tartan 34c sailboat

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There are a lot of shortcomings to the 34. But she's well designed and well built, and the price is right.

It may be hard to believe, but it’s been about 25 years since Olin Stephens designed the breakthrough 12 meter sloop Intrepid . Just a year later, he designed the Tartan 34, a keel/centerboard, CCA racer/cruiser, for Douglass & McLeod Plastics, the company that became Tartan Marine.

The CCA was a true racer/cruiser rule. Heavy displacement was encouraged, and keel/centerboarders were treated more than fairly, as the success of designs such as S&S’s Finisterre shows. Even top racing boats had real interiors—enclosed heads, permanent berths, usable galleys. You could buy a boat like the Tartan 34, and given good sails and sailing skills, you could actually be reasonably competitive on the race course. And then a couple could take their racing boat cruising, without a crew.

This was no “golden age” of yacht design, however. Interiors were unimaginative and fairly cramped. Galleys were small, and few boats had such amenities as hot water, gas cooking, refrigeration, and showers—things that are taken for granted today. Navigation stations were rudimentary. Sail-handling gear, by modern standards, was almost a joke. There were no self-tailing winches, few hydraulic rig controls, and roller-reefing headsail systems were primitive. Mylar and Kevlar were off in the future, loran was expensive and hard to use.

Yet some boats from this period, for all their “shortcomings” by modern standards, are classics in the truest sense: the Bermuda 40, the Luders 33, the Bristol 40, the Cal 40. And the Tartan 34.

More than 500 Tartan 34s were built between 1968 and 1978. By 1978 the CCA rule was long gone, PHRF racing was beginning to surge, and the MHS (now IMS) was in its infancy. The Tartan 34 had passed from a racer/cruiser to a cruiser, not because the boat had changed, but because sailboat racing had changed. The Tartan 34 was succeeded by the larger, more modern Tartan 37, a boat of exactly the same concept.

The boats are widely distributed in this country, but there are large concentrations along the North Atlantic coast, the Chesapeake, and in the Great Lakes. You’ll find them wherever the water is shallow.

Read this and weep: in 1970, a Tartan 34, complete with sails, cost about $22,000. By 1975, the price had gone all the way up to $29,000. Today, equipped with more modern equipment, the boat would cost $100,000 to build.

Sailing Performance

The Tartan 34’s PHRF rating of about 168 to 174 is comparable to more modern fast cruisers of similar displacement, such as the Nonsuch 30 and Pearson 31. The boat is significantly slower, however, than newer cruiser/racers of similar length but lighter displacement, like the C&C 33.

Like most centerboarders, the Tartan 34 is quite a bit faster downwind than upwind, and the boat can be run downwind more effectively than a fin-keeler. For example, in only 16 knots of true wind, optimum jibe angle is 173—about 5 ƒnlower than the typical modern fin-keel boat.

Because of her shoal draft, the boat’s center of gravity is fairly high. Righting moment at 1 ƒnis about 630 ft/lbs—some 20% less than a modern fin-keel cruiser/racer of the same displacement. This means that the Tartan 34 is initially more tender than a more modern deep-keel boat.

As first built, specifications called for 4,600 pounds of ballast. That was increased to 5,000 pounds on later models, although the boat’s displacement is not listed by the builder as having increased with the addition of the ballast. We’re not sure where the 400 pounds of displacement went.

The boat originally had a mainsail aspect ratio of about 2 1/2:1, with a mainsail foot measurement of 13′. The mainsheet on this model leads awkwardly to a cockpit-spanning traveler just above the tiller, well aft of the helmsman. An end-of-boom lead was essential because of the old-fashioned roller-reefing boom. This traveler location really breaks up the cockpit.

Although a tiller was standard, you will find wheel steering on many boats. Owners report no particular problems with either tiller or wheel. In both cases, the helmsman sits at the forward end of the cockpit.

With the introduction of the IOR, mainsail area was penalized relative to headsail area, and the main boom of the Tartan 34 was shortened by about 2 1/2′. This allowed placement of the traveler at the aft end of the bridgedeck, a far better location for trimming the main, which was still equipped with a roller-reefing boom.

