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Tasar Intro>Buying a Tasar - Checking

Buying a Tasar - Areas to check 

The Tasar was the first boat in the world to use the then-new rigid PVC coring for bottom, sides and deck, so there was no industry experience on which to draw. We deliberately over-designed the strength of the panels because nobody was sure how the rigid core would handle the stresses of long hours in rough water. In the event, the over-designing combined with the flawless behaviour of the rigid foam has lead to our building one of the strongest and potentially durable boats ever built. However, the joints between the panels of the early boats were nowhere near as strong as the panels, and the changes in weight noted above have all been aimed at strengthening the joints.

  • The side bulkhead to floor joint - In early boats this joint tends to flex and the gelcoat shows hairline cracks. Any dark crack indicates that the glass laminate is also failing and repair will be needed. The flexing which causes the cracking has been systematically reduced, and does not occur in recent boats.

  • The deck areas where the helm and the forward hand sit - The fore and aft joints in these areas gave most of the trouble in early boats. Any softness indicates that major repair will be needed. A series of four changes culminating in a major laminate re-design in 1982 about boat number 1960 (immediately prior to the first Navy purchase of 82 boats) has eliminated this problem completely. No subsequent boat has shown stress or gone soft.

  • The deck to hull gunwale join - The gunwale "works" constantly with handling, and this join seems to need servicing every five years or so. It is a routine job.

  • Hull to daggerboard envelope - The envelope is glued to a spigot in the hull and further reinforced with "tabs" - strips of laminate in the envelope/hull join. The life of this join depends on how hard and how often the forward hand kicks the envelope. Enthusiastic and misdirected forcing of the daggerboard can also damage it. Check for cracks in the tabbing, and look down the daggerboard slot to check the glue-line integrity. Cracks are easily repaired. Trouble with the spigot is serious.

  • Gudgeons (the fittings that take the rudder pintles) - Originally plastic, replaced with stainless steel because the plastic fittings polymerise and become brittle and break without warning. Check that the eight bolts, washers and nyloc nuts have not been replaced with screws which pull out under load. Press the top gudgeon in, if there is substantial movement in the glass-fibre behind, then the transom strengthening has come away (usually by misuse) and a relatively simple repair will be needed.

  • Shroud plates - First area to be reinforced in Australian-built boats. Seldom any problem. Check that the assembly of upper and lower tracks and bolts and nuts are all tight. Check adjacent fibreglass for distortion. This is where the hull takes the greatest point load.

  • Mast and topmast condition - People sometimes put fittings on without taking care over the electrolytic impact and cause erosion on the alloy tubes. Check how the fittings are attached.

  • T-shaped thwart to side-tank join - Can take a lot of stress especially if the crew jumps into the boat via the thwart - discourage this practice. Look for crazing around where the thwart is fastened to the side-tank.

Whilst all this may sound negative, remember that the Tasar is unique in the longevity of the hull and gear, cheap to maintain with sails and fittings lasting far longer than most other boats and hulls remaining competitive throughout the boats life due to their inherent stiffness. New boats have all the detail strengthening evolved over twenty five years so need almost zero maintenance, and are as light as the initial boats.

Tony Keever, with assistance from Frank Bethwaite

Posted 00-08-28

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