Formosas are TANKS! The hulls on those things are not sandwiched foam core, but rather a couple of inches of solid resin and fiberglass. They're heavy, but really, really tough. And they just don't do interior wood work like that anymore. Fantastic find!! As for the varnish, it'll be a never-ending project if you continue to just use varnish. I would suggest using epoxy with a UV protective additive, sanding down to bare wood, laying down a few coats of straight epoxy and then coating with the UV additive. It'll take less time and will look like varnish, but it'll protect the wood better and it won't chip or peel when it gets wet. If it gets scuffed up, you can hit it with more epoxy and it'll be like new. More importantly, you won't spend your whole life chasing varnish issues, which means more time to enjoy the boat and where you're going. Bob Bitchin did this for his 56' Formosa, Lost Soul, and it apparently worked well. Just a thought. Best of luck! Can't wait to see her in the water!

Beautiful boat! I love the classic lines and old school craftsmanship. There was a day when I would have said you’re not up to the task of fixing this vessel, in fact I believe I did; however you proved me wrong. Today I think you are exactly the right person to take on this task. You’ve come a long way. Best of luck.

You impressed me the first time by getting your captain's license and then with the renovations of Moonlight and Little Miss but this is the brink of unicorn magical. I love the Formosa although the work on that wood is daunting, that old world charm is breathtaking. Can't wait for it to be under sail with some drone footage. You might actually pass Delos with the pirate ship concept and world class party boat. Pretty gutsy young lady. Hats off to you.

Would definitely recommend that since your in the boatyard and the vberth is cut open that you install a bow thruster. You’ll thank yourself when your trying to get into a tight marina or slip in heavy winds

Her classic lines & old world decor has always set Formosa's apart from other sailing vessels. Personally, I believe every sailing vessel should have a bowsprit. The crew & myself were delivering a 48ft {@ waterline} International Offshore Racer from San Diego to the St.Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. Pegasus.... a Ron Holland design built in Cork, Ireland. Rounding Point Conception approx 20 nm off the California coast we encountered 30-40ft swells. Now this was my wilder young days, and after ingesting a dose of LSD.... I tethered myself off at the foremost tip of the bowsprit & rode the swells without visuals of the vessel behind me. A most enjoyable feeling, it was like flying a few feet above each swell & soaring into each trough. Looking forward to observe your progress as you bring this beautiful sailing vessel into the bristol condition she deserves. SUBSCRIBED.

Well hot dog that’s the best Formosa I ever did see!!! Glad you got it! Fiberglass the cap to the hull. Re-build the chainplates. Replace the stuffing box. Re-bed the safety lines. Re-bed the windows. Re-bed the hatches. Hatches can be pad locked! Have fun!

Congratulations Aubrey. You are one of the most positively focused people, not men, not women, but people that I have ever had the pleasure of being exposed to in my almost 85 years. I still love sailing and relish each moment that I sailed with my wife and 2 kids, starting when they were 7 & 11 yo on lake Ontario, NY/Canada while we lived aboard our new Challenger 35' Ketch, for 7 mo of each year from 1975 till 1995 on.

I keep expecting captain Ron to pop out when she opens some "storage" 🤣

Insane! Can’t wait to see it in action. I’m completing the purchase of my first sailboat, a Catalina 25. Gotta start somewhere! 👍🏼

My favorite part was seeing you saying every part was your favorite. That’s how you know it’s for you! Looks great 🤙🏼

Sailing miss lone star has finally done it . After years of restoring junk boats where I only watched the videos because she is a hottie . Now she has the boat of my dreams and I don't know if I can take it all in one video with my dream yacht and little miss.

We know your feeling, my son and I! Having done the same in late 2019, acquired a dream boat such as yours, but power not sail, we go down to see her and just want to SCREEM we love her so much! We too 50 foot and 15 foot beam, puts us in the Yacht category's! The benefit being spacious living along with the seaworthy construction. Also, your Lone Star has such craftsmanship of the age-old day, we bet you go inside not being able to hold back your "Hoooooo Yaaaaaaahh' Screams of utter excitement. And as you walk away from her at the days end, you cannot stop stopping to turn to study her from every angle. . Most of my experience is sailing, but we ran across a Convertible Factory Customized for a European Market, or, built for the Atlantic she had dual systems. The passion many sailors had for the sea in the early days of shipping. Among my ancestors on my father's side was Captain John Smith, certainly he sails boats similar to yours with nothing but a chart, sexton and feather pen for his log entry's. I love the charts/navigation nostalgia too... All part of the incredible history of Sailing, right!

I love the window in the back above the bed, that has got to be my favorite part of the whole boat, really brings out the pirate vibes.🤣🤙

Same Boat from Captain Ron!!! This is gonna be fun. Right kittie!!

