Buying a used Formosa: condition and provenance matter more than the badge
Formosa's boats are hand-built, teak-heavy Taiwan cruisers from the 1970s and early 1980s — full-keeled, clipper-bowed, and built for passage-making rather than speed. Because the yard's own reputation varied over its run, and because more than one Taiwan builder produced boats carrying closely related names, buying used here means weighing the individual boat and its yard of origin as much as the model name on the transom.
Which era and yard to target
Formosa Boat Building Co. operated from 1969, under founder Bob Lane, until Lane's departure in 1976 and the yard's eventual closure in the mid-1980s; in its later years the company faced rising costs and quality-control pressures as the industry moved toward lighter production boats, so boats from that later run merit closer scrutiny of finish and hardware. Buyers should also take care to distinguish Formosa's own 46-footer — an extended, Formosa-built version of the Kelly Peterson 44 known as the "cheaterson" — from the Kelly Peterson 46 built by Queen Long, a separate Taiwan yard that other sources rate as the finest in the country. The two are easy to confuse on name alone, but Jordan Yachts has described Formosa as a comparatively lower-quality builder, so confirming which yard actually built a given 46 is worth doing before you buy.
What to inspect across the range
Teak is the throughline to watch: Good Old Boat flags condensation and teak maintenance as recurring concerns on the 51, and teak features prominently elsewhere in the line — the 41's teak-heavy construction and the 43's teak deck among them — so a pre-purchase survey should weigh deck and joinery condition heavily. Where documented, hulls run solid, hand-laid fiberglass rather than cored — the 51's is laid up 1¼ inches thick below the waterline — so keel and rudder attachment points, along with the usual age-appropriate rigging and systems checks, are the other places a four-decade-old Taiwan-built hull is most likely to show its age.
Navigating the lineup
Formosa's range spans roughly 30 to 51 feet, with models dating from the early-to-mid 1970s into the early 1980s. Deeper-draft models like the 47 — which draws up to 7.7 feet depending on load — can only enter major marinas, so confirm draft against your home port before narrowing in. From there, the full model directory on this page is the place to compare specific lengths and years.
Where they're listed
Formosa listings appear across 14 countries. United States has the most listings with 22 (34.9%), followed by Greece and Australia.
Country view
63 listings · 14 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $79,000 | 22 | 5 | 34.9% |
| Greece | $110,145 | 15 | 10 | 23.8% |
| Australia | $65,710 | 4 | 1 | 6.3% |
| Spain | $64,106 | 4 | 0 | 6.3% |
| Italy | $113,387 | 4 | 0 | 6.3% |
| Mexico | $64,450 | 4 | 0 | 6.3% |
| Turkey | $122,383 | 3 | 0 | 4.8% |
| Germany | $221,456 | 1 | 1 | 1.6% |
| Dominican Republic | $175,000 | 1 | 1 | 1.6% |
| France | $110,987 | 1 | 0 | 1.6% |
| Croatia | $99,072 | 1 | 0 | 1.6% |
| Montenegro | $34,967 | 1 | 1 | 1.6% |
| 2 other countries | — | 2 | 0 | 3.2% |
All Formosa models
4 models grouped by length overall. Open any model to see recent asking prices and active listings.