Cheoy Lee-Wittholz Midshipman 52 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design Brief & Intent

The Midshipman 52 was designed for serious long-distance blue-water cruising couples and families who demanded self-sufficiency and motor-yacht-like comfort on extended ocean passages. Wittholz envisioned a vessel that could carry massive payloads and withstand heavy weather, positioning it as a direct competitor to high-end cruisers of the era like the Gulfstar 50. The defining characteristic of the Midshipman 52’s interior is its sheer volume, made possible by its generous beam of 14.5 feet and high freeboard.

Built at Cheoy Lee's Penny's Bay facility, the craftsmanship is deeply traditional. It features rich, hand-joined Burmese teak cabinetry, solid wood trim, and heavy teak-and-holly cabin soles. The layout is optimized for liveaboard comfort, typically featuring a vast, private master stateroom aft with an ensuite head, a spacious main salon, a U-shaped galley designed for secure meal preparation at sea, and multiple guest cabins forward.

Variations & Configurations

As the flagship of the line, the Midshipman 52 was offered almost exclusively as a masthead ketch, a configuration highly favored during its era for dividing the total sail area into smaller, more manageable units. The hull configuration features a unique stub keel with a retractable centerboard, balancing the trade-offs of deep-draft performance and shoal-water exploration.

With the centerboard fully retracted, the boat draws just under six feet, allowing access to shallow coastal waters, inland channels, and protective anchorages that would block other 50-footers. With the centerboard fully extended, the draft increases significantly, transforming the yacht into an incredibly stable, deep-keeled passagemaker capable of pointing efficiently to windward. This hull is supported by an exceptional engineering specification, including a standard fuel capacity of 550 gallons and a water capacity of 350 gallons—capacities that rival many dedicated trawlers of the same size.

Sailing Performance & Handling

Evaluating the physical behavior of the Midshipman 52 requires interpreting its heavy-displacement specifications. With a displacement of 44,450 pounds and a ballast of 14,000 pounds, the ballast-to-displacement ratio stands at 31.5 percent. Combined with a robust hull design, this produces an impressive Motion Comfort Ratio of 44.2, guaranteeing a highly stable and predictable motion in rough, offshore sea conditions. The boat’s displacement-to-length ratio of 287.92 places it firmly in the heavy cruiser category, which minimizes vertical acceleration and reduces crew fatigue over long voyages.

At the helm, the Midshipman 52 is not a light-air racer; its sail area-to-displacement ratio of 17.18 means that she requires a steady breeze to find her stride. However, in moderate to heavy air, the ketch rig shines, offering highly versatile sail-shortening options. Under a "jib and jigger" configuration—sailing with just the genoa and the mizzen sail—the boat can comfortably maintain its footing in gale-force winds while remaining balanced and easy to steer. The hull is exceptionally safe, as reflected by its Capsize Screening Ratio of 1.64, well below the traditional threshold of 2.0, meaning she is highly resistant to rollover in extreme breaking seas.

Known Issues & Triage

Prospective buyers must approach the Midshipman 52 with a clear-eyed understanding of late-1970s Far East building techniques. The most pressing structural concern is the deck construction. Cheoy Lee laid teak planking over a balsa- or plywood-cored fiberglass subdeck, securing the teak with thousands of individual screws. Over decades, water inevitably migrates past dried sealant and through these screw holes, rotting the underlying wood core. Triage requires checking the entire deck area with a moisture meter and sounding mallet; extensive soft spots often necessitate a costly core replacement and the removal of the teak deck.

Another area requiring thorough inspection is the chainplates. These stainless steel plates pass through the deck to secure the rigging. Due to water intrusion through the deck joints, they are highly susceptible to crevice corrosion, which can lead to sudden mast failure under load. Similarly, the wooden bowsprit, a defining cosmetic feature of the yacht, is prone to internal rot if freshwater leaks into its fastening points. Finally, early GRP layups from this era are known to suffer from osmotic blistering, which may require peeling the bottom gelcoat and applying a new epoxy barrier coat.

Modernization & Upgrades

Owners who commit to preserving a Midshipman 52 often undertake significant systems upgrades to align the boat with modern cruising expectations. Rebuilding the heavy-duty auxiliary diesel engine or repowering with a modern, efficient marine diesel is a common baseline refit. On the electrical front, the original wiring is typically outdated. Veteran owners frequently gut the DC system, replacing it with a modern marine-grade tinned copper wire infrastructure, high-output alternators, and a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery bank to support power-hungry appliances like watermakers, induction cooktops, and air conditioning.

Regarding the hull and deck, many owners opt to strip the aging teak decks completely, glassing over the subdeck and applying a high-quality non-skid paint, which permanently resolves the risk of water intrusion. The centerboard system also requires attention during any refit; replacing the centerboard pennant, inspecting the pivot pin for wear, and cleaning the centerboard trunk are critical maintenance steps before embarking on blue-water passages.

The Verdict

The Cheoy Lee-Wittholz Midshipman 52 is a majestic, heavy-displacement cruising yacht designed for an era when offshore safety was measured in raw fiberglass thickness and comfortable motion. For the right owner willing to invest the time and capital required to maintain its extensive timber and legacy systems, it represents an outstandingly seaworthy, highly capable passagemaker that commands attention in any harbor.

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