Future Directions for the Tasar
The following item was posted to the bulletin board on the
Australian Tasar Council website by WTCA President, Chris
Parkinson
The 2004 Tasar Strategic Planning workshop was held recently. The
over-riding objective to come out of the session was to seek ways
to extend the lifecycle of the Tasar class. There are many things
we can do collectively to promote the class and increase our
sailing enjoyment. These have been detailed in the updated
strategic plan. (To be published soon on the website once the final
draft has been finished.) On top of these initiatives, perhaps the
major facet of extending the life cycle of the Tasar relates to the
boat and its supply, now and into the future. The fact that
something in the vicinity of 20 new Tasars will be built this
calendar year is testament to the ongoing appeal of the boat. If
you talk amongst Tasar sailors though, there are a few major causes
of concern that need to be addressed in order to keep the class
moving forward. These concerns relate mainly to -
• The cost of Tasars and equipment such as foils and sails
• A lack of uniformity in boats from one region to another in
terms of sails and fittings, compromising the class' one-design
principle
In an ideal world, all Tasars would be built in one location, all
with standard fittings and equipped with sails made in just one
loft, using the same materials and template. Everything would be
half the price it is now too!
Well, this may sound a little far fetched but I think all would
agree a worthwhile goal to strive for. So following on from the
workshop, which was attended enthusiastically by Frank Bethwaite,
it was decided to see what could be done to address these two major
concerns. A meeting was scheduled at Bethwaite Design in Sydney
last week with the principle focus being what can we do
collectively to extend the life cycle of the Tasar. The overriding
proviso being no compromising anything we love about the boat for
the sake of "progress."
In summary, the meeting was a resounding success with all
stakeholders agreeing in principle that uniformity of supply was a
worthwhile and achievable goal. Various ideas have been floated and
now the practical implications have to be worked through. The
Builder has quite a job to work through what can and can't be done
when taking into account continuity of supply, existing
relationships and future supply and demand, all framed within the
idealistic expectations of we Tasar sailors. Once a workable
implementation plan is agreed upon, the normal constituted
approvals process will be put in place.
The first major initiative that will commence shortly is the trial
of redesigned sails using a more modern material. These sails must
fit the existing spars and be similar in area however there will be
some experiment will shape to accommodate the different
characteristics of the new material over dacron. The reason for
this initiative is to ensure supply well into the future and reduce
the cost of sails - the early indications are that this is
possible. The by-product is that the boat will look more up to date
with sails made of a modern material. The time frame on the sails
is to have the proposed set available for viewing and discussing in
Darwin and if agreed would then follow the normal rule change
procedure.
It would be fair to say that the purpose of this note is to
pre-empt any argument about the future direction of the class. The
Tasar II proposal demonstrated that by and large, Tasar sailors
don't want change for changes sake. This initiative by the ATC and
Bethwaite Design collectively is all about ensuring we are still
able to sail Tasars ten years from now in boats that reflect all
the good points about the today's Tasar and ideally, none of the
bad points.
Stay tuned for more detail as a workable plan takes shape.
Chris Parkinson, President
World Tasar Class Association