The Tanzer 26 is a Canadian

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

, intended for

racing In sports, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific g ...

, day sailing and cruising. It was designed by

Johann Tanzer Johann Tanzer (1927-2016) was a Canadians, Canadian sailboat designer, who founded the sailboat manufacturer that bore his name, Tanzer Industries, in 1966. Early life Johann Tanzer was born on 3 January 1927 in the village of Velden am Wörth ...

and first built in 1974. The design is out of production.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 182-183. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.

Production

Production of the boat was commenced in 1974 by

Tanzer Industries Tanzer Industries Limited was a Canadian boat manufacturer based in Dorion, Quebec. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fibreglass sailboats. History The company was founded by Johann Tanzer in 1966 and went bankrupt in M ...

Dorion, Quebec Vaudreuil-Dorion () is a suburb of Greater Montreal, in the Montérégie region of southwestern Quebec, Canada. The result of the merger of two towns, Vaudreuil and Dorion, it is located in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. ...

and 960 boats were completed by the time production ended in 1985. The company entered bankruptcy in May 1986.

Design

The Tanzer 26 is a small recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...

, with wood trim. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, a ...

rig, a transom-hung

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

. It displaces and carries of ballast. The hinged mast is mounted on the cabin top. The boat was built with a standard keel that gives a draft of . Most examples built were powered by an

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

, but an inboard-mounted

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese-built

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasure boats, cons ...

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

was optional. The accommodations include a forward cabin with a "V" berth with a hatch for ventilation and a folding door for privacy. The main cabin has a settee double berth and a quarter berth. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

is on the port side of the cabin and has a ventilator, with the

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

on the starboard side. There is a folding table as well, that stows against the bulkhead. The cockpit is self-draining and can seat six or more adults, with a sail locker and outboard motor fuel tank locker. An

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...

locker is mounted forward. The

mainsheet traveller In sailing, a sheet is a line (rope, cable or chain) used to control the movable corner(s) (clews) of a sail. Terminology In nautical usage the term "sheet" is applied to a line or chain attached to the lower corners of a sail for the purpose ...

is mounted to the

bridge deck A deck is the surface of a bridge. A structural element of its superstructure A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildin ...

and

jib sheet In sailing, a sheet is a line (rope, cable or chain) used to control the movable corner(s) (clews) of a sail. Terminology In nautical usage the term "sheet" is applied to a line or chain attached to the lower corners of a sail for the purpose ...

tracks are installed on the side toe rails. The boat has a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

racing average handicap of 216. It has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to- ...

of .

Operational history

Tanzer 26 sailboat Clear Sky with Canadian flag genoa 1345

In a review Michael McGoldrick wrote, "These boats have a reputation as a good club racer, but they are equally well known a comfortable cruising boats that can easily accommodate an average size family. The Tanzer 26 is supported by an active network of owners, and they have even come up with a new rudder design to improve the boats' handling characteristics. Boats built in the 1980's (starting a little before hull # 300) have the newer window configuration and improved forward hatch. People sailing in shallow waters will be happy to note that the Tanzer 26 has a draft of 3 feet, 10 inches, which isn't all that deep for a 26 footer with a fin keel." In his description of the design, Richard M. Sherwood wrote, "This is a combination boat, for racing or cruising. The cockpit is large, so she is also a day sailer, with capacity for six or more. With a fairly high ballast/displacement ratio, she can be expected to be stiff."

References

External links

* {{Tanzer sailboats Keelboats 1970s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Johann Tanzer Sailboat types built by Tanzer Industries

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links