In Brief
The Tashiba 31, designed alongside her larger 36 foot sibling, represents the last of Bob Perry's full-keeled production double-enders. With the Tashiba 31 you get a small yet spacious boat with a luxurious interior that’s been compared to fine furniture.
The boat was introduced in 1986 by Ta Shing, which marks nearly a decade since the Taiwanese boatyard started a rise to prominence with the release of the popular Baba 30 double-ender (also Perry designed). It’s interesting to note despite the years that span the two designs the Baba 30 and the Tashiba 31 are mistaken to be variations on the same boat. Make no mistakes however, the Tashiba 31 though similar in displacement, is a wholly different animal under scrutiny. Her hull form is a derivative of the Baba 40, which was a radical departure to previous full keelers from Perry, the 40 was really a full-keeled evolution of the famously fast fin-keeled Valiant 40. It proved to be such a success in terms of performance and manner, Perry took the elements that worked and pushed them further. The leading edge of the keel was moved further aft, turn of the bilge got even firmer and the bow entry became finer.
In his book Yacht Design by Perry he reflects, “I think the Tashiba 31 and 36 mark the best boats I ever designed with modified full keels. The boats were fast, close-winded, stiff, and well balanced. I constantly got calls from owners telling me how they had “beat” a local contemporary design.”
The boats supposedly came in three variations. Two aft cockpit versions were offered; one with a seagoing quarter-berth (most popular) and another that had a forward stateroom and the head located aft (we’ve yet to see any of these). There was also a pilothouse version, something that’s unusual to see in a boat of this length, of which only two were built. All told, they did not sell as well as expected, at last count we found 26 boats listed in the owners registry (kindly put together by Alan Sugarman of the Baba / Panda / Tashiba owners group).
These boats (like all boats from the Ta Shing of that era) have garnered a loyal following. The build quality is exceptional and most are in very good condition and well maintained by their owners.
Specifications
LOA: 35′ 4″
LOD: 30′ 9″
LWL: 25′ 10″
Beam: 10′ 8″
Draft, Standard: 5′ 0″
Draft, Shoal: 4′ 6″
Displacement: 13,790 lbs.
Ballast, Standard: 4,705 lbs.
Ballast, Pilothouse: 4,100 lbs.
Sail Area: 550 sq.ft.
Engine: Yanmar 3GM30F (27hp)
Fuel: 35 US. Gal.
Water: 90 US. Gal
Designer: Robert H. Perry
Builder: Ta Shing Yacht Building Co., Taiwan
Year Introduced: 1986
Year Ended: 1988
Numbers Built: 26
Also Known As: Tashiba 31PH, Ta Shing 31, Ta Shing 31PH
Similar Boats
Links & References
» Yacht Design According to Perry, by Robert H. Perry (p97-p98)
» Baba, Panda, Tashiba sailboat Yahoo Group, information and owner discussions
Gallery
I would love to see pictures of her.
Although the Tashiba 31 posting is 18 months old as of this writing (Oct, 2012), I am writing to say that we recently acquired an aft head Tashiba 31. If pictures etc. are desired, let me know.