Should you buy a Taiwanese boat or a European
Every buyer, who is looking to buy their first boat, or just looking for a new option, faces this question. Should he/she go for Taiwan custom built boats, which are better priced. Or should he pay the high asking price for the European boats. Then your mind goes to the different directions, depending on what your agents tell you. Some will say, that its the same thing, but labor costs in Europe are higher etc. or some agents will tell you, not to even look at Taiwan boats, only European boats have the quality.
Well, every buyer, broker and boating crew has their own opinion, depending on what they have seen. The answer lies a bit more deeper than what people say.
Firstly a buyer has to understand what he or she really wants. Then buyer needs to educate himself a little bit more about how the manufacturing is done, and the buyer needs to see the value.
There are some Buyers who come with a calculator, and love to come to an agent and tell him, his competitor is offering better prices. They think this is the genius' way of getting the best deal. But sadly, somebody who is offering any valuable product will tell you, that selling to buyers who only looking at prices is a painful and regretting experience
Cheap quality manufacturers thrive on demands of such buyers, and some great builders in Taiwan and China get a bad reputation and sometimes even have to downsize their company or compromise in quality to stay competitive.
I am not saying European or American boats are always good, Some of the biggest motor yacht manufacturers in the world which are based in Italy, in fact use cheap tricks to save money and cut corners in places where a normal customer will never look. How ever lot of people especially the young urban modern buyers in Asia and around the world are awestruck with the interiors and colors.
After all, we all want our friends to come in our boats and say "wow, this is amazing". 
Well, First step : Try to understand what kind of boat you want to have, and what is your preference.
Do you want to have spacious boat with huge interior?
Do you want a performance boat, and love to take it to full speed on the ocean?
Do you want a personal family weekender?
Do you want a boat where you can call your corporate associates and impress them with the interior?
Do you want to impress girls? (highly not recommended, because there is always another guy with a bigger boat :-)
or do you want a boat, because you love the seas and love boating?
Well, there are many different reasons to buy a boat, and the better you know yours, the more satisfied you will be with your purchase.
First some news about some of the big brands, (no names mentioned), However, one of the most memorable thing is when I was showing a used 85 footer famous Italian brand, and the buyer asked me a question. "Is it a 80 footer boat extended to 85 footer. I said of course not! this is a famous 85 footer model. Then to my embarrassment the buyer pointed out a slight color difference on the hull of the boat, the transom (back) part had a very notable shade of a different white. Indicating clearly that the manufacturer's mould of this 85 footer is just a lengthened extension of the 80 footer model.
Lot of boat manufacturers have also been making thinner hulls than what they used make before. It is surely okay for general cruising. But later in the boat's life, it can turn out to be a problem, if there are issues like osmosis, or even in the event of an impact or running aground, or maybe an object hitting the boat during stormy weather. Again, its got its disadvantages and its own advantages as well, because the lighter the hull the more speed you get. Or in other words, you can push the boat faster with the same power than a heavier boat.
The vacuum lamination technology does produce lighter hulls, one of the reason is because it uses less resin to create similar bonding strength.
Many European boats, are very good in terms of designs. Not just interior but the design of the hull above and below the water. Mainly each size boat is designed individually and has a separate mould. The bottom of the hull will have specifically shaped and more calculated sized strakes, 
which are very important part of the design and performance. For example. A 50 footer boat will have a its own calculated angle of its V shape at the bottom. In boating terms its called as deadrise. It will have its own shape along the length of the boat too, normally the well designed boats tend to change their deep V shape near the back of the bottom (called as transom). Usually boats have an extra shape like a linier outline on its bottom which is called as strakes (see the picture).
The strake gives the boat a lift while its cruising in speed, and hence it makes the boat feel lighter as the force of water is lifting it up (drag reduction), and the boat travels faster and becomes more fuel efficient.
These and many other aspects of hull design are calculated by 3d computer design software and the mould is built accordingly. This results in a cutting edge speed and performance and better calculation in fuel consumption during different speeds. The interiors are also made as light as possible, of course the lighter the interior the faster the boat.
Basically what you get is, a calculated hull designed which is specifically made for its size and built carefully with a mindset that this is a boat, and its going to be cruised on water.
So yes, if you are very much performance oriented, and don't have much time to follow things up while manufacturing, then you should be going for the brand names. But beware, the most famous ones can also be cutting huge corners and not giving you the value you think you paid for. A good agent will visit the yacht factory and understand the quality in deeper level and if you are bothered to listen, he will explain it to you so you can understand the same.
You should also understand the hull design of the boat, as boats face a lot of wind and the more aerodynamic its upper body is (superstructure), the better performance it will have in high speeds.
Now for Taiwan boats.
Taiwan manufacturers in very general have about 30 years of experience in making pleasure yachts for international market. I can say this, because I am associated with the oldest Taiwanese boat manufacturer.
Taiwan boat makers do have good experience and know how. The 3D softwares are no news to Taiwan boat factories. In fact, young generation in Asia are better in using computers than their counterparts in west for some reason.
But what stops them from making better boats than Europeans? its certainly not the know-how. Its simply the type of market demand.
Buyers will expect to pay lower prices for boats made in Asia. So not all the factories think its a smart idea to invest in high technology to create a cutting edge. In fear that they will not meet the sales demand to cover their investment.
The Taiwan hulls are hand laminated, in some ways hand lamination is better than machine lamination, because its easy to point out mistakes and correct while process of lamination and curing of the hull. However, the hull tends to be heavier. One good and not so good thing about these boats are that, the Hull is thicker. Good, because it is therefore strong, and it has good room for repair incase of damage and osmosis issues. Bad, because its heavy. And good again, because you don't need a very deep V bottom for the boat to be steady in the water.
some moulds of boats with similar lengths in the factories are usually widened and lengthened and adjusted slightly to make different models of different sizes. Therefore, not all model that comes out has its own mould.
This again, does not give cutting edge performance in terms of speed. These hulls can work fine, and last forever if taken care of properly. The superstructure (the top part of the boat) can be custom designed. For example. Buyer can have bigger windows for more light or the whole boat interior designed according to the owner. Some times you can define the headroom inside the boat, therefore can make it taller or shorter depending on your height and requirement.
Having said this, since Taiwanese manufacturers also use software to design the boat, and upon advise before construction of your custom design boat, the factory can give you a 3d drawing of the interior and exterior. (provided you can wait a few weeks for them to design and send through).
The factory usually has in house engineers. Another plus point for many buyers and users of big boats, is that space in the engine room. For some European boats, you can see that the interior living space is much more grander for the same size of the boat, and sometimes that is because the space in the engine room has been compromised. Lot of Taiwan boats have very spacious engine rooms for easier access of repairs etc.
So for a buyer, for whom speed is not a huge requirement, and wants to have specific amount of rooms, or adjust the size of the lower control station, and may want to have the galley (kitchen) in the aft of the boat or in a specific place. Then a custom made Taiwan boat can be an ideal choice.
I would still stay, that from the size of above 55 ft it is ideal to build your custom boats, because in this size range you can have a lot of space to play around with. Smaller than 55 ft boat may not have too much room for custom requirements.
Additionally, if you enjoy to over look the manufacturing of your boat, and you have a trust worthy agent, who will go to the factory every couple of months to see the progress and monitor the construction. Then you will surely have a different feeling when your boat arrives. Hopefully a good feeling. :)
for now
Enjoy cruising
by Baggy Sartape
