Taiwan

Tachou Yachts

Report by Merijn de WaardA rather unusual yacht at the show here in Taiwan is Victory Star. Although she is not a new yacht, build in 2005, and with her 21 metres also a little smaller than the yachts we normally feature, she still stands out with her top speed of 40 knots.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/148491/image/large-c968b286f12e1f1e8b2d56c3323e090d.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/148491">Victory Star is an Olympia 77 motor yacht built by the Taiwanese yacht builder Tachou Yachts and she combines European styling with breath-taking performance.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/148492/image/large-5966aae7be342387329637a536e26750.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/148492">Julia Chen, General Manager of Tachou Yachts, tells me that the yacht will undergo a refit at her shipyard after the show as the Japanese owner of Victory Star wants to replace the twin 1,500hp engines with 2,000hp engines to increase the top speed even above the 40 knots.

Live from Taiwan: The 77ft and 40 knot Tachou Olympia 77 motor yacht

Report by Merijn de WaardThe Taipei based Tachou Ship Building Company began in 1919 when Mr. Chen, then a young carpenter, built his first small wooden fishing boat. From those humble beginnings, the Tachou Company was born.<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/148502/image/large-d91664f606b23ec61b9254081508e1ee.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/148481">Today, the company have built over 2000 sailing boats in a sailing yard from 34ft to 70ft, and have changed their production line to powerboats in more recent years. Due to little to no yachting activity in the country until recent years, Taiwanese owners have minimal knowledge or experience in regards to their newly purchased vessel. Tachou Yachts recognise this, and offer clients Yacht Club Membership, an exclusive service that ensures stress-free purchase and ownership.Company representative Julia Chen Tachou states that, "Taiwan are just the entering market. The people had no chance to experience yachting activity before. The government changed the law for people who want to experience yachting, so that's why we try to provide the local customer with the right performance to experience the boat... People buy the boat and we can take care of everything for them. They do not need to hire their own captain and crew - we can do all the further service for them."Due to the late entrance to the superyacht market, most of the 2000 boats currently in Taiwan are relatively small in size and likened more to a fishing boat than a luxury vessel. With recent government encouragement in the yachting industry, however, this is changing, marked by the first Taiwan International Boat Show.The largest boat to be built at the yard to date is a 21.94 metre powerboat, but Tachou plans to build new yachts of up to 35 metres in the near future. With one 34 metre sailing yacht hull currently in the yard and six 21.33 metre boats being built annually, the future looks bright for the company and the Taiwanese yachting market.