SANS SOUCI - 1982 Tayana 37

Tested. Solid, secure, comfortable, cruising boat. Bob Perry’s beautiful , double-ender, cutter rig Tayana 37. Credentialed. North Atlantic circuit 2012-2013: New York, Azores, Ireland, Reykjavik Iceland (two degrees below the Arctic Circle), Sea of Labrador, Conception Bay on Island of Newfoundland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Cabot Strait, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Gaspé, St. Lawrence Seaway to Lake Ontario and home to Great Sodus Bay. 

Perry’s 1976 design is a full-keeled, heavy cruiser: 22,500 pounds empty, 8,000 pounds iron ballast in hull. Gorgeous sheer, molded in plank lines, bowsprit, eye-catching silhouette, heavy-duty teak rub rail. More than 600 were built at the Ta-Yang yard in Taiwan. Most are still afloat around the world. Sans Souci is hull 316, built 1982. Interior is teak joinery, spectacularly well-done. Four brass, oil lamps including trawler lamp lend the atmosphere of a small ship. Enormous storage in louvered lockers (all numbered), including a pantry and wine locker. Pullman berth for two with louvered shutters, comfortable at sea. Settee that pulls out to make a double berth, or with sea cloth, as the most secure sea berth. Quarter berth (takes two, if friendly). Two very solid, swiveling, pedestal arm chairs, fixed on either side of the chart table, secure in any sea conditions. Table along settee, stored on bulkhead. Six-foot-four-inch headroom throughout.

Excellent ventilation. Thirteen, solid bronze, opening portholes, each with its own built-in screen, each fitted with Lexan® storm shutter for heavy weather. Large, opening deck hatches in the head and over Pullman berth, both double-hinged to open forward or aft. Windscoop included. Butterfly hatch over salon. Each hatch has a built-in insect screen. Three dorades. Main cabin entrance from cockpit is closed with classy, louvered doors for ventilation at the dock. Full insect screen, Lucite panel to put light below in driving rain or cooler weather. Three solid, wood hatch boards for heavy weather.

Galley. Tight, secure. Two-burner, gimbaled, ENO Open Sea, propane stove with fiddles, oven. Produced baguettes across the Atlantic. Two, 20-pound cans of propane in proper lockers; one can takes four men across the Atlantic, with some to spare. Deep, double, stainless sink with pressure water, foot pump, and brass hand pump for sea water. Adler-Barbour SuperColdMachine fridge, top and side access, freezer side and cold side; produces ice. Good storage for pots and pans. Flatware stored in dedicated bins. Glasses, silverware, basic pots/pans, kitchen utensils all convey.

 Head. In bow: Jabsco toilet, sink, shower sump.

Cockpit. Small, sea-going, fast-draining; comfortable benches long enough to sleep on. Teak for good footing. Hand-frapped wheel. Binnacle compass is a 6-inch C.Plath Venus: glass bowl, card balanced for northern or southern hemisphere, lovingly serviced by Andrews Compass Service, Mattapoisett, MA. Canvas dodger; bimini (not rigged). Manual bilge pump at helm. Dingy davits included but not mounted.           

Deck. Wide side decks, high life lines, molded-in non-skid, no teak decks. Teak hand rails. Bowsprit has secure platform, double anchor rollers carrying a 35-pound CQR (plow type) and a 14 -pound Fortress FX23. Plow has 50 feet of 3/8” chain, 150 feet 5/8”nylon; Fortress carries 15 feet of chain, 200 feet 1/2”nylon rode. Simpson-Lawrence Seatiger manual, double-action, anchor windlass.

