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Tayana 55

19K views 47 replies 13 participants last post by  labatt 
#1 ·
Would anyone have any idea... If I'm looking at a Tayana 55, what problem areas should I make sure to inspect?

Thanks!!
 
#3 · (Edited)
Some Tayanas, might be inhabited by these strange creatures....in it self a reason to walk away from a perfectly good boat....





They smell, are loud, writte a lot of things about GPS's and some, tend to dress as girls....they drool over boat electronics, specially sound systems.

Low rate photoshop skills, it is said, that most tend to migrate into RV trips...only rumors....

This might be a reason not to aquire one of those boats, specially painted in PATRIOTIC AWLGRIP

This is what happens when you ask them to leave...

 
#5 ·
Chris,
Since I have a Tayana I visit the TOG site now and then. It's the right place to ask your question but I don't think I've ever seen reference to a 55. It's mostly populated by 37s and some 42s. It has nowhere near the activity of this site. Cam is probably your best bet. Good luck.
Tom Shannon
 
#6 ·
Have also been researching Tayana 55s. Agree tognews is not a very good source of information for the 55s, or even the 52s. I am guessing it's because there are so few.

I'd recommend finding your local "new" tayana dealer, and getting an inspector recommendation from them. Maybe someone who inspected these boats when they came in as new, or has inspected them over their lifetime. My local broker was able to make such a recommendation. FWIW they are still making the T55 center cockpit, though are pushing the T55/58 Deck Salon which seems to be a cosmetic redesign only and the original hull is essentially the same.

Not a specific Tayana thing, but everyone brings up concerns on the teak decks due to the way they were constructed. You'd want to find out if they were redone, and if not if there are problems. Also whether they will be due for being redone again. This is common to other boats though, so I think any inspector will catch this.

It seems that they were well built and that any issues to look for are no different than that of any other aging sailboat. Rigging, sails, hardware, engine, all should have been serviced, replaced, etc at the right times. I'm basing this assessment on reading what people have replaced on their boats.

A knowleadgable inspector familiar with these boats though will have seen all kinds of things I'm sure.

Please share if you find out about any issues though!
 
#7 · (Edited)
I emailed the admin at Tognews about getting an account earlier.. I have to go see if he set me up with one... I figured I'd catch Cam's eye on this post...

Tom - How's the new boat working out? It feels strange to have bought a new boat less than a year ago and to be already out looking again... and I had also bought a new boat the year before that! This "fast track to cruising" thing is starting to get expensive :)
 
#9 ·
Chris,
The new boat is working out great, I'm really happy with it. As with any boat there are always things to fix(sometimes because I break them) or upgrade but that is half the fun. I'm on the Chesapeake this summer to shake it down but plan to move to Cape May or Atlantic City next year. My last boat was kept at Farley Marina in AC about 25 years ago but I think it's Harrahs now. The Bay is nice but I like ocean sailing a lot more. I plan to go to Maine and Bermuda next year and it's just a lot easier to leave from NJ than the Sassafras. I've been reading your posts and it sounds like you're having a ball also. Good luck and if I had the money I'd be looking at Cam's boat.
Tom
 
#10 ·
Labatt...Well...nothing really different than any of the Taiwan boats of the 80's and early 90's.
Decks...blisters...tanks...chain plates seem to be the problem areas and need to be looked at closely. Nothing to worry about in the structure or hull layup.
Of course engine needs a survey as well. There are VAST differences in these boats based on care/upkeep over the years. I looked at many Taiwan CC boats before I bought mine. I generally knew within 5 minutes to walk away from a boat and given your Passport experience now...I think you will find the same.
One thing I would caution on the 55 is that the air draft and keel depth are NOT good for East Coast bridges ICW and the Bahamas. I don't think they made these in anything except a sloop/cutter so I would pay attention to mainsail handling system and genny...as they have to be a handful without electrics. They trade very close in price to the T52 since they are not as desirable...but the layout may meet your family needs.
Hope that helps a bit.
 
#12 ·
Cam -- they did make a Tayana 55 Schooner, and there are both aft and center cockpit versions of the 55.

The schooner version is a stunning boat.. one on YW here: http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=1671372

Also there are three keel options available, the shallowest is a centerboard with 5'3" draft.. So a centerboard schooner would be just the thing for the ICW.. Maybe someone somewhere ordered that config!
 
#15 ·
This schooner has 10 entries on YW all under different brokers.. So maybe they are a real motivated seller. It's listed lower with a US broker: http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatFullDetails.jsp?boat_id=1700142

Lack of the Perry name hasn't quelled my interest, though looking at Beeljsnijder sail portfolio he has credits for the interior design but not the naval archecture of nearly all the vessels in his porfolio. Maybe the 55 was an evolutionary hull design on the 52, and it was mostly cosmetic from the waterline up? Kind of like the new 55/58 CC/DS/PH versions..

The centerboard version gets you to a 9'10" draft, I'd expect that would help you point quite nicely but I wish I could find some real technical data on this. That and really any other performance data. I've found one base PHRF rating for a T-55 at 54 (NE PHRF)
 
#16 ·
There's more info on that schooner at http://www.tayana55.com/ ... if it had three cabins I'd be all over it! And we haven't crossed Cam's baby off the list... the boat we're looking at just happens to be about 5 minutes from where we'll be this weekend...
 
