Tasar is 30!

hi Guys, 

I have been sailing as an average standard  Tasar sailor for the past seven years in handicap mode at QMSC . Their best handicap wind strength is above 12 knots. They DO NOT sail well against the likes of RS 200, Phantoms, Scorpions and Flying 15's in sub 12 knots but course format has a big impact. We are almost unbeatable on a windy M course.  In a windy Black Rock Pursuit and QMSC pursuit I finished 20 mins (corrected) in front of a quality sailed RS 200, beat all RS 400 and finished 5th overall to RS 700s and Dart cats. The winder it is the better they sail to their handicap and all without a kite or trapeze  they are also rated as one of the most comfortable hiking boats ever built. Dont know where the light wind comments come from, certainly not QMSC experience.

Consequently they are popular with Parent child and  couples combos and frequently sailed as second boats.

 A 140kg combo will plane up wind in force four on inland water. Ignore all other comments on the threads!! A 165kg combo will plane up wind in force four but will be left behind on tight reaches and dead down wind against the lighter Tasar crews.

My boat is over 25 years old, weighs 58kg cost less than £500 and as a class we get 35 boats at Nationals. So please somebody please explain why people still buy over weight slow expensive RS200s. Something to do with marketing B*** S*** Have you ever weighed a 200 and compared it with the manufacturers figures. Try it you will be surprised!!

New Boats are now readily available, and with the new Mylar sails they really are one of sailings best kept secrets, but, a technical niche boat just read Franks book

Yes they do have faults but it was designed with racing pedigree above marketing B S. Any body wanting a trial sail is welcome to sail my boat and we can always arrange loans  for Nationals attendence.

Rod Porteous Tasar 351

Hi 5420

You could win the Nationals in my Boat no problem, purchased at £500 replacement bits and pieces sub £100, Mylar sails £650.Or you could buy off the shelf new boat 6.5k they are superb and built  to a very high quality by Bethwaite boats. However I also run 2  no 29ers and a Topper so my sailing has to be on a budget!! Lucky kids eh!

Recently some really top quality boats went for well under 1.5 -2k.race ready in Dacron mode  But there is always the over priced tat about, seek class association advice first

Boat weight is a much debated class issue and I have strong views but not necessarily correct. In my view Light is best, early boats were 58 kgs and can still be found with  help from those in the know, the weight steadily increased and a book can be written about the changes . For a short period some 80 kg barges were built.Current class rules is 68Kg. Up end the boat onto its transom and put onto a bathroom scale to weigh. Try that with an RS 200 single handed!! But condition must also be taken into consideration

In drifter, sub 2 knot Dacrons probably best, 1 -20 Knots Mylar best. 20-25 Knots equal. Above 25 I think, but only marginal, Dacrons take over due to greater ability to change shape but in this strength  I need some more practice.

The  real  advantage of the Trannies is the increased visibility which makes sailing the boat so much easier, just ask any windward mark port tack barger!! mentioning no names!!

A well sailed Dacron boat will still beat a less well sailed Trannie boat.Same old story, its the man on the stick.

The Tasar is a very Techy boat, it really is a triumph of racing design over marketing. Ignore the horror stories and sail one in 20 Knots and you will be guaranrteed to be knocked flat by its performance.

If you are near QMSC you are welcome to a trial sail

Rod

i probly wont get one but i was thinking i would love to sail one with my bro at the nssa to see if we could win it

and i must admit they look relly cool but it would be the same story as my 29er i had i would have an awsome boat with no one to sail it woth

Porteus is correct about the Tasars exceptionally clever design - and the fact that you can get a fully competitive boat occasionally at bargain prices.  £ 1k would be tough but not impossible but £ 2k is relatively easy and at £3k its almost a certainty - He was lucky to find a very good one going for a song but older Tasar's do not seem to age in the way that some manufacturers suggest (as they try and tempt you with a new hull every few years !)  Generally worst case a bit of DIY and a set of new sails might be required - say £ 700 - compare that with the alternatives but the mains do last very well so maybe just a jib ....

It's a tough boat to sail on handicap in lighter winds here in the UK, it takes time to adjust to its demands,  but you just have to try one to appreciate why it seems to turn ordinary sailors into class fanatics.  Anyway who can get too excited about winning any race let alone a handicap one in near drifter type conditions.   When it blows it's fantastic and will embarrass any number of current SMOD's occasioanally both on the water and on handicap.  Why no recent UK SMOD manufacturer has not pinched many of its key concepts is a complete mystery !   It's relatively simple and if it had been better marketed in the UK back in the late 70's and early 80's would have become a major class here as it is in a number of other countries.  

It will still be a refined international class and gently growing  when many of the current SMOD favorites here have been quietly dumped by manufacturers.  Overweigh and over-hyped many current UK SMOD designs will continue to struggle in the future to make the transition to becoming truly international.   It took the bethwaites to show that (near) SMOD's could be both truly innovative and exciting and international in appeal and any new package has to be at least as good as most of their ones to make it.

The Tasar did it decades ago, was years ahead of its time then and still sets the highest standards even today - it is simply one of the very best of any age, a veritable design classic.

Blaze 720