ABOUT WINDBIRD

The boat we have chosen to be our home as we cruise the world is a Tayana 42, hull #81, built in 1982. Tayana derives from Ta Yang, Taiwanese for “grand ocean”, and is the trademark for Ta Yang Yacht Building Ltd., Kaohsiung Taiwan. The logo is a stylized “TY” in the shape of a propeller. Ta Yang has been building sailboats since 1972.

Our Tayana is named Windbird. This was her name when we bought her and we decided not to change the name. Rick and Susan Balabuck were the previous oweners and they had a beautiful parrot that lived aboard. As you can see in many of the pictures on this website, the boat’s spinnaker is designed to mimic the colorful patterns of the parrot. We have always assumed that Windbird was named for the parrot and hope that she will “fly” effortlessly as we sail her around the world.

BOAT SPECIFICATIONS

Putting thoroughbred performance into performance cruisers has never been easy. In his Vancouver 42, however, Robert Harris has made it look easy. Combing rugged good looks, live aboard volume, and go-anywhere capabilities in a boat that still ghosts racily in single-digit wind strengths is quite a feat. On top of that, Harris made her a double-ender. To this exceptional design the builder, Ta-Yang of Taiwan, brings both an internationally acclaimed standard of construction quality and a refined semi-custom flexibility that gives individual sailors exceptional control of the look and layout of their boats.

The formula for making husky boats sail like-sylphs is one that Harris has explored in depth throughout his decades at the forefront of sailboat design. Oversimplified, that approach involves a very slippery hull, a very powerful sail plan, and a set of jumbo underwater foils that are as efficient as they are big. Although the Vancouver 42 displaces close to 30,000 pounds, Harris has made it possible for her to carry that weight with considerable grace. For pure power and for coast-wise sailing, she can be rigged as a sloop. The vast majority of buyers, however, specify the cutter rig and its putative superiority for passage making.

L.O.A.: 41’9″
L.W.L.: 33’0″
Beam: 12’6″
Draft: 5’10”
Displacement: 29.147 lbs

Ballast: 11,800 lbs
Sail Area: 1,009 sq. ft.
Fuel Tank: 180 gal in 3 iron tanks
Water: 120 gal in 2 stainless tanks
Auxilary: 54 HP Yanmar 4JH4E

L.O.A.: 41’9″
L.W.L.: 33’0″
Beam: 12’6″
Draft: 5’10”
Displacement: 29.147 lbs