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Bob Perrys Salty Tayana 37-Footer Boat Review

Tayana 37s traditional approach still draws big dreamers.

With several hundred boats sailing the seas of the world, the Tayana 37 has been one of the most successful products of the U.S.s Taiwan-built boat invasion that began in the early 1970s. Its shapely Baltic stern, scribed plank seams molded into the glass hull, and lavish use of teak above and belowdecks have come to epitomize the image associated with Oriental boats.

Not all thoughts of Far Eastern boats are pleasant, however. To some, Taiwan-built boats mean poor workmanship, overly heavy hulls, unbedded hardware of dubious heritage, wooden spars that delaminate, and builder-modified boats lightyears removed from the plans provided by the designer. Add to that a serious language barrier and the inevitable logistical problems of dealing with a boatyard halfway around the world, and you have a readymade nightmare for the boat buyer. To the credit of the builder, the designer, the primary importer, and a powerful owners association, the Tayana 37 has weathered an astounding production run while making steady improvements and maintaining a steady output with about 600 boats in existence.

Washington-based boat designer Bob Perry had just hung out his own shingle when he designed Tayana 37 in the early 70s. The Sherman-tank Westsail 32 had just come lumbering onto the scene, bringing with it a resurgence of interest in the double-ended hull form, and more people than ever before were beginning to have the dream of chucking it all and sailing away to a tropical paradise.

Perry has become an enormously successful designer of cruising boats, from traditional, full-keel designs such as the Tayana 37 to modern, fin-keel cruisers such as the Nordic 40, GoldenWave 42, and the Valiant 40. A remarkable number of his designs have been built in the Orient, in both Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Perry conceived the Tayana 37 as a cruising boat of traditional appearance above the water, with moderately heavy displacement, a long waterline, and a reasonably efficient cutter rig of modern proportions. (A ketch rig was also available). Below the water, the forefoot of the long keel has been cut away, and a Constellation-type rudder was utilized rather than a more traditional barn door. Perry sought to cash in on the popularity of the double-ended hull while keeping displacement moderate and performance reasonable, avoiding the plight of boats such as the Westsail 32-the inability to go to windward and sluggish performance in anything short of a moderate gale. The stern design of the Tayana 37 borrows heavily from the well-known Aage Nielsen-designed ketch, the Holger Danske, winner of the 1980 Bermuda Race. It is one of the more handsome Baltic-type sterns on any production sailboat.

The Tayana 37 began life as the CT 37. In 1979, the boat became known as the Tayana 37, named for Ta Yang Yacht Building Co. While some snobbishness exists among owners who own the CT version, Perry has insisted that this is illusory. According to the designer, the CT 37 and the Tayana 37 are the same boat, built by the same men in the same yard. In much the same way that the early Swans imported by Palmer Johnson were known by the name of the importer-the names Nautor and Swan were unknown here in the late 1960s-early Tayanas were known as CTs because the name CT had already become known in this country.

Perry, who worked with many yards in the Far East, considers Ta Yang one of the best. The yard always was very responsive to input from both dealers and owners. Over the years, this resulted in steady improvement in the quality of the boat.

Handling Under Power

Three different engines have been used in the Tayana 37: the Yanmar 3QM30, the Perkins 4-108, and the Volvo MD17C. The latest change was to the Yanmar as standard propulsion. This makes good economic sense, as Japan is closer to Taiwan than either England or Sweden.

Although all of the engines offer adequate power for the boat, don’t expect the Tayana 37 to win any drag races. With her substantial wetted surface and fairly heavy displacement, performance under power is sedate rather than spritely. Owners rate handling under power as fair to good, although one reported that his boat backs up like a drunken elephant.

While the engine box removes completely to provide good access for service, there is no provision for easy access to the oil dipstick. This means that this vital task is likely to be ignored. A simple door in the side of the engine box would solve the problem.

The placement of the fuel tank also has caused substantial discussion on the part of owners. The standard 90-gallon, black iron tank is located under the V-berth in the forward cabin. When full, this tank holds almost 650 pounds of fuel. This is about the same weight as 375 feet of 3/8-inch anchor chain-a substantial amount to carry around in the bow of a 37-footer. A Tayana 37 with the bow tank full and a heavy load of ground tackle will show noticeable bow-down trim. The design was originally drawn with the fuel tanks under the settees, but the builder put the tank forward to create additional storage in the main cabin.

