Formosa 51 Buyer's Guide
The Formosa 51 is William Garden's flagship ketch for Formosa Boat Building Co., built in Taiwan as a full-keel, heavy-displacement blue water cruiser with roughly 120 hulls produced between 1973 and 1982. On the brokerage market she presents as a traditional passagemaker with a teak-rich interior and a divided rig, and the buyer's task is less about spotting a rare model than about judging how a specific hull has been maintained across five decades.
Layouts on the Used Market
Both owner three-cabin and charter four-cabin arrangements are well represented among used boats, and ex-charter examples are common. The owner layout centers on a private aft stateroom with double berth and en-suite head, a forward guest cabin with V-berth, a second head, and a walk-through galley to port serving a raised saloon with 6 feet 6 inches headroom. Charter conversions trade some owner privacy for additional cabins, and either version easily sleeps six in comfort thanks to the teak-soaked interior that rivals a small apartment.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Buyers should expect a chartplotter, autopilot, bow thruster, teak decks, and radar as commonly fitted, which together address navigation, docking aid for the long-keel hull, and the boat's original wood surfaces. Often-seen additions include AIS, a spinnaker, freezer, dinghy davits, EPIRB, life raft, heating, solar, and inverter — a cluster that points to energy independence and offshore preparation. Less common owner upgrades run to a furling main, electric winches, hot water, and bimini, so a boat lacking those is not unusual but may signal a simpler cruising setup.
What to Inspect
Persistent teak care and moisture control are perennial owner concerns on the Formosa 51 anchor, and any survey should focus on the state of interior teak, deck fastenings, and signs of moisture trapped against solid surfaces. The boat's character as a teak-soaked cruiser means deferred upkeep of those surfaces is the most likely hidden cost rather than a structural surprise in the below-waterline hull.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats turn up in the United States, Türkiye, Greece, Malaysia, Spain, and Italy. For a shopper, the checklist is straightforward: confirm which layout fits your plans, verify the bow thruster and navigation suite are operational, scrutinize teak and condensation history, and treat ex-charter hulls as needing closer cosmetic and systems review. The Formosa 51 rewards an owner who accepts teak upkeep as part of the bargain in exchange for a proven circumnavigation-capable ketch.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Formosa 51. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 10 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 25 | 2 | $169,000 | — |
| Aug 25 | 1 | $110,707 | -34.5% |
| Sep 25 | 2 | $154,407 | +39.5% |
| Oct 25 | 1 | $122,361 | -20.8% |
| Nov 25 | 3 | $89,000 | -27.3% |
| Jan 26 | 5 | $104,880 | +17.8% |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $50,000 | -52.3% |
| Apr 26 | 4 | $123,261 | +146.5% |
| Jun 26 | 2 | $110,124 | -10.7% |
| Aug 26 | 2 | $155,207 | +40.9% |
Where they're listed
Formosa 51 listings appear across 6 countries. United States has the most listings with 9 (47.4%), followed by Greece and Turkey.
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
4 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formosa 51You are here | — | $ 114,562 | 20 | 4 |
| Little Harbor 51 | 50.58' | $ 399,000 | 16 | 1 |
| Mao Ta 51 Ketch | 50.78' | $ 99,900 | 10 | 2 |
| Morgan Out Island 51 | 51.5' | $ 106,618 | 10 | 4 |