I'd say its a bit overbuilt for the purpose unless you propose to do this
sailing in the winter g.
I do like the Tayana though and I think you can get a lot for the money as
many are well outfitted and not that expensive.

"Bruce Woodburn" wrote in message
...
I was quoting Bob Perry when I made the reference to Colin Archer.

Thanks for the info. I want it to cruise the west coast of Canada and
Alaska. It seems well suited for the purpose.

Thanks again

Bruce



"Dan Best" wrote in message
...
Bruce Woodburn wrote:
I'm looking at a CT37 Pilot House Cutter (Robert Perry designed
variation an
a Colin Archer) .

Anyone have any experience, opinions, recommendations or cautions?

Burce,
I'm not sure what Bob Perry would have to say about your assertion that
it is a variation of a Colin Archer design, but I'm here to say that it
is a great cruising boat for a couple.

My wife and I are anchored here in our Tayana 37 in La Paz as I type
this and in about a week, will be leaving to cross over to mainland
Mexico then Central America, south to Ecuador, west to the Galapagos,
the Marquesas, then ????

These are very sturdy, comfortable boats with reasonable performance,
lots of storage and are very easy to sail short handed. They are
nowhere as speedy as one of the ultra-lights or converted racers, but
far more comfortable and there performance doesn't degrade nearly as
rapidly when you load them down with stores. On the other hand, they
perform much better than some of the slower boats out there.

They are certainly not hte perfect boat for everybody, but Tricia Jean
comes close to being the perfect boat for us.

Their interiors were done on a semi-custom basis, so there can be a lot
of variance in the details as to how individual boats are laid out down
below. Make sure that the one you are considering works well for you.

Most of them had teak decks and the older ones (this includes all of the
CT37's) are reaching the end of the expceted lifetime of these decks.
This can be a very expensive and labor intensive jobs to replace them
(some friends of ours are in the middle of this task right now). So if
you can find one like ours that has fiberglass decks, this is generally
considered a plus.

The other major negative is the structural stainless steel used on the
boats (turnbuckles, toggles, etc.) was not as well made as the rest of
the boat. A few have also had to replace their turnbuckles. The older
ones should have had all the critical pieces replaced by now, but make
sure your surveyor is familiar with these boats and knows what to look
for.

Generaaly speaking, these well made boats are loved by their owners, but
some will find them a bit old fashioned and heavy when compared to newer
designs.

I will loose my internet access when I leave La Paz in a week, so if you
have any specific questions, ask then fast. You can send them to


There is also a listserver dedicated to Tayanas. If you are really
interested in this boat, join it, ask the owners what they think and
review the archives for the problems they have experienced.

Fair winds - Dan Best
S/V Tricia Jean (a Tayana 37)