Design and Construction
Cheoy Lee built the 38 with heavy-duty fiberglass construction: a solid GRP hull and deck with no core, and teak trim and interior woodwork carried through the accommodation. The hull draws 5 feet 8 inches at maximum and was offered either as a long-keel configuration or, in some variants, as a fin with skeg-hung rudder. That skeg-rudder option places the steering blade in protected water behind the keel, a sensible offshore choice on a boat of this displacement and beam. The yard's background in fiberglass development through the 1960s means the 38 belongs to the generation of Cheoy Lee cruisers that were thoroughly molded rather than planked, and the solid laminate approach gives her the kind of straightforward structure that ages without the hidden delamination risks of later foam-core production.
Rig and Handling
The Cheoy Lee 38 carries a traditional masthead sloop rig as standard, with a ketch option noted in related discussions. The sloop's numbers tell the story: a 38.5-foot foretriangle hoist with an 18.75-foot base, and a mainsail of 257.6 square feet on a 34.5-foot luff. The working jib measures 369.4 square feet, while a 150-percent genoa stretches to 571.9 square feet and a second, slightly smaller genoa covers 510.5 square feet. An asymmetrical spinnaker of 944 square feet rounds out the light-air inventory. With a sail-area-to-displacement ratio near 17.9 and a comfort ratio above 30, the boat is a sturdy, moderate-to-heavy bluewater-capable cruiser with good motion comfort and offshore potential, suitable for extended coastal or ocean passages rather than windward sprints.
Accommodations
Within her 37-foot-11-inch length, the Cheoy Lee 38 offers a spacious layout for its size, and the teak interior woodwork gives the saloon and quarters a warm, traditional cruiser character. The 12-foot beam and solid-GRP construction allowed the designer to dedicate volume to living space rather than structural contingency, and the boat's reputation as a bluewater-capable cruiser rests as much on that roomy, settled interior as on the hull form itself.
Known Issues
The principal service demands on an aging Cheoy Lee 38 center on the materials that give her character. Maintenance on older teak is key: the exterior trim and interior woodwork, now decades old on surviving hulls, require ongoing attention to prevent weathering and degradation. The same applies to the rigging, which on a boat of this era means original standing and running gear that has seen many seasons and must be inspected and renewed as needed. Neither issue is a structural defect of the hull itself, but both are recurring ownership obligations on a design whose appeal is bound up in its wood trim and traditional rig.
The Verdict
The Cheoy Lee 38 is a straightforward, solidly built fiberglass cruiser from Cheoy Lee's Hong Kong production of the late 1960s through the early 1980s. Reymond H. Richards gave her a moderate-to-heavy hull with good motion comfort and a roomy teak-trimmed interior, and the available fin-with-skeg or long-keel layouts both suit extended cruising. She is not a performance boat, but as a sturdy offshore-capable ketch or sloop she remains a sensible platform for coastal and ocean passage-making, provided the buyer budgets for teak and rigging upkeep.
Pros
- Solid construction with no core to delaminate
- Roomy, traditional teak-trimmed interior for the length
- Good motion comfort and genuine bluewater capability
- Offered in long-keel or fin-with-skeg-rudder variants
Cons
- Older teak requires continual maintenance
- Original rigging needs regular inspection and renewal
- Moderate-to-heavy hull is not quick to windward
