoy Lee took an incredible engine room and simply made it safer and better inching even closer to ideal.

Improvements throughout the yacht are evidenced by technological innovations. For example, the trim is comprised of a teak veneer over a resin-infused FRP base. Amazingly, it is seamless, even on compound curves! Why go to all this trouble to simulate wood? Because fiberglass eliminates the potential for water absorption, swelling, warping, flexing or any of the other detrimental potentials present in wood. Although this costs significantly more to manufacture, it affords durability and sound reduction, as well as significant weight savings. Look closely at this picture. This is a crown molding corner piece... and it's NOT wood!

And yet another example of weight reduction, while maintaining the strength, solidity and look of real wood, this cabinet door cut-out simulates mahogany and burl wood. Using an aluminum honeycomb laminate for support, the fiberglass panel is covered in a veneer process that is super lightweight and structurally rigid.

This is a trim piece that is probably used to keep furniture from banging into walls (or guests!). This shot shows... what appears to be... real wood, but the cross section exposes the real substrate.

Cheoy Lee Shipyards has 139 years of shipbuilding to their credit, but their latest bragging rights include the building of the 5000th hull over 80 feet, since World War II. Never one to rest during economic lulls, preparations are already underway for building the Serenity 59, 83, and 103.

With this new trawler-yacht, Cheoy Lee has created what is certain
to become a new classic and a serious segment buster... the Serenity series. ​

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by Judy Waldman​

Specifications:

Length Overall: 68' 0" / 20.73 m
Hull Length: 65' 7" / 19.99 m
Length Waterline: 59' 0" / 17.98 m
Beam: 18' 0" / 5.49 m
Draft: 5' 3" / 1.60 m
Displacement (full load-est): 116,000 lbs / 52,600 kg
Fuel: 2,350 USG / 8,900 ltr
Water: 600 USG / 2,270 ltr
Black Water Tank: 140 USG / 530 ltr
Grey Water Tank: 40 USG / 150 ltr
Engines:Twin John Deere 6081AFM75 (330 bhp each)
Generators: Kohler 20kW, 60Hz, 2 sets

Performance:

2,000nm at 9 knots; 10gph
2,500nm at 8 knots; 7gps
3,000nm at 7.5 knots; 5.6gph
Top speed: 13.7 knots

For more information contact:

Cheoy Lee Yachts
801 SeaBreeze Blvd.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316
(954) 527-0999
www.cheoylee.com

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If you would like to put Cheoy Lee's new Serenity 68' LRC on your desktop, click here...

Cheoy Lee Desktop Wallpaper


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Deck Plans: Top to Bottom...

1. Flybridge
2. Main Deck
3. Lower Accommodations

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Cheoy Lee Shipyards: Past, Present & Future​

A Commitment To Progression...​

To talk of Cheoy Lee’s success necessitates inclusion in the arena of world history. The Lo family and Cheoy Lee Shipyards date back to 1870 in Shanghai. In 1936 the family moved the business to Hong Kong specializing in the construction of cargo ships. Although successfully building vessels, the current family’s patriarch, Lo To, was apprentice in every field of shipbuilding. That became fortuitous because after the Second Sino-Japanese War, the skilled apprentice returned to an empty yard which had been stripped of all tools and usable product. In 1945, using his talents, one trade at a time, Lo To completed a boat single-handedly and created much of what Cheoy Lee Shipyards is today.

With dedication to quality and design superiority, Cheoy Lee diversified into the pleasure craft market primarily building sailboats for US export. During the 60s Cheoy Lee became one of the early researchers in testing and implementing fiberglass construction. In 1971, they were producing 30 sailboats per month by 1,000 employees while continuing their commercial shipbuilding success. By the time the patriarch’s eight sons grew into the business, having accumulated prestigious advanced degrees along the way, Cheoy Lee was one of the world’s most successful builders including construction of tugs, patrol boats, supply vessels, ferries and motoryachts ranging from trawlers, sailboats, and sportfishermen to mega-yachts.

Today, maintaining control by limiting the number of yards and employees, Cheoy Lee relies not only on their past heritage and current success, but the future as well. The eight brothers oversee the three divisions with 1,200 employees: Pleasure Craft at the yard in Doumen, China, Commercial Ships in Hong Kong, and shipyard related real estate.

Cheoy Lee’s foundation and successes can be attributed to the family’s formula: Reputation, Project Management, and Responsibility. Included in this is that funding is entirely in-house, precluding the need for relying on financial institutions or governments. The stability of the company is not tied to the vicissitudes of economic or political fluctuations. There are no Board of Directors and all eight siblings make the decisions through weekly discussions over breakfast. In times of economic downturns, the focus is on product development.

Cheoy Lee maintains its emphasis on research in technological advancements, building of prototypes, and stability for the long haul. In Doumen, China, at the new state-of-the-technology production facility, Cheoy Lee built its latest motoryacht, the Serenity 68, the flagship model of its new trawleryacht line.

The concepts and philosophies that have enabled Cheoy Lee Shipyards to create the finest of its class in the Serenity 68 have been proven successful in the commercial division as well. One of the latest projects is supplying escort tugs to the Panama Canal. After having delivered eight of the completed tugs from Hong Kong to Panama, Cheoy Lee received an order for an additional 13 of the 110 footers, obviously proving the product success.

Cheoy Lee is continuing to expand not just their ship production, but their technological innovations. Currently in the works is a diesel-electric propulsion system. While this is not a new concept, the successful application of it in the production yacht market is. With fuel economy, space saving equipment, and dramatic sound reductions, this will be a welcome offering. There’s no doubt that Cheoy Lee’s devotion to reputation and reliability combined with commitment to techno-progression will bring a successful change to the power plant systems.