Ta Chiao CT-54 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Ta Chiao built the CT-54 with a heavily overbuilt solid fiberglass hull layup, encapsulated ballast, and keel-stepped masts. Perry and Brewer produced a laminate schedule and structural layout, but the yard did not follow it, instead using a beefy single-skin laminate with no longitudinals, which means the early hulls had little structural framing to stiffen them. The deck mold forward is lower and uses a bulwark hull-deck joint, while the raised quarterdeck aft uses a standard inner flange. All 54/56s carry significant teak on deck, with a teak caprail and carved ornate handrailing on the raised quarterdeck. The molded hull seams imitate wooden planking, and the bow carries a wide eight-foot teak bowsprit with trailboards and a two-piece dolphin striker with a teak baluster. The raised quarterdeck is a good two-foot step up from the main deck.

Two cabintrunk versions exist: one with Perry's original deck and another modified by the yard to gain headroom, with Perry estimating about three-quarters of the 104 hulls carried the yard's modified trunk. From 1975 to 1981 the yard was still learning, and those decks and cabintrunks are prone to leaks and rot, the so-called "leaky teaky" construction with mitered edge pieces and black caulking. In 1981 Ta Chiao upgraded to a four-inch deck cored with 2.5-inch plywood between 3/4-inch fiberglass skins, which fixed the leakage and rot that plagued the earlier boats.

Rig and Handling

The CT-54 is a cutter-ketch with a bowsprit and inner staysail on a self-tacking boom that tends to clutter the foredeck. Early boats mostly carried spruce spars with bronze chocks and portholes, while later ones shifted to aluminum spars and stainless hardware, though all masts are keel-stepped. Ted Brewer persuaded Perry to enlarge the rig, a change Perry later called a good move. Owners report the staysail and mizzen balance beautifully, with one logging 9.5 knots under that pair alone. Perry found the helm balance of the first hull perfect on San Francisco Bay trials. The boat is not a light-air racer but excels in moderate-to-strong conditions, with a soft motion and proven ability in heavy weather, including a reported 50-foot seas off Cape Hatteras. The full keel gives it better windward performance than the later CT-56, whose cutaway forward keel reduced wetted surface but sacrificed weatherliness.

Accommodations

Below, the widening stairway gives a sense of descending into a grand space, opening into a raised saloon with port and starboard settees. Ta Chiao built these on a very custom basis, so layouts vary widely; one owner reported no two of a dozen seen were alike. Some place the galley starboard with a portside dinette forward of the saloon, but most put those aft. Forwardmost is usually a V-berth with a guest head and shower to port. Most boats accommodate sleeping quarters in four cabins with paired berths to port and starboard abaft the main saloon, and the aftmost cabin holds an island queen or athwartship king with a hatch, side portholes, and stern pirate ports, plus a large master head with stall shower. Interior wood ranges from parquet or teak-and-holly soles to solid teak paneling, with owner-chosen tones from honey to dark purplish. Two dorades vent the foredeck and two more the aft stateroom.

Known Issues

Early hulls through 1981 are the leaky-teaky group, with cabintrunks commonly rotten and decks prone to leakage. The spruce spars and the stepped mast base need inspection for decay, and any original 1970s Taiwanese stainless is suspect and prone to pitting. The rudder is a known weak point: hollow and liable to ship water, it commonly suffers delamination, though many owners drill and fill it with PVC foam to prevent sogginess. Black iron tanks last about 20 years and should be assumed for replacement if original.

Refits and Ownership

The most common structural refit is the rudder foam-fill noted above. Tank replacement is complicated: the forward fuel tank requires removing the forward bulkhead and sawing the tank out. Engines are generally Ford Lehman diesels of 120 or 135 hp under the saloon, accessed by lifting many small floorboards; rare versions carry a large Perkins. The yard built both owner versions with a smaller high-combing cockpit and charter versions with a very large low-combing cockpit suited to lying down.

The Verdict

The CT-54 is a heavily built traditional Perry-Brewer ketch with real bluewater pedigree and a custom interior that rewards careful survey. Early boats demand scrutiny for deck and rudder rot, but the 1981 deck upgrade resolved the worst leaks. She is a comfortable, stable passage-maker rather than a light-air performer.

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