She’s a beautiful Vessel, and I wish you the very best with her. You’ve done a spectacular job so far, and it’s rewarding to take on a task like this and watch her get better every day! I love these old style yachts, the woodwork is superb, and I can tell you that a lot of love went into this Vessel,so far! Love your restoration plans, I’m sure that you’ll accomplish this to the almost finish, because when you have something of this magnitude, you’re always gonna find something else that you WANT to do. Not because you must, but because you can!! You have the perfect attitude and mindset, and pure Determination for undertaking this restoration live-a-board, if that’s what you’re planning, I believe that I would! Best of everything for you on your quest! I Salute You!

I have a very similar heater aboard, and they're very easy to light. It's something like an ounce of diesel poured in the bottom, wipe the container you used with a square of TP and toss it in, and then light it. Once the flame is going, turn on the fuel valve and you're good to go. It keeps the boat quite toasty in a Seattle winter. If it doesn't have a blower you might want one for windy winter nights though.

Oh she's beautiful! Practical suggestion: do the wood work in weekly sections to keep from getting burned out on it.

LoL at 'couple leaks'... You literally Bought a Formosa AKA "Leaky Teaky"! The same boat used to film Captain Ron. They are Beautiful (slow) ships, awesome liveaboards, and I'm jealous! Congrats!

She is a very beautiful ship. As you mentioned, she needs a little love, but she has so much character and charm.

Congrats on the new Formosa 51, Great boats, no two are alike and they are long lasting. You are going to want to check into the FB groups for info on these as us owners share lots of refit and upgrade info. We just finished a full rebuild of the engine and most all the systems on our F50. Ck out Formosa 51 / Force 50 and Leaky Teaky..

Beautiful boat, love the wood carvings on the doors, I do that for a living. It's what sets a ship apart from all other boats, I suggest humbly a bow thruster, a water maker, auto pilot, & air conditioning. Once she's completed send pictures out to some Hollywood studios, you may pay for your ship, by leasing her out for movie productions. She is a unusual ship indeed, that's what sets her apart, from the run of the mill sailing ships these days. Plus one more thing a sculptured figure on the bow, just like the old days, pirates used a figure of a beautiful woman, with long flowing hair, again a humble suggestion. A three dimensional sculpture. Nevertheless you are setting on a sailor's dream. Blessings to you & your family

I'm so glad I've finally found someone who is youtubing on my dreamboat! Can't wait to follow the journey!

That is an amazingly gorgeous source of non stop maintenance! Congrats! Its beautiful

Great pirate ship. I am so jealous. I am pretty sure they are called window. I will be happy to be your cabin boy. I have a pirate song for you. “ The cabin boy, the cabin boy, the dirty little nipper, he stuffed his a$$ with broken glass and circumcised the skipper. Away away with a fifth and drum her we come full of rum” lol

Congratulations to you!!! Cheers!

I'm sooooo excited for you! I love your energy and attitude! I cant wait to see you sailing this beautiful boat!

The Formosa is a heavy strong ketch rig with a good set of sails. The wide beam and thick hull makes it a great ocean cruiser . It is not a fast boat but it will get you there safely. The excellent teak finish requires a responsible owner and tender loving care. It has a pretty deep draft so it also requires a good navigator. They all seem to hold their value around the $170,000 regardless of the year they were built. Congratulations on a great purchase. You deserve it.

A beautiful vessel, will need lots of love and care, depending on how oily the vanish wood is, you might be better off applying epoxy resin instead of varnish on outside wood areas. The Samson post on the bow deck looks actually more like what is known as a knights head.

That is one whole lot of boat you have bought there. Have fun girl.

Gorgeous boat! Welcome to WA. It finally got up to the high 70’s lol. Beautiful during Summer but you don’t want to be here Winter.

Cruised with several of those though the years, they are great boats, very slow sailing, a ton of maintenance, especially the wood, but for living aboard, safety at sea, they are great, almost bought one years ago. There's some great stories about the ones on the west coast of California. We met a couple who had bought theirs in Socal, we met up with them down on Puerto Vallarta, they went on down and thought he canal and down the coast of Columbia, they were attacked by pirates who shot though their drop boards, finally left, they beat it back up to Mexico, we met again in the same marina, I saw the bullet holes, what an adventure, that boat was finally sold, can't Remember the name.

I have watched you from the very start. You have come through the dark valley on guts and willpower alone; proud of you. It will only get better from here on out. Great boat for a great gal. Kudos.

You going to need a tomato box to stand on at the inside helm station!

Wooowww beautiful boat !!! I’m in love with it , is amazing and is perfect for you and your adventures !!! Please can you tell which year model is and which is the price of the boat ?? Thank you , looking for your next videos and please be safe !!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Arrr she's a fine lassie cant wait to see the adventures, been following since the beginning. So proud of everything you have accomplished!

