BoatsFormosa 34

Formosa 34

Masthead Sloop · Fin With Rudder On Skeg · First built 1975

A 1975 masthead sloop featuring a skeg-hung rudder and a displacement-to-ballast ratio built for stable, comfortable cruising

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Fin With Rudder On Skeg

See her sail

The Formosa 34, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from DrakeParagon

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

LivelySea-kindly

Her moderate displacement on a moderate beam gives 25 — a moderate, middle-of-the-road motion.

Comfort ratio 25
CoastalBluewater

1.99 — just under the 2.0 offshore line; her beam is modest for her weight.

Capsize screening 1.99
LightHeavy

237 — moderately heavy for her waterline, a balanced cruising weight.

Displacement / length 237
TenderStiff

31% of her weight is ballast — on the tender side; she'll heel readily and want a reef sooner.

Ballast 31%

A capable cruiser that sits just inside the offshore line — coastal work with real passages in her.

What the fleet has seen

The Formosa 34, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Formosa 34 is a masthead sloop, built by Formosa Boat Building Co. Ltd. from 1975 to the present, with a fin keel and rudder on skeg. It measures 10.4 meters LOA, 3.6 meters beam, and 1.7 meters draft, displacing 6168 kg. Aboard DrakeParagon, a 1982 prototype Formosa 34, a family of six undertook a 14-day passage from Newfoundland to Iceland, encountering 20-to-30-knot headwinds that necessitated two or three reefs in the main and a storm jib.5:07 The crew noted the boat's light, fast hull design created a rough, slamming motion in heavy seas.7:51 This boat, salvaged after a hurricane, required a six-month refit, including replacing 23 square feet of deck core.0:36 The family operates the boat without an engine, planning carefully around tidal currents for port entries. A Formosa ketch, built in Singapore in the 1960s, serves as a full-time residence in Vitória, Brazil, for an oceanographer who maintains it at a local fishing colony.8:57

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 2 times across 2 channels of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Formosa 34 on video

What they go for

Market signal

Where the fleet has seen this model for sale, and the asking prices that came with it.

1seen sold
1channel looked into buying
$10,000Median asking

From the fleet's own footage — our observed signal, not broker listings.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
30.9%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Masthead Sloop
Ratios
Displacement / length
236.5
Comfort ratio
25.4
Capsize screening
1.99
Hull speed
7.3 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
1247
Hull
Hull type
Fin with rudder on skeg
Construction
Fiberglass
Ballast type
Iron
Production
Years built
First built 1975
Builder
Formosa Boat Building Co. Ltd

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Victoria Marine 3410.44 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA versatile cruiser available as a masthead sloop or cutter, featuring a shallow 1.47m draft and a skeg-hung rudder
Episode 3 - Rachael Sprot15:24from SheHelms Sailing
Beneteau 3410.34 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 2008 production cruiser featuring a modern fin-and-bulb hull and a 7.42-knot hull speed for efficient coastal sailing
Stefano Gigli’s sailing adventure11:47from Podcast Maré Sonora ®
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 35010.40 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA modern Marc Lombard-designed cruiser featuring dual rudders and flexible keel options to succeed the Sun Odyssey 349
Jeanneau's New Rule Breaking Sailboat - Sun Odyssey 350 Boat Review2:25from Practical Sailor
Seidelmann Yachts 3410.36 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 1981 masthead sloop with a 45% ballast ratio, balancing a light-displacement hull with a deep 1.65-meter fin keel
We BOUGHT a CATAMARAN!! 😅 From the USA to Greece1:12from Eternal Sailing
Hunter Marine 34010.29 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA B&R rigged cruiser featuring a shoal-draft fin keel and spade rudder, designed for stable and efficient coastal sailing
Why Are Sailboats So Cheap?3:09from Practical Sailor
Pacific Seacraft 3410.39 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA William Crealock-designed cutter featuring a skeg-mounted rudder and an optional shallow-draft keel for versatile cruising
Full Keel Offshore, or Floating Condo Sailboat? $140,000 - Ep 201 - Lady K Sailing8:33from Lady K Sailing

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Formosa 30An Alden-designed masthead ketch with a long keel, built for steady, comfortable cruising since 1972Formosa 44A heavy-displacement masthead sloop with a long keel, also produced as the Spindrift 43 and the Hampton 43Formosa 43A Ron Holland-attributed masthead sloop built in Taiwan with a skeg-hung rudder and a high comfort ratioFormosa 41A William Garden-designed masthead ketch with a long keel, also marketed as the Yankee Clipper 41 and Atlantic Clipper

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

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