This is a good example of one of the basic recurring problems with Far East-built boats. Frequently, the builders have good glass men and good interior joiners, but their inexperience in sailing results in inconsistencies that compromise their boats. Fortunately, thanks to the pressure from owners, the builder began offering optional tankage amidships, where it belongs.

Handling Under Sail

The Tayana 37 was built as a ketch or cutter, with wood spars or aluminum, with mast-stepped on deck or on the keel. Few builders have offered so many options. The standard rig is a masthead cutter with wooden spars; the mast is stepped on deck and supported by a substantial compression column. The designer strongly recommended the aluminum cutter rig, and we heartily concur. The wooden mast is poorly proportioned, with a massive section and extremely thick sidewalls. One mast we looked at had a large knot on the forward side of the mast just at spreader level. Despite the huge mast section, we feel the knot could weaken the mast significantly.

In contrast to the large section of the mast, the boom was an extremely small spruce box section. With mid-boom sheeting, this spar will probably bend like a rubber band, complicating mainsail shape. The clew outhaul slide is far too flimsy for a boat of this size, and owners report that the outhaul slide frequently distorts or explodes. Once again, these problems are rather typical in Taiwan boats, where you frequently find excellent craftsmanship but a poor understanding of engineering or the forces involved in ocean sailing.

In contrast, the aluminum rigs, which may come from a variety of sources including France, New Zealand, and the U.S., are well proportioned and suited to the task.

We see no reason to select the ketch rig. Both performance and balance with the cutter rig will be better. The cutters mainsail is 342 square feet. Any couple healthy enough to go world cruising should be able to cope with a sail of this size.

The cutter rig is tall and well proportioned. Perry has drawn an unusually high-aspect rig for a cruising boat, and the result is a boat with good performance on all points of sail. With the aluminum rig, the optional Nicro Fico ball-bearing mainsheet traveler and a well-cut suit of sails, the Tayana 37 will be surprisingly fast. Her working sail area of 864 square feet is generous.

Despite a ballast/displacement ratio of 33 percent, the Tayana 37 is not a stiff boat. This is due in part to the tall, heavy rig and the substantial amount of other weight above the boats vertical center of gravity. Much of the boats heavy joinerwork and glasswork is well above the waterline, raising the center of gravity and reducing initial stability. Perry believes the initial tenderness to be an asset, reducing the snappiness of the boats roll and making her a more comfortable sea boat. We agree.

Many owners report that the boat carries substantial weather helm. The sailplan is drawn with significant rake to the mast. This creates just enough shift in the center of effort of the sailplan to create a lot of weather helm. Bringing the mast back toward the vertical by tightening the headstay and forestay while loosening the backstay should cure much of the problem, according to reports from other owners. It may be necessary to shorten the headstay to do this.

The weather helm and initial tenderness may also be due in part to the poor cut of the standard sails provided with the boat. Many of the boats in existence came with standard sails made by Lam of Hong Kong. These sails have the reputation of being stretchy and having very poor shape. Mainsail draft with this fabric is almost uncontrollable, with the sail becoming baggy and the draft moving aft as the wind increases. This will create weather helm and increase the angle of heel.

Deck Layout

With its bulwarks, high double lifelines, and substantial bow and stern pulpits, the Tayana 37 gives the sailor a good sense of security on those cold, windy nights when called out for sail changes. A teak platform grating atop the bowsprit coupled with the strong pulpit, relieves that appendage of its widowmaker reputation.

The bowsprit platform incorporates double anchor rollers, which can house CQR anchors. Unfortunately, there is no good lead from the rollers to any place to secure the anchor rode. Line or chain led to the heavy bowsprit bitts would chafe on the platform. An anchor windlass mounted to port or starboard of the bowsprit would provide a good lead.

There are hawseholes through the bulwarks port and starboard, well aft of the stem. These will be fine for docklines, but are too far aft to serve as good leads for anchoring. There is room at deck level, outboard of the bowsprit, to install a set of heavy chocks for anchoring, although anchor rode led to this point will chafe on the bobstay as the boat swings to her anchor.

This is a classic problem of the boat with a bowsprit. The anchor rode must really lead well out the bowsprit to avoid the bobstay, yet the long lead complicates securing the inboard end of the rode. A common solution is a bridle led to the hawseholes.

The long staysail boom makes it difficult to cross from one side of the boat to the other forward. The standard staysail traveler is merely a stainless-steel rod on which a block can slide on its shackle. Under load, this can bind when tacking, so that it may be necessary to go forward and kick the block over after every tack. By all means look for boats with the optional Nicro Fico travelers with their roller-bearing cars. Complaints about the standard travelers are rife.

