.... the newer Tartans are not
Gran Prix boats but they're certainly not slow. What year models were
you looking at?



Donal wrote:
IIRC, I looked at a Tartan about 4 years ago.

OK that should have been one of the newer series.

... The model that I looked at
had a clever galley design. There was a pull-up section in the galley which
provided extra work surface. The quality seemed to be very good, but I
formed the opinion that she would never exceed hull speed.


Shucks any boat can exceed hull speed. The tricky part is, under what
conditions? Anyway the newer Tartans (3400, 3700, 4100, etc etc) are all
in the range of racer-cruisers, performance wise. D/Ls around ~200 and
SA/Ds around ~20, not slugs for sure.


BTW have you seen and/or sailed a Beneteau First Class 12? A friend of
mine is considering buying one.


I thought that I had already replied to this. However I can't see anything
in my newsreader.

I don't know anything about the "12". I tried the Beneteau web site, but I
couldn't find it. I also tried to Google with "Beneteau First 12" and
couldn't find it that way either. Beneteau seem to be completely clueless
about web design.


A lot businesses in the same boat. Anyway I dunno how serious my friend
is, it seems likely they'll go for a boat with a lot more cabin.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King