I just happened upon your channel. Ive been researching truck campers for a 12 month road trip and KZfaq evidently thought I needed to see this. I won't argue with them, it looks like you have some epic adventures in store!, and cant wait to see where they take you. Im a finish carpenter, so it's gonna be neat seeing you fix up the old girl too. In the meantime ill check out some of your older vids!

You've got a beautiful ship there, I can't wait to see her in the water, god bless you all and good luck

You got give the boys a view of the engine room Come on girl.

Enjoy! I've been living and cruising on my 41' Formosa for over a year now. It's fantastic.

She is definitely a beauty!! And love the Butterfly hatch.. there are 2 of them on my 1982 Island Trader 38' Ketch.. they add so much character!!!

She’s absolutely beautiful the boat isn’t half bad either congrats

Great yacht.

There was one of these in the boatyard where I had my bottom job done in Rockport, Texas. It was Sylvester Stalone's old boat, "Nighthawk", that someone in Texas had bought. Beautiful boats.

Beautiful old school lines!!!.. Can't wait to see her all cleaned up and varnished... And even more so can't wait to see her in the water with all of her rigging.... Got to let B have her part/input on how her lair will be done up... Even if it'll be a multipurpose /bunk room... That way she has he own space!!

I'm just glad that "storage" isn't the drinking word

OK sweetheart, it's official, you're crazy. I love it. "Cheers" Michael

"Button up a couple leaks and Bob's your uncle." ROFL!! Love your energy! The one job a boat has, is to keep out the water. And all they ever seem to do is leak! Clicked on this randomly and Hey! I recognize that place, we're pretty much neighbors!

In the Captain's quarters, you could install a folding swing-out table for your nook. Install LED LIGHTS where ever you can to save on juice. Check out that air-conditioning unit make sure it works.

"I like shiny" My wife and I own Northwest Tile and Stonecare. If you want that marble kitchen and dining table inlays honed and polished I'd love to make them shine for you! For trade for a cruise with my wife and I (and maybe our 4 kids with). We're in Poulsbo.

What a genuinely beautiful boat! Can't wait to see all of the fun everyone will experience! Take Care

Wow, beautiful lady! And an amazing boat! The woodworking is fabulous! I love the carved doors. It seems to me that nowadays it would be to expensive to have all the incredible wood inside and out The wood is going to be spectacular when it gets new varnish.

Another option is to replace the varnish with oil. There are heaps of brand's I use Dainish oil and it means no more peeling varnish. The high UV and wet areas will need half or yearly recoats but it's much faster and less expensive that varnish and no mess from scraping and sanding.

Aub this is going to be a fun journey. I hope to come back to the USA to join again for a spell. Love the editing and filming on this and your humor is always a joy. The kids must be excited too! Until next time gorgeous!

Everybody's dream boat. Girl, your ship just came in!!

Both the boat and the woman who owns her are beautiful. I do not envy you for the work you will have on that varnish but it looks stunning. The interior is to die for. Those doors are so cool. Boats like this have character.Be good to her.

Lovveeeeeeeed this video! Saving up for one of these now! You sold me on how awesome this model is!

I'm just a little bit jealous right now. I've been trying to sell my home for a little over a year so that I can live the live aboard cruiser dream.

Now... that is a sailboat! Congratulations. Head west young lady and remember “if you get lost... you can always pull over and ask directions!”🤣🤣🤣

You will need to install modern Hot water by demand unit to keep everyone clean and happy. This means, installing a water maker so you can do laundry with special Bio-degradable laundry soap. Honda generator to power that washer and charge batteries. Need to store trash someplace on the boat. Some solar panels on the cabin roof with a wind generator at the stern rail. Sood gives you at least 400-600 watts of useable power. Plan on at least two or three high-volume sump pumps for emergency use. Lithium battery bank, inverter, lithium battery charger.

If at all possible keep the pilot house windows, there definitely toughened class, buy 3 or 4 spares and that'll give you peace of mind, a good idea to get fitted removable shutters for the out side pilot house windows which act like a shield in really bad weather and also stops sun heating the place up plus a good security precaution. Having canvas covers made for all the wood work will make the varnish last 3 to 4 times longer especially when leaving yacht in marina or Anchorage for periods of time. You have a beautiful formosa and they are one of the best built yachts in GRP in the world

Just fallow your channel, just can't wait to see it sailing. It's a beautiful one enjoy it. 👍

Beautiful looking boat. Congratulations. Contact Bobby White @SailingDoodles. He has just done some new epoxy and varnish work on his boat and it looks stunning. Also his boat has a hydraulic rudder I believe and maybe he can pass on a few tips Good Luck Chris

Amaizing, how you have grown throught the years, watched you from many years before with your very first boat....!! You really a true image of what anyone is capable of doing with your life, pat yourself on the back, and say well done to yourself!!!

Now that's a ship! Safe travels to everyone.

