Design # 71; TAYLOR 42’s

Built by: Concordia Custom Yachts, Padanaram, MA

Hull #1 DRUMBEAT launched in 1991, #2 NUMBERS in 1992

DESIGN #71: 41.9 ft LOA IMS Racer:

Specifications:

LOA 41.9 ft                                                          Sail Area (RSAT) 1020 ft^2

LWL 34.9 ft                                                         ‘IM’ 55.9 ft

Max Beam 13.3 ft                                               ‘J’ 16.1 ft

Draft 8.0 ft                                                         ‘LP’: 150%

Disp (Meas Trim) 17,750 lbs                              ‘P’ 49.5 ft

Ballast 10,500 lbs                                               ‘E’ 17.0 ft

Equipment:

Spars: HallSpars custom 4 spreaders; Aluminum mast and boom

Rigging: Navtec; 22-13-5 Nitronic solid S.S. rod

Winches: Lewmar

Electronics: Owner Option

Engine: Yanmar 49 hp

Construction Details:

The hull is laminated from unidirectional and biaxial ‘S-glass’ skins, vacuum bagged over H-80 Divinycell crosslinked foam and AL-600 Baltek cores above the waterline, and H-80 and Airex foam below. There are high concentrations of unidirectional ‘S-glass (in lieu of carbon fiber, now penalized for IMS) along the hull backbone and bilge stringers. An integrated gridwork of deep keel floors, partial bulkheads, longitudinals, and ring frames supports rig and keel loads, controls headstay tension, and prevents shell distortion.

The deck is a similar laminate of ‘S-glass’ skins over the same H-80 Divinicell and AL-600 cores used in the hull. Unidirectional ‘S-glass’ reinforces deck stringers, which take the heavy compression loads from the headstay and backstay, and which are continuous from stem to stern. All laminates are vacuum bagged and post cured, and epoxy resins are used throughout.

Noteworthy Details

Both T-42′s boast a ballast/displacement ratio of over 60%, and nearly half the ballast weight is carried inside the hull. Most of this inside ballast is carefully shaped to fit the hull and very heavily glassed in place, forming a ‘lead core’ beam supporting the mast step, and massive lead and glass ‘backing plates’ distributing the keel bolt and grounding loads over a large area of hull shell. This ballasting approach results not only in a remarkably robust structure, but also in a substantial speed advantage upwind, due to an unusually ‘soft’ motion in a seaway resulting from the low pitch moment of inertia. Also contributing to the high stability and low pitch moment are a very sophisticated four spreader HallSpar rigs.

Comments

Rating rules come and go, (along with their inevitable type-forming and loopholes), but good all-around boats are always fast and fun, and they keep right on winning no matter what rule is in vogue. The T-42 is an especially impressive case in point; they were designed for IMS, they were consistent winners under that rule, and they are still winning in the same configurations (no significant changes) in PHRF, ORR and IRC. They have proven to be rugged, seaworthy, versatile, fast and fun, and winners under any handicap system. Comments from two DRUMBEAT owners sum it up well for these boats: One chuckled, after an early string of high end race wins, “This boat is a license to steal!” A later owner lamented, “I never should have sold that boat!”

Racing Highlights

• Bermuda Race ’08; T-42 CABADY (ex-NUMBERS) 1st in Class 4 in both IRC and ORR, 3rd in fleet
• American YC Fall Series ’08; CABADY repeats earlier wins, now in IRC 3
• Block Island RW; T-42 wins class for remarkable 5th time, this time under IRC, 17 years after first win in IMS.
• PHRF N.E. Championships: NUMBERS takes Class 1, 2-1-1
• Pilot’s Point Regatta: NUMBERS gets 6 straight bullets over Farr 44 and Farr 40
• Block Island: T-42 wins IMS class third year in a row, 1-1-4-1-3-1-1. Taylor design wins class 4th straight year
• Edgartown: DRUMBEAT wins two straight, beats new INFINITY in IMS 3-1-2-2-1
• NYYC Cruise: DRUMBEAT wins week over INFINITY and new Farr 39
• Herreshoff Medal; DRUMBEAT wins NYYC’s most coveted ‘overall performance’ award
• PHRF N.E. Championships: DRUMBEAT and week-old TAYLOR 41 take 1st & 2nd over N/M 40
• Key West: NUMBERS blows chute in finale, drops to 2nd overall by scant 7 seconds
• Commodore’s Cup (England): NUMBERS top scoring boat in fleet over last 3 races, beats Farr 40 OA
• NYYC IMS Championships: NUMBERS design wins class 4th year in a row, 1-1-1
• Newport N.O.O.D. Regatta: DRUMBEAT dominates 40′s Class, 1-1-2