The Boat

The Tasar

The Tasar was a designed by Frank Bethwaite and was widely considered to be well ahead of its time. With its lightweight, fine lined hull and sophisticated rig it is easily driven to high-performance without the need for trapeze or spinnaker.

The design concept allows teams of all shapes and sizes to compete with the class being particularly popular with couples, parent and child combinations and friends alike. Typical crew weights range from 130 – 150kgs … and some a little higher.

The boats are well made, and hulls remain competitive for many years; the recent GBR National Championships was won by a 22-year-old boat.

The Tasar is an international class, with strong fleets in Australia, USA, Britain, and Japan. The class gained status from the World governing body for sailing in November 2001 permitting the class to hold an officially recognised World Championships. This create opportunities for international travel for owners.

Specifications:

• Length overall: 14 feet 10 inches (4.52 m)
• Waterline length: 14 feet 0 inches (4.27 m)
• Beam: 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m)
• Weight: Hull, fully rigged without spars, sails or foils: 149 pounds (68 kilograms)
• Crew: Two, design crew weight 300 pounds (140 kilograms), minimum crew weight for racing 287 pounds (130 kilograms) (When boats are sailed by crews weighing less than this, ballast is carried to equalize performance.)
• Sails: Sails were originally polyester fiber. PET film sails were adopted in 2006.
• Mainsail: PET film – 89.44 sq ft (8.309 m²)., 8.31 m². (Polyester fiber – 90 square feet (8.4 m²) – 8.36 square metres)
• Jib: PET film – 38.42 sq ft (3.569 m²)., 3.57 m². (Polyester fiber – 33 square feet (3.1 m²) – 3.07 square metres)
• Portsmouth Yardstick Handicap: 1022
• Construction: GRP foam sandwich for the hull, hollow aluminium section for the spars
• Designers: Frank Bethwaite