Good Build Characteristics Are Among the Reasons Why This Sailboat Remains Popular

Cheoy Lee's history dates back more than a century, with experience building more than 5,000 vessels ranging from pleasureboats to commercial craft. While these days the builder is known for its motoryachts and 100-foot-plus megayachts, it actually launched some sailboats, too, with the Cheoy Lee 44 being among them. This moderate-displacement cruiser, with a low cabin top, a sleek profile and lovely lines overall, is a viable and affordable boat for anyone interested in coastal or bluewater travel.

Cheoy Lee started building wooden, steam-powered vessels for commercial purposes in 1870. By the 1950s, the yard diversified into wooden sail and power pleasurecraft, and it successfully entered the U.S. recreational boating market in the 1960s. About 10 years ago, the yard moved from its location near the new airport on Lantau Island in Hong Kong to make room for the new Disneyland. The operation is now based 60 miles from Hong Kong on mainland China at a state-of-the-art facility at Doumen.

In the late 1960s, the yard became a frontrunner in developing fiberglass and sandwich construction techniques and began working with an impressive group of designers, Robert Perry among them. Perry designed several boats for the yard between 1975 and 1978, and the 44, which was built from the late 1970s to the early 1980s, developed quite a following. In fact, Cheoy Lee has some active owner associations populated with individuals who like to share extensive information about their boats, so there is no shortage of owners to contact for information.

The Cheoy Lee 44's construction is a balsa-cored sandwich with solid glass below the waterline. The underbody is a moderate fin keel with internal ballast and a skeg-hung rudder. The boat is heavily laid up without a liner. The stringers and bulkheads are tabbed to the hull and deck, and the design is stiff. She has a fine entry, a wineglass-shaped transom, and a relatively low freeboard.

RIGGING, DECK AND COCKPIT

The Perry-designed Cheoy Lee 44s were available with an aft or center cockpit and as ketches or cutter-rigged sloops. The boats came with a deck-stepped, double spreader mast, and since the 44s were mostly built 30 years ago, you should anticipate having to overhaul the complete running and standing rigging before taking the boat on an extended cruise. Most of these boats came out of the yard with wooden spars, which is fine if you can keep up with the maintenance. If a boat was re-rigged with new aluminum spars, this will be reflected in its price.

The 44 carries around 880 square feet of sail area and is a reasonable sailor. It performs best on a beam reach, when it will sail at 6 knots in 15 knots of true wind. Off the wind, it tends to waddle, as do many cruising boats, and speed will drop to 5 knots in the same breeze. Although the 44 doesn't pound to weather, it isn't the best at pointing (40 to 50 degrees) and will need to be reefed early, in around 16 to 17 knots to stay on its feet. On a nice beam reach, however, the Cheoy Lee 44 really picks up and looks beautiful under sail. The standard winches on the 44 seem a bit undersized, so you may want to replace the original hardware. Both the cutter and ketch rigs are easily managed short or single-handed.

The center cockpit is roomy and deep and has great angled seatbacks that make it comfortable. It seats six easily and is a good width for bracing when heeling. The companion entryway is slightly to starboard, and there is plenty of good bulkhead space for installing instruments. Overall, the cockpit provides excellent visibility out and forward and feels secure. The aft-cockpit version also has a large cockpit with good foot bracing and a companionway off to starboard.

The 44s had teak decks, and 30 years later, those decks will need attention unless they have been rejuvenated or removed and replaced with fiberglass. The teak planking was screwed into the deck, so check to see that there are no soft spots where moisture may have penetrated the balsa. Overall, however, the decks are wide, clear and easy to get around.

The cabin top is mostly gelcoat surfaces with hatches, portlights and dorade boxes trimmed extensively with teak, which, when well maintained, can make the boat really shine. However, for those who get queasy at the thought of sanding, oiling or varnishing, look for a boat where owners removed some of the wood, opted for glass decks and minimized the teak trim.