Rig. Cutter. Headsail lives on Profurl titanium roller furler. Jibs are high-cut Yankee on pennant (good), working jib (okay), and genoa (old and heavy). Staysail, 8.3-oz. Dacron, hanked-on, self-tending on club boom with deck track; one reef. Mainsail, also 8.3-oz. Dacron, built bullet-proof, by Haarstick in Rochester: three, deep reefs and a flattening reef; full-length battens, draft stripes, tell-tales. Mainsheet lead to heavy-duty traveler, then to cockpit winch. Isomat aluminum mast, single spreader, deck-stepped with compression post; one-inch track for storm trysail (never used). Two main halyards, two jib halyards at masthead; halyard and topping lift for staysail. All halyards lead internally. Lazy-jacks on boom. Running backstays with Garhauer blocks. Vang, also Garhauer, can be rigged as a preventer. Cunningham. Riding sail, for use at anchor. Sturdy boom gallows. Whisker pole stored on mast.

Performance. Not a round-the-buoys racer. Calculated hull speed, 7.46 knots. (√ 31 x 1.34). PHRF rating, Lake Ontario, 216. Scotch Bonnet Light Race, second in division, 2008 (after half the fleet retired with shredded sails following a line squall); first in division (only boat to finish in very light air), 2010. In brisk conditions, two reefs in main,150 nautical miles, noon-to-noon. Broad reaching in big swells (estimate 20 feet), surfing at 14 knots. Under power, flat water, honest 5.5 knots at 2500 rpm; fuel consumption 0.65 gal./hour.

Tankage. Fuel, 90 gallons. Water, 50 gallons in plastic tank over keel; auxiliary water tank in stern (75 gallons). PowerSurvivor® desalinator. Holding: 50 gallons, plastic tank over keel.

Safety. High lifelines, jack lines. Forespar MOB pole with horseshoe, drogue and strobe. Lifesling overboard recovery system. Viking, four-man, domed, double-floor life raft in valise (needs service). EPIRB. 12-gauge flare pistol, hand-held flares. Collision patch. Emergency tiller. Spare Fortress FX23 anchor stored below. Fire extinguishers (4). Radar reflector. Folding boarding ladder. West adult inflatable life jackets with harness and tether (3), one child. Spare 3-blade prop. Lung-powered foghorn. Ships bell.

Engine. Three-cylinder Yanmar diesel 3HMF, rated 30 horsepower. Rebuilt engine with 120 hours after rebuild, installed 2024. Racor Model 500FG fuel filter. MaxProp, three-bladed, feathering prop.

Miscellaneous. Groco raw water strainer. Force 10 propane grill, mounts on stern pulpit. MastClimber. Bosuns chairs (2). Diesel fuel jerry cans (3). Air pump. Heavy rubber bucket with pennant. St. Croix dingy motor crane. Shore power cables. Fuel funnel-filter. Fenders (6). Fender boards for canal travel (3). Multiple docking lines. SunShower. Ship’s clock and barometer.

Boat Improvements

2008   New main and staysail by Haarstick Sails. Traveler car replaced. Sail covers rebuilt.

2009   Solid-state, dual-voltage battery charger installed (120/240 volts). SONY tuner/CD player installed.

2010  Main water tank replaced with custom-built plastic tanks: 50 gallons water, 50 gallons holding. Toilet replaced with Jabsco twist-lock. Fiddles placed on chart table.. Reefs rigged. Track installed for storm trysail. Running back stay 6”-diameter stainless backing plates, back stays installed, all per Robert Perry recommendations. Topping lift relocated. Cockpit locker hatches rebuilt. Kittery Point Yachts.

2012   New Atwood stainless water heater (engine waste heat; 120 volt AC, with alternate 240 volt heating element and thermostat). Single side band radio with auto tuner, Wire-Rope antenna and KISS ground system installed. 

2013   Emergency vertical dipole antenna for SSB built.

2014   Raw water intake and speed log re-positioned.  All below-waterline through hulls replaced. Stove replaced with ENO two-turner. Katlynn Marine.

2024   Engine replaced with rebuilt Yanmar (120 hours); instrument panel replaced. Sidedecks repaired. Cutless bearing, shaft seal replaced. Katlynn Marine. 

2025 Transmission serviced by mechanic. Katlynn Marine.