Neither the base of the foretriangle nor the height of the rig was increased to offset the loss of mainsail area. According to some owners, the loss of about 35 square feet of sail area can be felt in light-air conditions. At the same time, shortening the foot of the mainsail did a lot to reduce the weather helm the boat carries when reaching in heavy air. Some boats with the shorter boom have made up the missing sail area by increasing jib overlap from 150% to 170%, but this lowers the aspect ratio of the sail, costing some efficiency.

We would recommend a compromise on boats with the roller-reefing boom. When the time comes to buy a new mainsail, get a new boom equipped with internal slab reefing, internal outhaul, and stoppers at the inboard end of the boom. If it’s not already there, install a modern traveler on the bridgedeck. Instead of going with either the short or long mainsail foot, compromise on one of about 12′. A modern, deep-section boom would not require that the mainsheet load be spread out over the boom. You could sheet to a single point over the traveler, about 2′ inboard of the end of the boom.

A major advantage of a centerboard is that the lead (the difference in fore-and-aft location between the center of lateral resistance of the hull and the center of effort of the sailplan) can be shifted as the balance of the boat changes. Tartan 34 owners report using the board to ease the helm when reaching in heavy conditions.

Like almost all S&S designs, the Tartan 34 is a good all-around sailing boat without significant bad habits. Owners who race the boat say that she should be sailed on her feet: at an angle of heel of over 20, the boat starts to slow down and make leeway. USYRU’s velocity prediction program disagrees, saying that the boat should be sailed at higher angles of heel upwind and reaching in wind velocities of 14 knots or more.

Since the boat is relatively narrow, the position of the chainplates at the deck edge is not a serious handicap for upwind performance. With single spreaders and double lower shrouds, the rig is about as simple and sturdy as you get. A yawl rig was optional, but most boats are sloops.

Like other auxiliaries of its era, most Tartan 34s are powered by the Atomic 4 gasoline engine. Beginning in 1975, the Farymann R-30-M diesel was an option. Either engine is adequate power for the boat, but it is not overpowered by any stretch of the imagination.

The Atomic 4 is a smoother and quieter engine.

Those Atomic 4s are starting to get old. On a boat you plan to keep for more than a few years, the expense of switching over to a diesel can be justified. The Universal Model 25 is a drop-in replacement for the Atomic 4 in many cases, but check carefully to make sure there is enough room, since the Atomic 4 is one of the world’s smallest four-cylinder engines.

The engine location under the port main cabin settee is a big plus, with one exception: since it’s in the bilge, it is vulnerable in the case of hull flooding. Almost everything else about the installation is good. The engine weight is just aft of the longitudinal center of bouyancy, where its effect on trim and pitching moment is negligible. By disassembling the settee, you have complete access to the engine for servicing and repairs, and you’ll be sitting in the middle of the main cabin, rather than crunched up under the cockpit. The shaft is short, minimizing vibration. There is no external prop strut to cause alignment problems, create drag, and possibly come loose from the hull.

At the same time, clearance between the prop and the hull is minimal, so you can’t go to a much bigger engine and prop. Because the prop is located far forward, the boat is difficult to back down in a straight line, and prop efficiency is reduced because the prop is partially hidden behind the trailing edge of the keel to reduce drag.

Some boats that race have replaced the original solid prop with a folding one, but if you mark the shaft so that you know when the prop is lined up with the back of the keel, the drag of the solid prop should be virtually indistinguishable from that of a folding prop. For best performance under both sail and power, we would choose a feathering prop if we had money to burn.

Original drawings show a 21-gallon gas tank located under the cockpit. Later boats have a 26-gallon fuel tank under the port settee in the main cabin, where the weight of fuel will have minimal effect on trim and pitching.

Construction

Tartan is a good builder, and the basic construction of the Tartan 34 is sound. There are, however, some age-related problems that show up repeatedly on our owners’ surveys. The most common of these is gelcoat cracking and crazing of the deck molding, particularly in the area of the foredeck and forward end of the cabin trunk.

A related problem that some owners mention is delamination of the balsa-cored deck. Modern endgrain balsa coring is pre-sealed with resin by the manufacturer to prevent resin starvation when the core is actually glassed to the deck. A cored deck depends on its solid sandwich construction for rigidity. If there are spots where the core and deck are not completely bonded, the deck will yield in this area. This is what is referred to as a “soft” deck. As the deck flexes, the relatively brittle bond between the core and its fiberglass skin can fail, so that the “soft” areas grow. This is very common in older glass boats.

