In Brief
The Hudson Force 50 is a full keeled pilothouse cutter ketch, from the drawing board of William Garden, a US and Canadian trained naval architect. Introduced in 1973, they were built in Taiwan at the rate of twelve to fifteen per year until 1984 when the boatyard burned down.
They are nearly identical to the Formosa 51, the molds for the Force 50 come from the same plug that formed the Formosa 51. It is said William Garden did kind of a “private label” deal with Formosa, and some believe the Force 50 is has more of a seaworthy classic flavor with subtle improvements. The Force 50 is known to have less room below decks primarily due to her lower freeboard.
This is a go anywhere sailboat with a touch of the traditional complete with a long bowsprit and on some boats, wooden spars . Teak abounds above and below decks.
As testament to the boats seaworthiness, owner Tom Allen recalls a single handed passage between Los Angeles to Monterey, “I lost my main sail rounding Point Lobos in 55 to 60 knots of winds. I was popping out of 25 foot seas with half the boat coming out of the swell and then slamming onto the bottom of the wave. It sounded like someone taking a sledgehammer and hitting the front half of the boat. When I arrived in Monterey I kissed the ground realizing that this is a very sturdy 30 year old boat that I would definitely trust my life in.”
Interior and Layout
Three staterooms, master is aft with head, two double guest cabins forward with shared head and step in shower. Pilothouse with inside helm station, and lower saloon with desk. L-shaped settee to starboard going forward to starboard is a double guest cabin and to port is the head and shower. Forward is an upper and lower to starboard, workbench and cupboards to port.
Specifications
LOA: 65′
LOD: 51′
LWL: 39′ 0″
Beam: 14′ 2″
Draft: 6’ 2″
Displacement: 52,000 lbs.
Engine: 85hp Ford Lehman
Fuel Tankage: 180 US Gal.
Water Tankage: 75 US Gal.
Designer: William Garden
Year Introduced: 1973
Year Ended: 1983
Builder: Hudson Custom Boats / Ta Chiao
Buyers Notes
The condition of these boats vary widely, some have been well cared for while others have been neglected to “desperately needing a refit” status. Prices for these boats can seem cheap but be aware fixes on boats of this size can be considerable, three to five times more than an equivalent 30 foot boat is a good rule of thumb.
Have your surveyor check the boat thoroughly in the usual places, the hull on haulout, the numerous through-hull fittings, bulkheads, chainplates and rigging, engine, drivetrain, electrical systems, and particularly the metal fuel tanks. Water intrusion in the deck and pilothouse area is sometimes a problem. Also check over the base of the mast and booms on boats with wooden spars.
Similar Boats
Formosa 51
Hardin 45
Vagabond 47
Formosa 57
Links and References
» Owner’s online forum can be found at www.force50.org
Credits
Thanks goes to Tom Allen for co-writing, providing research and owner feedback to this article.
Gallery
![Force 50 [image courtesy of Tom Allen]](http://cdn.bluewaterboats.org/hudson-force-50/force50-tomallan-1.JPG "Force 50 [image courtesy of Tom Allen]")
![Force 50 [image courtesy of Tom Allen]](http://cdn.bluewaterboats.org/hudson-force-50/force50-tomallan-2.JPG "Force 50 [image courtesy of Tom Allen]")
![Force 50 [image courtesy of Tom Allen]](http://cdn.bluewaterboats.org/hudson-force-50/force50-tomallan-3.JPG "Force 50 [image courtesy of Tom Allen]")
![Force 50 on deck [image courtesy of Tom Allen]](http://cdn.bluewaterboats.org/hudson-force-50/force50-tomallan-4.JPG "Force 50 on deck [image courtesy of Tom Allen]")
![Hudson Force 50, Kukaro, in St. Petersburg [image courtesy of Rick Benko]](http://cdn.bluewaterboats.org/hudson-force-50/force50-kukaro-stpetersburg.jpg "Hudson Force 50, Kukaro, in St. Petersburg [image courtesy of Rick Benko]")
You should mention the brand names Mikelson and Venice. I think these refer to same design that you call the Formosa 51. Last year in our little marina, there just so happened to a Force 50 and a Mikelson 51 slipped next to each other. Side by side the differences were striking and to my eye much to the favor of the Mikelson 51. The Mikelson was sloop rigged compared to the Force 50′s ketch rig. She also had a bald clipper bow compared to the Force 50′s bowsprit. But the real attraction was the more pronounced sheerline and excessively raked mast which gave the Mikelson a romantic style that more plain Force 50 didn’t quite stir. Watch out for the leaky teaky decks!
Cheers Richard, insightful. Feel free to edits as you see fit, or even splitting off into a separate small article on the Mikelson. Go with the flow, no pressure :-)
This vessel was not built by Cheoy Lee. It comes from Hudson Enterprises, Inc. in Taipei, Taiwan. Cheoy Lee is a family owned and operated shipyard in China.
Hi, thanks for your input and you are correct. Apologies for the inaccuracy. Have amended the article accordingly. Cheers Rosemary
The Hudson Force 50 in the photos was built in 1979. My wife and I purchased her in 1992 and lived aboard for 15 years. We sold her in 2007.
She was named “Christy Lee” when we purchased her and then we changed the name to “HoneyDo II”. In 2010 she was renamed to “Juliana”.
Part of her beauty that you can’t see from the photos is the complete Teak interior. It was really beautiful. I hope the latest owner is enjoying her as much as we did.
What an amazing boat!!! hope to own one not so far…
I also like , the Hudson 44 Sea Wolf Ketch. Hudson Seawolfs are popular for their sea worthiness and sailing capabilities.
It is one of todays’s most successful and exciting ketches.This is a really comfortable center cockpit cruiser. The basic layout of the
yacht allows for four separate enclosable partitions. Any crew member can obtain
privacy by just closing a door in a designated cabin. The captains quarters
contain a huge king size bunk and its own head and shower. The guest quarters
also contain a double berth, a head with its own shower as well. The largest of
the cabins in the main saloon containing a U-shaped sitting area that converts
into a double bunk. The last of the cabins is the crew quarters that contain two
comfortable single upper & lower bunks in the forepeak. The entire interior
is teak. All of the doors, lockers, tables, throughout are teak. All the
necessary equipment to cook your favorite gourmet meal while anchored in your
favorite spot and includes everything necessary to make your trip in safety and
comfort.
I sail a Hudson Force 50 and agree with the comments above. Ours is a 1980 center cockpit version without the pilot house. We sailed her up to the Chesapeake (where we keep her) from St. Petersburg, FL following the Gulf Stream. We logged a day with average speed over 10 knots over the ground (13.8 knots max!). All four sails were up on a starboard beam reach. She was barely heeled over 15 degrees … smooth and dry.
Regards,
Capt. Rick
Not all Mikelson’s are sloops. We visited one in Annapolis which was ketch rigged with the bowsprit and Sitka Spruce spars. “Skol” was for sale at the time for $300K. She had everything including a dive compressor … beautiful boat!
I am a Belgian living most of the time in France, and also own a force50 currently being rebuilt in Deale MD. USA . Can anybody tell me what happened to the force 50 website ?