I'eeeee Captain, she a fine sailing vessel! Sailing Miss Lone Star and Naughty Dogs, pirate ships of the Caribbean!

She's a beaut! And the boat isn't too bad looking either.

Wood boats take a loooooot of work to upkeep. I grew up on one that my grandfather had. Every weekend he was working on it.

Audrey, one does not sleep on WATCH DUTY. Suggest that you fishnet between the stanchion rails and keep little things like animals on board while underway. ALLWAYS secure anchors and anything that might move on deck before moving That goes for below deck too.

Very beautiful Aubrey! Where is she located now? I still own a boat in Washington near Port Orchard. I can't wait to see more! Maybe I'll have to fly out there and help

17 animals and 18 crew who's going to be eaten first when the animals run out

My family was in the glass biz for 70 years. The glass should NOT be tempered (illegal in cars). It should be laminated safety glass. Like in automobile windshields. Important safety issue. Ask any auto glass guy. There should be a faint watermark in one of the corners that says what it is. And should NOT be plate or sheet glass - most dangerous of all. And glass will stay clear for decades or more. The synthetic materials will cloud up badly over time... all of them... don't care what the salesman sez. And beautiful yacht! Stunning!

Have done alot of sanding on Formosas. It is a never ending process. Had very little on my Morgan Outisland and it still was a pain to maintain, but it is beautiful. Best of luck on your journey.

I have a Hudson 56 ketch , hudson went on his own and built after quitting Formosa

Beautiful! I've been looking at a Formosa 51 for a hot min but its 75k$$$ how much did you get yours for????

Yay I was the 100k subscriber It was 99.9k and then I subscribed and it was 100k, well done on the new achievement. You'll get the silver play button now

Sounds like you defiantly know your sail boats.Sailing is so magestic.As we get older it is time to slow down.Good luck GEORGEOUS! YOU AND YOUR MIGHTY SAILING MACHINE!!

Pisses me off I spent my whole life fixing boats up in sailing and having fun never once found a woman that was involved in it or cared about it where were you women when I needed you

Beautiful yacht, I hope the hull is sound. Love the carvings on the doors must have taken ages to do.

I love watching you. You have such a fun personality. I wonder if polyurethane wouldn't be better than varnish? I don't know much about either but just throwing it out there for conversation. The boat is awesome! It will be a lot of fun to get it underway.

That looks like an epic amount of maintenance. But also an epic amount of fun. Congrats! I’ll be watching with nervous excitement.

This "sailing" boat whom is very beautiful, looks like unfinished from shipyard, without rigging; I would even not be surprised if it has never sailed!

I struggle to get excited about the idea of children and animals on the boat but I would have liked to see the engine, which, judging by the prop is quite big. :-)

She’s a beauty! My wife and I own a 47’ Formosa cutter, center cockpit. It is amazing how much more space you get by adding an extra 4’. I can’t wait to watch the transition from yard, to water.

Watched your video 8 months ago, you got me thinking and now my fiance and I are buying a 36ft Lancer! We are only going to be weekend warriors w the occasional longer trip. But thanks for sharing! Jealous of your amazing pirate ship!

I’m a new subscriber after watching this! WOW!!! What a boat!! Also..... what was the name of the first song/artist? Great music!!!

It's much easier to dump money in a hole in the water, when it's out of the water. 2 happiest days of my life, the day I bought my boat, and the day I sold it. Happy sailing!

That is one of the most beautiful boats I've ever seen! the wood work OMG its beautiful.

That's a beautiful boat and in not to bad a shape, spent over 30 years at sea fishing (skipper) and now offshore work and would love a boat like that. not long found your channel but will follow the refit of this one, all the best from England and good luck with the refit.

Beautiful and Nastolgic looking, the handsome carvings on the doors and the body of your yacht is amazing. After all is done will you install solar panels for the instruments .

Thank you for coming back to us here on the free platform ! Beautiful Lady you have there !

This is Cap'n Ron's Boss's boat. Lots of dry rot, but it's all above the waterline..... hahaha Congratulations

Captain Ron 1992 vessel !!!

I really, really love her, especially the galley located in the pilot house. How is visibility from the aft helm? What are you going to name her?

After touring the inside and even the walk-around on deck, then the pan around from the ground, it like: meh!...whoa wait that's it!? Seemed so much larger from within. Nice.

Good that you bought a ketch. It's easier to deal with smaller sails than a huge mainsail.

I think I'm in love and the girl is pretty good looking too LOL

ur find you will need a bow thruster, a full keel boat wont back

You got yourself a little piece of heaven. I'm so happy for you

I can't believe how beautiful your sailboat is it's a rarity in this day and age.

Wow, very cool! Love the stairs. Do they fold up somehow? 🙄 Suggestion: write down (spreadsheet?) the location of all spare parts as you find them. This will come in handy later.