A very careful survey of the deck should be conducted when purchasing a Tartan 34. This will include tapping every square inch of the deck with a plastic mallet to locate voids or areas of delamination. Minor areas of delamination can be repaired by injecting epoxy resin through holes in the upper deck skin. Large areas of delamination may be cause for rejection of the boat, or a major price reduction.

Another frequently-mentioned problem with the Tartan 34 is the centerboard and its operating mechanism. Unlike many centerboards, this one secures positively in whatever position you set it—it won’t freely pivot upward if you hit a rock. Centerboard groundings are extremely common, as it’s very easy to forget that the board is down.

One construction detail on a boat of the general quality of the Tartan 34 is disturbing. On early boats, through hull fittings consist of brass pipe nipples glassed into the hull, with gate valves on the inside. This is acceptable on a boat used only in fresh water, since there won’t be any galvanic corrosion. In salt water, however, this is an unacceptable installation. Brass pipe contains a lot of zinc, and it will disappear from the pipe nipples and gate valves just like your shaft zincs corrode away. Due to the age of the boats, these fittings should be immediately replaced with proper through hull fittings and seacocks, either of bronze or reinforced plastic.

Many deck fittings are chrome-plated bronze, and particularly on boats used in salt water, the chrome is likely to be pitted and peeling. Fortunately, this is a cosmetic problem, and you can get the stuff re-plated if you really want it to look good.

According to owner reports, the Tartan 34 has had an average number of cases of bottom blistering. That’s pretty good for boats of this vintage.

There’s a lot of exterior teak on the boat, including teak cockpit coamings, forward hatch frame, handrails, and a high teak toerail. On some boats we have looked at the toerail is kept varnished, but it isn’t easy to keep varnish on a piece of teak that periodically gets dipped underwater.

The electrical system is pretty primitive, with a 30-amp alternator, fuses instead of circuit breakers, minimal lighting.

Over the years, most of these boats have added gear such as navigation electronics, more lights, pumps, and probably a second battery. We would carefully examine the electrical system, since pigtailing additional equipment onto a basic system can result in horrible installations.

If you want three-cabin interiors and condo-like space, you’re not going to like the interior of the Tartan 34. This is not a floating motor home. It is a sailboat, and it has an interior layout that is as traditional as they get.

There is no pleasure-dome owner’s cabin, shower stall, or gourmet galley. Even the nav station is rudimentary—a drop-leaf table at the head of the quarterberth.

There are fixed berths for five in the original arrangement and the port settee extends to form a double. In later boats, lockers outboard of the port settee were replaced with a pilot berth. This may be a better arrangement for racing, but you don’t need that many berths for cruising.

We wouldn’t want to spend more than a weekend on the boat with more than four adults, and we wouldn’t cruise for a week or more with more than two adults and two well-behaved children. But then we wouldn’t do that on many boats less than 40′.

On the plus side, all the berths are long, including a 7′ quarterberth. Even the forward V-berths are wide enough at the foot for big people.

Good headroom is carried all the way forward: 6′ 2″ in the forward cabin, a little more aft.

The cabin sole is pretty much level throughout the boat, except in front of the galley dresser and quarterberth.

The cabin sole is cork, an unusual feature. Cork is a good natural insulator, and provides great traction underfoot. It does, however, absorb dirt and grease, and it’s difficult to keep clean.

Interior finish is typical of boats of this period: pretty drab, pretty basic. There are no fancy curved moldings and rounded laminated door frames. The original finish in early boats is painted plywood bulkheads with oiled teak trim. You can dress this up a lot by varnishing the wood trim. On later boats, the main bulkheads are teak-faced plywood, while the rest of the flat surfaces are white laminate.

There is a drop-leaf main cabin table, covered with wood-grained plastic laminate. Whoever invented wood-grained plastic laminate should be consigned to an eternity of varnishing splintery fir plywood with a foam brush on a foggy day. We’d rather see an acre of white Formica than a square foot of wood-grained plastic laminate, no matter how “real” it looks.

Because the fuel tank, water tanks, and engine are located under the main cabin settees, there’s no storage space in these areas. Storage space in the rest of the boat is good, although hanging space for clothes is limited.

Water capacity is 36 gallons. This is inadequate for a boat that will cruise for more than a week with two people.

