What is a Tayana 37?

It is hard to state how pleasing on the eye the Tayana 37 is, a beautiful looking yacht. But rather than bore you with the details, simply refer to the below link and let the experts tell you. 
TOG = tayana's Owners Group is an active group with unlimited knowledge to tap into - a huge positive for any new boat owner.

http://www.ftp.tognews.com/Publications/Reviews/Good_Old_Boat_Magazine/Tayana37Mar05.pdf

Needless to say each yacht owner has their own opinion on these matters. Catch a few on a pacific island with a cold beer on hand, and you may even be led to believe, based on the robust arguments, yacht design is the B all and End all of lifes circles. Wait until they start talking about "weather".

We have passaged 170nmile days and equally hove too for several to avoid damage and rest. 8.5knots is a respectable speed, but typically far too fast for short handed ocean sailing. I am happy with my 5.5 to 7knot speeds, so what if we arrive two or three days later, in the grand scheme of things.

The truth be known, when you safely anchored in paradise, speed is all but irrelevant. Water, shade, good food, no repairs and fine company, become so much more of why you commit to the hard times.

Finding our home - Adventure Bound

After crossing USA (west to east); driving  from Carolina to Rhode Island; return plane trips offshore to extend visas; we were back at the same yard we had previously sea trialed, hauled and surveyed a different T37 .... 

We were finally guided to a private seller, and after spending 2 nights aboard enjoying her warmth, Adventure Bound was chosen to take us home.

  

The hard yards in the yard

A word of caution, when a area has four separate seasons, you only have three months before the weather changes. So with the visa ticking away, a smelly Menhaden Fish Oil factory upwind there was ample reason to launch her & sail her south.

Donny cooled us off under his trees when the heat index climbed too high - and to Marcelle's delight we were invited to his family's crab picnic -and the "southern" hospitality -  thank you. 

Some boats never relaunch - as Charlie from the yard shows us how to drain the summer rain water from a flooded boat - a big drill undersides!

a.     What we removed

Rudder, peeling varnish, TV and DVD, sub woofer, dingy davits, lots of wires, protractor modem engine driven refrigeration, full length mirror in the heads and so on and so on. All part of focusing on getting her sea worthy and ready for a knockdown.

b.     What we repaired?

The rudder, prop shaft removed and inspected. Gland packing redone. The emergency tiller was trimmed back 3 foot as it didn't fit on the spigot. Bowsprit was lowered to the ground, stripped, varnished and resealed. Roller furlers free up and rigs re tensioned.

c.      Finally the launch day arrives

A truly beautiful day for the launch and Charlie let us rest quietly in the slings to test all the systems and check the through hulls - kind courteous and patient.
Her birthday present almost completed - floating, looking beautiful again.

 We had yet to sail her a mile and 6 months had past!

The progression

Our first loved yacht 
- double diagonal ply glassed over

There was a slow and steady progression from dinghies to our much loved previous two yachts. A 24' then a 32' taught us the basics. Along with NZ skippers tickets, we had built our offshore confidence and completed several NZ - warm island journeys. 

2nd yacht before departing to Tonga

Our 32' yacht had to comply with the NZ Cat 1 certification prior to clearing customs. A safety standard on equipment and personnel ability, which is applicable for higher latitude offshore remote sailing. By then I had only ocean 10 000nm experience. After living in NZ and Tasmania, the desire for a solid dependable heavy weather boat made sense, as the weatherman regularly get his wires a little crossed.

Years of work relocation's, GFC disruptions and business travel, was the seed to try something different in life - time to scratch the 'itch'.

The picture that inspired an action

My plan A: It started with a Hobart to Mexico airline flight.

Endless dreams yard

Over 700 unused yachts

 The packs were heavy, with impact screwdrivers, scuba gear and nav tools. Tools I had already used offshore. Very little personnel effects remained with me as I lugged these bags to the various hardstands & yacht brokers. In Mexico I went to three main areas - diving through yachts that appeared un-seaworthy regardless the amount of time and money spent on them.  I was simply blown away by the shear number and poor state of these old blue water cruisers.
 (All of theme looked attractive on the internet!)

Weeks of public transport travel resulted. I had 4 accepted offers, but the detailed inspections meant I had to go back to the drawing board. Crossing back into USA another drastic tack was required....search for a car, then the yacht, it's easier on the back.