Tasar Sailing Dinghy

Tasar sailing dinghy

The Tasar is a 14 foot fibreglass sailing dinghy. Designed by Frank Bethwaite and Ian Bruce of Sydney in 1975, the boat is technologically advanced. It is aimed at mixed crews with a combined crew weight of around 140kg. The hull weighs 68 kg, and is of sandwich foam construction. The Tasar is an international class, with strong fleets in Australia, USA, Britain, and Japan.

A light weight, low drag, planing hull, a rotating mast, and a jib and fully battened mainsail with efficient sail controls provide exhilarating sailing without the need for spinnaker or trapeze.

The Tasar delivers exciting performance without using either spinnaker or trapeze. The hull has a fine angle at the bow to reduce wave impact drag with unusually clean and sharp chines aft to ensure very free planing and outstanding stability. The foam cored hull is stiff and light and the advanced hull shape, together with an innovative rig which combines a rotating mast with a fully battened main sail, allows the Tasar to plane upwind with the crew normally hiked. The wide beam and a cockpit designed for comfortable hiking make the Tasar easy, fun and very exciting to sail in winds up to 25 knots.

There are now almost 3000 Tasars sailing worldwide. In Australia, the class is popular in all the states and has been used by the armed services for seamanship training