Like most boats from this period, the galley is small, consisting of a two-burner alcohol stove, an icebox with mediocre insulation, and a single sink. Original specifications called for a stove with no oven. Many boats by now have been upgraded to more modern cooking facilities—a must if you plan any real cruising.

The icebox is large, tucked under the starboard cockpit seat, and accessible from both the galley and the cockpit. It is difficult to reach into the box from the galley, since you have to stretch over the sink, and it has a vertical door rather than a horizontal hatch.

Conclusions

Given the shortcomings of boats such as the Tartan 34, why would you want one? There are lots of reasons. The boat is well-designed and well-built. With modern sailhandling equipment, two people can easily manage the sailing, and the boat will be reasonably fast.

The boat is seaworthy, the type of boat we’d choose for cruising someplace like the Bahamas. With minor upgrading, she is suited to reasonable offshore cruising.

Oh, yes, don’t forget. This is a good-looking boat, a real classic. With freshly-painted topsides and varnished teak, she’ll still turn heads anywhere. And that means a lot to a real sailor.

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

I have sailed my 1974 Tartan 34 C solo from New Port , RI to Culebra, PR. I am going to haul out my boat at Isleta Marina in Fajardo PR, to repaint my bottom and above water line. I broke off the bottom 2 feet of the swing keel a couple of years ago, so hoping to find a used swing keel to replace it. A new one from Tartan mfg cost $2,800. I look forward to taking the boat down through the leeward & windward islands winter season 2022. I enjoyed your review of the Tartan 34 C.

Hello Leslie: I own a Tartan34C also…………I bought it new in 1974 hull#269, although it has a 1973 date on hull. I still have it and I think I am going to use as a coffin……..yes….. I am an old bastard. It has been a terrific boat. I wish it did not have all of the teak trim…..to much time to maintain it……but that’s what makes it look good. Has the atomic 4 and I have rebuilt it two times. Good motor…….simple!!!!!!! Sounds like you are having a good time……HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!! Jeff White PS……raced it many years ago…….1st Annapolis to Bermuda mid 80’s ……3rd Annapolis to Newport the first year race open to PHRF. Lots of Chesapeake Bay racing.

I crewed a 34 several times in the early 70’s. Previously the I-LYA Sears quarter final winning skipper in 1968, in a new club owned Thistle my Dad and I picked up that July at the original Douglas & McLeod works in Grand River OH. Our family then owned a D&M Highlander built of molded mahogany ply in the autoclave process. Only in this past year or two was the D&M business sign taken off the building, 90 minutes from our house and across the street from our periodic visits to Brennan’s Fish House. My crewing on the 34 included stints at the helm in moderately rough weather and I’d love to finish my sailing years on one if all the stars aligned for us to buy and maintain one today. Incidentally, in 1970 that new purchase price was about 2 1/4 times US median family income. By this article’s 2021 date, the article’s quoted new purchase price was down to only 1.48 times US median income.

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Tartan 34 C

Tartan 34 C is a 34 ′ 4 ″ / 10.5 m monohull sailboat designed by Sparkman & Stephens and built by Tartan Yachts between 1968 and 1978.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

S&S Design No. 1904. The letter “C” has been adopted on the used boat market, “classic”, identifying it as the first 34 from Tartan. The second TARTAN 34, which is also a S&S design, is commonly referred to as the TARTAN 34-2. There was an option (rarely selected) to substitute a pilot berth for the cabinet storage to port, over and outboard of the dinette.

The foot of the mainsail was shortened from the original design at least twice to improve balance and/or to lower it’s IOR rating. Hull 125 and later: E = 12.0’ Hull 200 and later: E = 10.5’ (displayed here) A yawl rig was advertised as an option.

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Tartan Classic: T34C

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The result, the Tartan 34C (C for “classic”), was a success by any yardstick, with 525 boats built between 1967 and 1978. The T34C was introduced in December of 1967 and in the Southern Ocean Racing Conference’s 1968 race a T34C won her class. The boat has gone on to win numerous offshore races, including the Port Huron-Mackinac and the Marblehead-Halifax races, among many others. At least one circumnavigation and too many Atlantic and Pacific passages to list easily have been done by T34C sailors.