Standard winches on the boat were Barlow. We suggest that you try to find self-tailing winches for all sheets.

Although the sidedecks are relatively narrow due to the wide cabin trunk, there is reasonable access fore and aft. A full-length handrail on either side of the cabin trunk provides a good handhold.

The cockpit of the Tayana 37 is small, as befits an oceangoing sailboat. There are cockpit scuppers at each of the four corners of the cockpit well, with seacocks on the through-hull outlets.

With the pedestal steering, the cockpit seems to have shrunk. Only three can be seated in real comfort, although this is no real problem for the cruising couple. It is not a cockpit for heavy entertaining in port. The elimination of the coaming around the stern of the boat has made the cockpit seats long enough for sleeping on deck, but at the expense of exposing the helmsman to a wet seat in a following sea.

Cockpit locker configuration varies with the interior options chosen, but the lockers are large enough to provide reasonable storage, although you should resist the temptation to load them heavily so far aft.

The interior of the Tayana 37 probably sells more boats than any other feature of the boat. Every boat was custom built so there has never been a standard interior.

Like other Taiwanese boats, the interior of the Tayana 37 is all teak. This can result in a cabin that is oppressively dark to some people, and exquisitely cool to others. To keep it looking good, owners must do a lot of oiling or varnishing.

The interior joinerwork on the boat we examined was some of the best we have seen. Joints were just about flawless, paneled doors beautifully joined, drawers dovetailed from solid stock. There were no fillers making up for poorly fitted joints, no trim fitted with grinders, no slop anywhere. Older Tayana 37s (70s-80s vintage) we have seen did not boast quite this caliber of workmanship, but their joinerwork was certainly of good quality.

With such an array of interior options, it is difficult to really evaluate the boats interior. Although, in all fairness, there is a standard interior. It is prosaic but good, with a V-berth forward, followed by the head and lockers just aft. The main cabin has a U-shaped settee to port, straight settee and pilot berth to starboard. Aft is a good U -shaped galley to port, nav station and quarterberth to starboard.

Conclusions

The Tayana 37 is both typical and atypical of Taiwanese boats. It is typical in the problems that existed due to the builders inexperience with seagoing yachts, common with communication and language problems.

It is atypical in that many of these problems have been solved over its many years of production. Anyone considering a Tayana 37 should join the owners association and read all the back newsletters before buying the boat.

The total cost of a well-equipped Tayana 37 with most of the desirable options compares very favorably with other boats of her size, type, and displacement. The Tayana 37 would make an excellent retirement cruiser for the experienced sailing couple. Properly handled and equipped, she could take you anywhere with confidence and reasonable dispatch.

Editors note: This review is an updated and expanded version of one previously published.

• Heavy Glass Hull Marks Tayana 37

• Tayana Yachts
• Tayana Owners Group

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The word “cost” without a number associated with it is just meaningless drivel. So how much would a “well-equipped Tayana 37 with most of the desirable options” cost? Ballpark, of course.

They run about $50K to 80K, depending more on condition, and whether or not they have been recently re-powered, than what year built.

A Baltic stern makes it impossible to have davits for the inflatable and difficult to have solar panels, and therefore is not wise for most cruising. Passage-making is another matter.

The excessive weather helm problem of the Tayana 37 has more to do with the mast position than anything else. The Tayang builders chose to place the mast 1′ farther aft than Bob Perry’s designs called for. Their reason was for larger accommodations in the forward cabin, namely dry lockers for hanging clothes and bedding, plus generous sized clothes drawers, and depending upon the floor plan, the addition of a private doorway entry into the head. And, as Darrell Nicholson points out, Tayang’s interior choices should not have been a greater priority than sailing characteristics. However, Tayana owners who have shortened the foot of the main & boom by 16″ to 18″ report that this has cured the weather helm problem without any noticeable loss of speed.

And, the point is well taken in regard to the nuisance and potential danger of the staysail boom. It’s really not an essential item and after removing it the sheeting can be configured in different ways to get good use out of the staysail.

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Tayana 48 review: hylas comparable.

The Robert H. Perry designed Tayana 48 is one of Taiwanese yard Ta Yang’s most successful models. In the 1970’s, Ta Yang was one of the earliest yards in the world’s boat building city, Kaohsiung. They built Yankee Clippers and the Tanton cat ketch among other design. Ta Yang which means in Chinese “Big Ocean” branded their own yachts “Tayana” meaning “belongs to big ocean.” And, oh did they belong. In 1979, Ta Yang started building the prolific Robert H. Perry designed Tayana 37. The famous Robert Harris designed Tayana 42 followed. They became one of the first Taiwanese yards to scale up and soon started building larger yachts including a Perry 52, Harris 65, and this Perry 48.

