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Tartan 3400

2005 December 7
By Robert H. Perry

Coastal cruiserr

There are lots of Tartan 34s on the water today and so Tim Jackett of Tartan decided it was time to update the company's old model. The LOA is the same but that's where the similarity ends. I like this beamy little boat. It looks the way boats should look. Unlike the Euro, bloated tennis shoe look, this design has some nicely defined contours and surfaces that give it a crisp and traditional look without being old fashioned. If pressed for a word to describe this style I'd have to say "classic."

With an L/B of 2.88, this design qualifies as very beamy. Anything below 3.00 is beamy. The overhangs are modest but there is enough in the ends to maintain that timeless look. I love the sheer spring; subtle but perky. The forefoot is V-ed. The brochure says, "The hull's volume is evenly distributed through her length." Really? Does that mean the curve of immersed area is symmetrical around the 50-percent DWL section? That would be unusual. LCB is usually about 54.5 percent aft. It's probably just brochure talk. Tim Jackett draws nice hulls. The D/L is 171. You can have your pick from three keel models: 6-foot, 6-inch fin; 4-foot, 11-inch beavertail; and 3-foot, 11-inch/7-foot keel/centerboard. With that much beam I can't imagine this model being a rocket but it will be roomy and stable and an able performer.

The layout works for two couples or a couple with two kids as long as the kids can share a berth without killing each other. The saloon settees look to be too short to double as berths and that kink doesn't help either. Those settees are 6-feet, 2-inches long so they might work for kids. The galley is fine but I'm not sure what you do with dripping dishes that come from the sink. I guess you dry them immediately. The quarterberth is a big double, generous by any reasonable standard. The head has a shower stall and wet locker. The nav station is minimal but with chart plotters you do not need as much room at the chart table as you did before. Even with all this interior there is still volume left for a true lazarette to starboard.

The rig is moderate in size with a sensible SA/D of 18.76. The jib is self-tacking with a track on top of the cabintrunk. You can set a roller-furling reaching sail on the headstay ahead of the forestay if you like. I think it would be better to have a wire luff furler and take this reaching sail down when it's not up. It's not very efficient to have a big sausage right in front of your jib's leading edge. It may be convenient but it's going to hurt your speed on the wind. But it's a matter of sailing style and this rig gives you the option of doing it either way. The custom carbon fiber boom is trough-shaped to help capture the main when it's dropped. The mainsail cover is stowed within the boom. The mast is also carbon fiber. Tartan uses its own luff system to reduce the friction of the full-batten mainsail.

The helm seat is integrated into the transom door to give good access to the swim platform. When this door is closed you do not see a swim platform if I am reading the drawing correctly. It's a clever design. The cockpit seats are more than seven-feet long so there is plenty of room to stretch out and nap. There is an anchor well on the foredeck.

I'd be willing to bet that this handsome design will retain its good looks for a
long time.