#19 ·
It said the owner just finished a US$500k refit... I'd love to know the list of stuff. I love the concept of the boat though... four furlers, electric operation from the cockpit... staysail... very nicely done. The kids would love it too since it comes with both the sailing dinghy and the Caribe center console RIB with a 40HP. Can you say tubing? I also like the way they did the salon/galley/nav station setup with the additional settee midships. The amount of storage looks excellent. If they only had a 3rd cabin!!! For the price, I'd buy it and put another $300k of refit (if necessary) and still be ahead of where we were planning!
 
#20 ·
I've done something wrong in life if I couldn't figure a way to make a deal like that work . . . at least for a few years anyway. But as Cam pointed out, an '83 Taiwan boat - refit or not, will require a sizable maintenance/operating budget in the cruising kitty.

If this is obtainable, most here I'm sure, are envious you're able to do this with a still young family. Wishing you good luck in your endeavor.
 
#21 ·
TB...ANY 50+ ft. older boat will require a sizeable maintenance budget but if there has been an extensive & recent re-fit with attention to decks, rig, tank issues, engine etc (as opposed to cosmetics & electronics.)....then it might not need much at all for a while. That 55 looks in good shape from the pictures.
 
#22 ·
Which is why we're looking for a boat in the $275k-$400k range as a base, but then we'll fix up everything that needs fixing... That way we'll hopefully minimize needed repairs during our actual cruise...
 
#23 ·
Labatt, I may be dumb.....I don't understand...for that money as a budget, just buy a new boat, that needs little further investment and get done with it....

Why are you going to spend that amount of money in a crapy old 1980's ****ty boat???

Get a new one and get done...I don't get it...
 
#24 ·
It's something we talk about... a new Passport 515CC, for example, would be about $800k-$900k, last we checked. We think we can find a late '80s boat and refit it for $500k-$600k, and save ourselves a few hundred thousand. Plus, we're not sure we want a new boat - then we'll always worry about dropping something on the nice new floors, or scratching the imron, or doing something to damage our beauty! We're cruising for 18 months - new might just be scary :)
 
#25 ·
Giu...have you priced a new Passport/Oyster/Tayana/HR/Hylas or other similar quality NEW 50+' boat???
You're looking in the neighborhood of $700K-1,000,000
If you can get that quality for less than half price and fix everything and refit for less than $100k...it can pay for quite a few years of cruising. That's what we did and in many ways, I would rather have a boat that is built to the old standards than the way even the premium boats are built today. (Example...cored hulls).
 
#26 · (Edited)
So these are not good???? I'd rather go 18 months in one of these, than in an 20 year old "good" "revamped" boat (its still a 20 year old ****ty boat)....that is just the way you my American friends think and are....only the old are good, its a fashion you guys follow....but I see that all over here in sailnet...I read you guys...to you what is good is old Pearson, Hylas (what a frekkin joke), Tayana, Pacific, passport....we are sooooo diferent.....

Please check bellow....just have a look...you're all victims of: "the only good boats to cruise are old solid boats that were built before CNC machines and toilet paper was invented and that I spend a lot of money but everyone at sailnet will love me" disease.....

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...th=40&man=grand+soleil&slim=quick&searchtype=

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...th=40&fromPrice=400000&slim=quick&searchtype=

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...9&so=0&ps=20&n=1:1:14079:22206:63&searchPage=

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...Length=40&man=beneteau&slim=quick&searchtype=

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...Length=40&man=beneteau&slim=quick&searchtype=

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...th=40&fromPrice=400000&slim=quick&searchtype=

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...th=40&fromPrice=400000&slim=quick&searchtype=

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...so=0&n=1%3A1%3A14079%3A22206%3A63&searchtype=
 
#27 ·
I should have also mentioned I like classic lines :) The Vagabond is OK, but in Europe... I'm looking for a solid (heavy) cruising boat that can do everything from coastal to transatlantic to the Panama Canal, etc. We absolutely love our 1984 Passport 40, and I'm constantly amazed at the number of people (many with the boats you have links to) who are mesmerized by its sheer and design. I've done my share of racing, and what I want is a pure cruising boat. I also don't want a coastal cruiser or dock queen. I want something romantic. I want a boat that I say "I can't believe I own that" everytime I come up to it. Your "20 year old ****ty boat" is the one that I want to live in, and the racer you own is one I might like to play with on weekends (and used to when I raced on Long Island Sound). By the way, have you actually seen the interior of a Passport, Tayana, Hallberg-Rassy, etc., or the exterior fit and finish? And then compared that to a Beneteau, or Hanse or DuFour? There is absolutely no comparison.

By the way, I'd buy a new Passport or Tayana in a heartbeat, and it's something we're considering. Hell - I could buy a new Oyster 56 for a couple of million if I really wanted to, but I certainly didn't get to where I am in life by overspending. I think a late '80s or early '90s boat, refitted, will do us just fine.
 
#28 ·
OK, now you have explained.

You are attracted to the lines and the romaticism of an old design. Then in that case makes sense.

I too prefer the 60's and 70's Ferrarri to the new ones. I got it now as to why you want them. I still think its a trend in the US.

I know the tayana and HR inside, and let me tell you, the GS is up to that level, or the Nauticat.

Now...since you're talking mega bucks....I have one word for you, ....NAUTOR
 
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