In the mid 1980’s, Tayana built a 47 version along the same Perry lines. According to SailboatData.com, Tayana extended her to become the 48 in 1992. Tayana is still making these fine yachts. As a side benefit to ownership, Tayana boasts arguably the most active owners group, TOG News. On their website, you can find detailed information about the 48 and other models. If you cannot find what you are looking for, email your question to the TOG News list, and many happy owners will respond.

First Impressions The 48 has a roundish aura. Some combination of the slight sheer, rocket ship stern, and flow of stanchions on deck give her a soft, appealing appearance. She has above average freeboard, a sharp bow with a broad beam of 14′ 6″ carried slightly aft of amidships. I will compare her here and throughout to the Hylas 46 and 49 as these are strikingly similar yachts in build and arrangement. In fact, the yards are in the same Taiwanese city. In the small world of Taiwanese boat building, the yard founders are related. Along with the 46 Hylas, the 48 has two portholes below deck one each side: one amidships and one aft to lighten up the saloon and master stateroom. The 48 is beamier amidships than the Hylas while the Hylas maintain that maximum well aft. The Tayana has more freeboard and a broader entry, a dryer yacht. At 70′ bridge clearance, she has more sail area than the 63′ high rigs of the Hylas 46 and 49. Bob Perry’s original specifications called for 70′, but many were built with Intracoastal rigs of 64′ clearance. Underneath, the 48 has a skeg hung rudder paired with a longer fin keel than the 46 and more like the 49. Her bottom is more roundish like the 49 S&S Hylas.

I feel like being a bit hard on Bob Perry because there is something missing aesthetically to the Tayana 48. The symmetrical portholes and generic cabin trunk of the Tayana 48 have always stuck me as a bit uninspired. The good news if you feel like me is that the Tayana 48 comes in a deck saloon version by Rob Ladd that breaks up that monotony with two large windows that may incite your passion, not to mention provide a panoramic view from below.

Construction Ta Yang builds their yachts tougher than cobs. They have lead the way in Taiwan since the beginning and continue to be one of the finest yards. The layup schedule uses mat and woven rovings and ortho-phthalic resins. An isopthalic gelcoat is sprayed on all exterior fiberglass surfaces. Interestingly, they use PVC cored hull construction in these days of solid glass. PVC insulates, strengthens, and lightens the hull. And with quality workmanship makes a solid shell that protects the core. The deck used to be high end grain balsa and now synthetic Balsatek. All deck hardware areas are reinforced using encapsulated marine grade plywood. Deck hardware is through bolted using stainless steel backing plates. There is not a molded liner in sight. An eggrate-like matrix of longitudinal and transverse foam cored stringers maximizes hull stiffness. The skeg mounted rudder has an internal stainless steel rudder post and integral stainless steel reinforcement secured with a bronze shoe.

One owners says, “I am generally pleased with the level of construction in our T48 – the hull seems to be bombproof, and the deck as well…I’ve not found any deck leaks yet, tho the mast leaks a fair amount during blowing rain. Every thru-deck opening I’ve encountered was properly epoxy-sealed to keep the core dry.” Compared to Hylas, the construction is similar except for the foam cored hull. Hylas are solid glass or possibly Twaran, a bulletproof Kevlar like aramid. The ballast material on Tayana 48’s is difficult to ascertain. According to the manufacturer, they use both lead and cast iron, depending on the order. The keel comes in shoal 5’3″ and deep 6’0″ versions. Usually the deep draft is cast iron. The shoal draft 5′-3″ has lead ballast. The Hylas 46 has external lead in 5’5″ and 6’6″ drafts while the Hylas 49 has internal lead of 6′ 0″ draft.

What To Look For Reviewing the TOG News archives, the most common complaint is of the steering. It is a cable-in-sleeve design which is “spongy” owners say meaning there is some looseness in the sleeve system. When it is heavily loaded, the cables act like they are stretching. One owner says, “The chain will jump cogs in the pedestal if you push hard enough. He suggests increasing the amount of support for the sleeves. Another owner says, “It can be a little unnerving to hear the chain bumping against the inside of the pedestal.” He thinks increasing his tension at the steering quadrant might help.

