Review of Taswell 43

Basic specs.

The Taswell 43 is a large sailboat designed by the British maritime architect Bill Dixon in the late eighties. The Taswell 43 is built by the Taiwanese yard Ta Shing Yacht Building Ltd..

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Keel

The Taswell 43 is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a long keel.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.91 - 2.01 meter (6.27 - 6.57 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Yanmar 4JH-HTE diesel engine at 55.0 hp (40 kW), which gives a max speed about 7.0 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 326.0 liters (86 US gallons, 71 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Taswell 43 is 2.33, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.3 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Taswell 43 is about 396 kg/cm, alternatively 2222 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 396 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2222 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Taswell 43 is 21.5.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 12% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly below average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Taswell 43 is 2.57.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 99% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Taswell 43 is 41%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 66% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Taswell 43 is 187 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

76% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Taswell 43 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 16.8, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 20.0.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 34% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The Taswell 43 has more rig than 42% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 61m² (656 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

Dimensions of sail.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	38.6 m	(126.8 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	38.6 m	(126.8 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	38.6 m	(126.8 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	13.1 m	(42.8 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	13.1 m	(42.8 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	32.6 m	(107.0 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	28.7 m	(94.2 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	4.9 m	(16.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	9.8 m	(32.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	9.8 m	(32.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Taswell 43 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.