T&T: A Cautionary Tale or the worst possible luck

[Oliver Moore]

A factual correction:  The earliest GBs were built in Hong Kong.  The
company later located to Singapore. Interestingly the Taiwan yards were
contract builders churning out boats that were then marketed under a variety
of names in the U.S. and Europe.   In the early days of the trawler boom,
many boats suffered from dry rot because of the extensive use of inferior
plywood.  The "yellow" metal-props, shafts, etc-was often a weak alloy-and
not naval bronze-- that came from the ship wreckers of Taiwan.  Electrical
panels were poorly made and wiring rarely met ABYC standards.

   Overtime these deficiencies were largely corrected as the marketing
companies realized that they need to have American supervisors overseeing
construction to teach the yard workers acceptable practices.

    Unfortunately, even today, there are boat builders here and abroad who
routinely cut corners. Buying any boat is still a caveat emptor process.

     And yes, I do own an older GB, but my remarks are based upon my
personal observations as the former publisher and editor of two of the
oldest boat mags over a period of twenty years.

 

Oliver Moore

GB 42