Something to watch for on these old boats is leaking portlights. Cheoy Lees did earn the moniker "Cheoy Leaky" for a reason. Most owners have re-bedded all ports, and some have removed the teak trim around the saloon windows in the process.

Overall, this is a solid cruising design that will go the distance and can generally be acquired at an affordable price. Upgrades or condition of the rigging and decks are just some of the reasons for the wildly fluctuating prices on the used-boat market; you'll see Cheoy Lee 44s from around 1980 listed anywhere from $60,000 to $120,000.

LAYOUT AND ACCOMMODATIONS

Creature comforts are a real driver why these boats became – and continue to be – so popular, and both the center- and aft-cockpit versions afford a lot of room below. For the most part, the saloon, forward head and shower combination to port and the V-berth guest cabin were the same in both models. Some of the 44s came with a hatch in the forward cabin, which provided quite a bit of light and air for the V-berth. For those models that are missing this hatch, it can feel cramped and dark up there on hot summer nights.

The center-cockpit model has a modern two-cabin, two-head layout. The master stateroom is aft, with a giant fore and aft berth that can also be slept in athwartships. There is endless hanging locker space and an enviable number of drawers. A vanity faces the bed, and a full head with separate stall shower is to port. You'll find a desk/office space combined with the large nav station in the passageway to the stateroom located to starboard.

Meanwhile, the aft-cockpit version is open down below and therefore looks long. Moving forward from the cockpit, there is an aft cabin, a wet locker and a head with shower to port and an open quarter berth to starboard. Some owners modified this berth to make it into a workbench with tool storage below. Just forward to starboard is a large, outboard-facing nav station that has ample room for electronics and desk space for charts and a laptop, but it's a little far from the companionway for good communication with the helm.

The galleys differed in layout in the aft- and center-cockpit boats, but both were on port and featured a three-burner stove and oven, a top-loading refrigerator and plenty of countertop space and storage. In fact, the counter space may be greater here than in some small condominiums, and the only real complaint is the single sink on some of the models. Because Robert Perry is a bit of a chef, both galley designs are efficiently planned and keep the cook involved in the social activities in the saloon, which features an L-shaped settee to port and a straight settee opposite. Typically, a double drop-leaf table connects the two and can seat up to eight.

FINISH AND SYSTEMS

Some of the early Asian production boats had a reputation for questionable finish work. In many cases, families literally moved aboard and lived in the vessel as they completed the work. Cheoy Lee, however, did not participate in that kind of production, and the interiors were well finished and ahead of their time in many respects. The open, sociable design still speaks to the way we entertain and use the living space on a boat today.

In the aft-cockpit model, the engine – originally a Perkins 4-108 or an Isuzu 40 – as well as the hot-water heater are accessed via the floorboards between the galley and the salon. Tankage for 90 gallons of fuel and approximately 120 gallons of water in two tanks is quite good, and it also may be possible to add a fuel tank under one of the settees. Many owners have modified the fuel and water tanks over the years, so it's best to check if the vessel you're considering will have the range you're looking for.

In the center-cockpit model, an Isuzu engine is under the companionway steps, which provides good access all around but might benefit from additional soundproofing. Also, these engines were known for producing significant vibration, so check to see if a previous owner may have taken the time and expense to install good rubber engine mounts. Some owners feel that these engines were a bit undersized to really push the boat to weather, so a boat repowered with a bigger auxiliary will command a higher price.

When asked what owners like most about the Cheoy Lee 44, a variety of things come up, including the solid build, the camaraderie of the owner's association and the number of compliments they receive from others. But the measure of a man's happiness with his boat can best be summed up by one owner's comment: "Every time I look at her, she makes me happy." Maybe a Cheoy Lee 44 can make you happy, too.

Zuzana Prochazka is a freelance writer who additionally serves as Technical Editor for Seafaring Magazine and co-hosts Latitudes & Attitudes TV.

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