Tayana 37 Sailboat, an Owner's and Buyer's Review

Bob Perry's answer to the Westsail craze

In the mid 1970s the Westsail 32 had convinced thousands of Americans that a heavy double-ender was the only proper way to cross an ocean. The Tayana 37 was the Taiwanese yards' most successful reply. Robert Perry drew a boat that looked traditional above the waterline, with a Baltic canoe stern that borrows from Aage Nielsen's ketch Holger Danske, but with a longer waterline and a far more efficient cutter rig than the Westsail.

The design was commissioned by Will Eckert of Flying Dutchman Yachts together with C.T. Chen of Ta Yang Yacht Building, which took over the rights. Ta Yang first sold the boat as the CT 37, also built it as the Ta Chiao 37 and Ta Yang 37, and from 1979 marketed it as the Tayana 37. The builder's own count stood at 588 around 2012, with the boat still available to order, while Practical Sailor and Charles Doane put the total at about 600 or more. Doane called it the most successful of the Taiwan-built double-ended full-keel cruisers, and reported that at any given time there are more Tayana 37s wandering the globe than any other single type of sailboat.

A long keel with the forefoot cut away

The key number is waterline: 31 feet on a 36 foot 8 inch hull, against 27 feet 6 inches on a Westsail 32. That gives a hull speed of roughly 7.5 knots. Perry trimmed the forefoot and hung the rudder on the back of a modified long keel, which reduces wetted surface and makes the boat noticeably livelier than the full-keel boats it competed with.

Displacement is 22,500 pounds with 8,000 pounds of ballast, a displacement to length ratio of about 337 and a ballast ratio around 36 percent. The comfort ratio is about 41 and the capsize screening number about 1.63. The hull carries molded-in plank seams, a cosmetic nod to wooden boats that you either love or ignore.

Spruce spars, weather helm and the fixes owners settled on

The Tayana 37 carries about 846 square feet as a cutter, the ketch a little over 750. The rig is large for a cruising boat and is why a well-sailed Tayana surprises owners of lighter boats on a reach. But early rigs had real problems. Practical Sailor found wooden masts with massive sections and very thick walls, one with a large knot just at spreader height, and a spruce boom so small it would bend like a rubber band.

Owners also reported heavy weather helm. Part of it came from excessive mast rake, part from stretchy, poorly cut sails from the original loft, and part from the boat's tenderness at small angles of heel. Reducing rake, buying modern sails and reefing early solve most of it. An aluminum rig is the single best upgrade, and on the used market it is worth paying extra for.

Smaller annoyances included an outhaul slide that tended to distort or break, a traveler that sometimes needed a kick after each tack, and a staysail boom that makes moving forward awkward. Many boats now have a staysail on a furler with no boom at all.

Teak everywhere, the interior that sells the boat

Step below and the reason for the Tayana's popularity is obvious. Practical Sailor called the joinery on later boats some of the best it had seen, with near-flawless joints, paneled doors and drawers dovetailed from solid stock. The finish is teak throughout, lit by eleven bronze ports, a teak-framed skylight and a forward hatch.

The common layout has a double V-berth forward, a U-shaped settee and drop-leaf dinette in the saloon with a pilot berth above, a U-shaped galley to port with a three-burner propane stove and oven, a nav station opposite, and a double berth aft to starboard. The head is to port with a shower and teak grating. Later Mark II boats often have a more open arrangement.

Two cautions. The all-teak cabin feels dark to many people, and all that wood needs oiling or varnishing. Second, layouts varied because Ta Yang built many boats to order, so view the actual boat rather than trusting a brochure plan.

Sea manners, light-air sluggishness and handling under power

The Tayana 37 heels early, then firms up, and that initial tenderness is part of what makes it comfortable in a seaway. Directional stability is excellent, and the cutter is easy to sail short-handed. Below about 10 knots of true wind the boat is sluggish, and a drifter or code zero earns its keep.

Under power, performance is sedate rather than sprightly, given the wetted surface and displacement. Owners rate low-speed handling fair to good going ahead, but in reverse the long keel and keel-hung rudder make it unpredictable. One owner described it backing up like a drunken elephant. Plan dockings with springs and use prop walk rather than fighting it.

The 650 pound fuel problem in the bow

Tankage is generous: about 90 gallons of fuel and 100 of water. On many boats the main fuel tank sits under the V-berth, so a full tank puts roughly 650 pounds in the bow and trims the boat down by the head. After owner feedback Ta Yang offered an amidships location, including a tank in the keel area. Ask which arrangement a boat has; amidships fuel makes for a better boat at sea.

Tanks were black iron and eventually rust. Fuel tanks are relatively accessible, so replacement is a job rather than a catastrophe, but water tanks were the bigger casualty and many boats have already had theirs replaced with stainless or plastic. Engines over the years included the Yanmar 3QM30, the Perkins 4-108 and the Volvo MD17C. Most surviving boats have been repowered.

The survey items that decide a Tayana 37's price

Almost every Tayana 37 has had at least some of these problems by now. The question is whether a previous owner fixed them properly. Join the Tayana owners association before you buy, since documented fixes for nearly every known issue already exist.

• Teak decks screwed down over a cored deck, leaking into the core as the bungs and caulking fail
• Early hull-to-deck joints forming a hollow bulwark pierced by hawsepipes and scuppers
• Black iron fuel and water tanks rusting from the outside
• Bronze rudder heel fitting fastened with stainless bolts, prone to galvanic corrosion
• Laminated wooden bowsprit rotting underneath
• Weaker wiring and lower-grade stainless fittings on boats built before 1981

Buying in a market with hundreds of choices

Asking prices run from about $30,000 for a project to around $110,000 for a late, well-refit boat. Most decent examples trade between $45,000 and $80,000. Because supply is deep, you can afford to walk away from a boat with an original teak deck, wooden spars and iron tanks.

Annual costs of $7,000 to $16,000 cover insurance, a 37 to 40 foot slip and routine maintenance, but teak deck work and varnish add to that. Remember that the bowsprit stretches overall length to about 42 feet, which some marinas will bill.