Tayana 55 1988/90 is she good for serious oceans crossing???

[johnnymac]

Hi i have heard good things regarding the 55,Finish is good, tankage ect is huge for extended periods at sea and beam is almost 16 feet.I will be living aboard for years and crossing oceans.
Any advice on the 55 good or bad please.
thanks johnnymac

[poopdeckpappy]

I almost bought one and when things turn around, I'll start looking again for a 55, right now we are living on a 37 tayana.

Cam will give for first hand info, I think he still has his

[camaraderie]

Nope...I had a 52 and prefer it to the 55...but if the question is...is it built well to cross oceans...my answer is that there are few better at any price and none in the same range.
Problem areas tend to be tanks...removal and replacement is a big job. Decks...20 year old teak decks can cause big repairs IF they have not been well cared for...but the teak is thick and ours (1987) were absolutely no problem as they had been well cared for.

You have to also consider the draft and mast height on the 55. It is a bit deep for some places and too tall for the ICW. Other places it is not an issue.

Note that the mainsail is huge and you absolutely need help in handling it...roller furling, boom furling, battcar/stowaway system or similar and perhaps a power winch for raising and putting in a reef. I'm a VERY big guy...and ours exhausted me till we got the winch...and it is smaller than the 55. Be sure you are capable of doing it manually too though...can't rely on electrics!
Peter Beeldsnijder is the designer...unlike the Perry designed 37 and 52...but Bob apparently likes the boat too based on his review. Me...I like the 52 ...and she sailed like a dream and was soooo seakindly compared to all our other boats.

That said...either boat has a wonderful liveaboard space and craftsmanship b elow decks you don't find today...and either will take you anywhere in safety and comfort.

[johnnymac]

Thanks cam.Yes for the price around 300 i think they are a fine fine yacht,the deep draft is fine with me as it ads to the stability index ect.Some blue water so called experts by pass the Tayana in good deep water ocean crossing yachts, and some love them.The tayana's iam looking at are 20 years old so there could be problem with decks and blistering,but i have work in many boat yards in my youth so working on my floating palace is not work at all for me.
thanks for your input.
johnny

[svsirius]

We had both the 52 and 55 on our short list. No reason not to get one. WE just found something we liked better.

[johnnymac]

Svsirius.cheers, the moody 47 is a fine yacht

[Jeff_H]

I tried to ignore this as best I could but curiosity got the best of me. I guess I need to ask, “why are you considering such a large boat?”

I see inquiries like this and it really raises my curiosity. I think what is this person planning? I know you can buy these boats pretty cheaply for their size and they are far superior than some of the other boats of this size and age, but takes a lot of very strong folks to sail a boat like this and a lot of money to keep one of these old girls in operational condition (maybe 15%- 25% of purchase price per year in operating costs for one that hasn’t been updated and had all long term maintenance performed. For example, a new mainsail designed and built for offshore use and some standing rigging, costs almost as much as I paid for my 38 footer) Boats like these take a huge amount of skill to handle safely, and at some level, I find myself thinking, if a person had the experience to handle a boat like this, they would also probably have the experience to know whether a boat like the Tayana 55 made sense for them without coming to a forum predominantly populated by, relatively speaking, small boat sailors.

I think my esteemed friend, Cam glossed over the sheer manpower that it takes to sail and properly handle a boat this size safely and reliably. The loads increase exponentially with length and displacement. This is after all a 48,000 lb boat

To couch this in the simplest form, without power winches or really high tech manual (i.e. coffee grinder type) winches and a lot of strength and endurance, simply tacking the jib and traveler will grind a normal person down. (Most of the early Tayana 55's do not appear to have electrically driven winches or coffee grinders.) And with the double headsail rig, dragging the Genoa through the slot precludes the type of timed tacks that make tacking a big boat manageable.

It is the sheer forces involved and the size of the crew needed that make this a questionable choice as a globe trotter, except in the case where the boat is being used as some kind of training vessel for young adults or where there will be professional crew managing the boat.

Its not that properly set up, a very talented and experienced skipper could not handle a boat this size in most conditions, and it’s just that when something goes wrong, the forces are overwhelming and things are likely to escalate.


So while my question, "What do you have in mind?" is just curiousity, to get a meaningful answer I suggest that it might be helpful to formulating an answer if you provided more information.

Respectfully,
Jeff

[JohnRPollard]

As Cam mentioned, sea and air draft could be issues. That is where Cam's old boat, the ketch rigged 52, had an advantage. Along the lines of what Jeff said above, there comes a point where it begins to make sense to split the rig. Where exactly that point falls is debatable, but I think once you're up above 50 feet you're well within the realm.

I could be mistaken, but I seem to recall that there is a schooner-rigged version of this model? Maybe that would serve?

[johnnymac]

Jeff,first of i want the longest water line i can afford,the faster the passage for me the better,as she will be sailed in the south pacific mostly.When making passages there will be 3 blue water sailors on board.i will be living on board with my girl and dog and working out of her.iam not a big fan on cramped spaces,iam 40 years old so strength is not a problem, i am not racing from island to island at all, and slow is fine, especially in tight areas,the size of her is no big deal for me.i know Tayana is a good yacht but it does not hurt to ask people who owen then if they are happy with the performance.
As far as iam concerned bigger is better in the yachting world,i have work on yacht most of my live in pro boat yards, decks engines varnish/paint antifoul.Is no problem.
johnny

[johnnymac]

John,
the hight and the draft is not a problem for me as she will not be going near the ICW.
johnny