Another owner was disappointed in his stainless steel water tanks. He says to look for “poor welds that are rusting (and leaking) – the tanks will need to be completely replaced, and it won’t be cheap. The access plates should not be difficult to remove – but be warned, they will only go back on one way, so mark them before you remove.” Hiring Bob Perry as a consultant might be a worthwhile investment. Besides getting the change to speak to the legendary designer, Perry knows intimately the production problems of the Tayana 47/48 series. For the 47, Perry describes insufficient bracing with the rudder post in the first few hulls. Ta Yang retrofitted these with a strange steel framework.

Watch for the shoal versions of 5’3″. That is really a great Bahamas draft for a serious offshore yacht though the real draft with cruising weight is probably deeper. The DS versions have a deck mold by Robert Ladd with the same Robert H. Perry hull. These are raised salon models with extra tankage below the sole and a pilothouse type atmosphere. The 48 DS is more similar to the 46 Hylas than the standard version.

On Deck Aftmost built into the stern pulpit sometimes are teak seats. These seats are surprisingly comfortable and great spots when cruising. The swim platform is modern unlike most of the canoe sterned Robert H. Perry-Ta Yang designs. There is a handy aft lazarette but no chain locker access forward. The cockpit is beautiful with long seats for laying down and perfect level seating for the helm. One I saw had running backs which cluttered the side decks. The owners had a clever system of pulleys that once revealed fixed the problems. Using a pulley forward, the backstays neatly came down flush against the cabin trunk and quickly out of the way. My client noted, “Well one thing I do not like is there is not any space for a dinghy?” He was right. The coachroof goes well forward as on many R. Perry designs. The best option would be to have a special case built for a dinghy on deck to keep her out of the way. Davits would be another option.

Down Below The 48 comes in three standard layouts (A, B, C) and more custom ones. The changes affect the forward stateroom area while all version have a centerline queen aft and similar galley along the walkthough. The variations slightly change the orientation of the settees in the saloon and the navigation station. I saw one with exactly the same layout as a 46 Hylas with the head forward and portside Pullman. My client much preferred the Tayana 48’s layout. Particularly, the navigation station is a highlight. As the 48 is two feet longer than the 46 Hylas, that length enlarges the saloon-navigation station area. The comfortable swivel chair and extravagant controls made the navigation station the best I have ever seen.

A 48 may have two or three staterooms. The three stateroom versions remind you of a Hylas 49. With a V-berth forward and portside double, she is a small three stateroom yacht with tighter quarters than the 49. The two stateroom versions which are more common and valuable have a V-berth forward or portside Pullman and enlarged head and vanity storage areas. Ta Yang’s trademark golden tones of premium teak and stellar joinery work makes the interior spectacular on this truly luxurious yacht.

The number one reason a client might prefer the 48 over a Hylas is the separate stall shower in the aft stateroom. Standard layout 46’s and 49’s have the tremendously popular double walkthrough layout which opens up the interior but prevents the inclusion of a true stall shower. The 49 has a separate alcove in the head and meets this requirement better than the 46, but neither Hylas matches the value of the Tayana 48’s master shower.

Engine and Under Sail Access to the standard 62HP Yanmar is under the stainless sinks in and through the walkthrough. That means there is access from a single side on the engine while the generator under the sinks has front access through the companionway ladder. The fuel capacity is 120 gallons in a black steel tank. The 48 Tayana is a rare bread: a serious offshore sailor combined with excellent Caribbean cruising capability. The freeboard at the bow is relatively low, and waves can come over. An owner says, “We’ve taken a few waves that have hit the dodger but not often. At one point we were caught in a 10 mile six foot ‘square wave’ situation (height in feet = period in seconds) going upwind and we saw the bow lights glowing red and green from under water. The boat was fine the next day and we learned to listen to weather forecasts in Mexico.” Another owner notes:

How does she sail? Well, I don’t have any complaints, especially now that we’ve replaced the main and gotten the weather helm under control – good speed, quite stable and if you have a rail in the water, you really ought to reef, ‘cuz you’ll go faster. We tack thru 90 degrees if the wind is above 10-12 knots, and I am NOT a racer, nor are my trimming skills race-ready!

Conclusion These 48’s are a relatively common yacht with the success of Ta Yang. Robert H. Perry and Ta Yang have given this soft appearing cruisers serious skills offshore. A quick search of the brokerage market shows 11 48’s ranging from $320,000 to $675,750 on the used market. The TOG News owners exchange is the premier place for more questions.

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