Marine Trader Yachts for Sale

Marine Trader is the best known name of the Taiwan trawler boom. Don Miller, a New Jersey importer, began bringing in a 34 foot aft cabin boat drawn by Ed Monk in the mid 1970s, a complete cruiser with teak joinery for around 25,000 dollars, and the idea took off. Marine Trading International of Toms River imported more than 3,000 boats over the following decade, in double cabin, sedan, sundeck and pilothouse layouts from 34 feet to over 50. Several Taiwanese yards built them, hulls were often laid up in one place and finished by small family shops in another, and quality control improved noticeably after about 1981.

That history is the whole story for a buyer. Two boats of the same model and year can be different boats, so survey the hull in front of you and ignore the badge. The known faults are documented: water under teak decks and into the plywood below, leaking window frames, rot in wooden stringers that have sat in bilge water, and welded steel fuel tanks that buckle at the corners. The machinery, by contrast, is simple and long lived. Buy the boat that has already had its decks, tanks and wiring dealt with, and keep money back for the surveyor's list.