Commonly thought of as a sloop, there were 25 T34Cs built as yawls. After a fire in January 1971 destroyed all the T34C molds, new ones were “splashed” using a Tartan employee’s boat. The Tartan 34 had its design antecedents in S&S design number 1786, Deb, in 1964, now sailing as Sunstone and owned by Tom and Vicky Jackson, an English couple whose exploits as world cruisers are familiar to readers of this, and other, sailing magazines. Deb, 38 feet long, was followed two years later by design number 1873, the Deb 33-Class. The lines of both boats are strikingly similar to those of the T34C, design number 1904, in 1967.

The design certainly merits the appellation of “classic.” Blessed with a sheer that is just right, overhangs that fulfilled not only the CCA rules of the time (which tended to favor heavier, keel center-boarder boats) but also lent an air of grace to each end, the T34C is an attractive boat by most standards. The boat’s inherent good looks and its good sailing manners have made it the sort of boat that owners keep, cherish and restore.

The rig went through three changes in boom length in an effort to reduce the boat’s tendency to weather helm. The “E” measurement went from 13 feet, six inches to 12 feet to 10 feet, six inches over the years, but most owners report that the boat can be fine-tuned by adjusting the centerboard, a pivoting steel affair that weighs 65 pounds.

The cockpit, over nine feet long, is spacious and wide; with the factory-standard tiller lifted out of the way, there is ample room for entertaining or just quiet contemplation of a well-earned anchorage.

Going forward, the two-foot wide sidedecks inspire confidence, and the foredeck is roomy enough for sail handling, sunbathing or a small inflatable dinghy. Teak toerails provide good footing, with additional teak on the coachroof handrails and the cockpit coamings.

Down below is where the boat shows its vintage. The galley is small and the standard two-burner alcohol stove barely adequate for cans of Dinty Moore stew. With a beam of 10 feet, two inches, the hull is easily driven, but the price for that is a certain degree of coziness below. The saloon has a table that folds up against the forward bulkhead, and this opens up the area considerably. A small head is to port, with the keel-stepped mast offering a good handhold for users of the smallest room on the boat. The V-berth has, and needs, the insert for the big end, while the little end is truncated nicely, giving more foot room than you might expect. The chain locker is a simple affair, open to the V-berth.

There are three good sea berths, a quarter berth to port in the stern, and the settees, properly straight, offer a berth on port or starboard tack. The port settee has a slide-out panel under the cushions that produces a double bed for use in port, while still allowing room to go forward.

At the base of the companionway steps sits the engine, offset to starboard with the prop angled but placed in the center at the aft end of the keel. This was done to counteract prop walk, and the engine’s low, amidships placement adds to the boat’s stability and allows excellent access. The exhaust is routed through the bulkhead at the forward end of the quarter berth, where the standup chart table is located. The bulkhead extends to the overhead, and, in versions with the Atomic 4, the engine vent blower also runs within it.

With over 500 boats in the fleet, an active and knowledgeable owner’s association and factory support that is a model for the rest of the industry, the Tartan 34C is truly a classic. Prices for used T34Cs are stable, even appreciating, as more sailors learn of the qualities of this boat. In the words of its designer, “there is nothing outstanding or unusual about it; everything just seemed to work well.”

LOA 34’ 5” LWL 25’ Beam 10’ 2” Displ. 11,200 lbs. Ballast 5,000 lbs. Draft board up 3’ 11” Draft board down 8’ 4” Air draft 44’ 9” Sail area hulls 1-124 526.63 sq. ft. hulls 125-200 500 sq. ft. hulls 201-525 473.38 sq. ft. yawl 535.94 sq. ft. SA/D (E=13’ 6”) 16.83 D/L 320 Lbs/in. immersion 909 PHRF 183

Prices range from $10,000 for a 1970 with an Atomic 4 to a fully restored and upgraded 1977 for $32,000

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Author: Blue Water Sailing

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Tartan 34 c

The tartan 34 c is a 34.42ft masthead sloop designed by sparkman & stephens and built in fiberglass by tartan marine between 1968 and 1978., 525 units have been built..

The Tartan 34 c is a heavy sailboat which is a reasonably good performer. It is very stable / stiff and has a good righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a coastal cruiser. The fuel capacity is originally small. There is a very short water supply range.

Tartan 34 c for sale elsewhere on the web:

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