Tim Jacket, the in-house designer and President of Fairport Yachts, is responsible for updating the designs of both Tartan and C&C Yachts. By using the latest technologies and facilities available, he maintains the classic cruiser image of the Tartans and the sporty appearance of the C&C. Our exclusive interview with Tim provides an overview of his history with Tartan and its current launch of the Tartan 4400, and his vision for the future.

A New Sense of Aesthetics Rex: I was looking at the lower aspect of the sails.  That’s a little different. Tim: One of the challenges is that a boat in the mid 40's is just about nudging up to that 65 foot bridge clearance level for the Intercoastal, and you really don’t want to go over it.  It has bridge clearance to 63.5 ft.  Your heart’ll pound but you’ll make it under.  You wind up with lower aspect-ratio sails, but you fill up the sail plan with a good sail area displacement ratio for a cruising boat. Rex: That makes the rig configuration different than some of the others in the line.  Does she handle differently? Tim: Not really.  Every boat I do, the lead and the balance between the underbody and the rig--the offset is always the same. I have a formula I use to determine optimal sail area to the size of the rudder.  You know that, if you follow some very basic parameters, when that first boat goes in the water, it’ll behave as you expect it.  Every designer has those comfort zones in which they work. As you go through a progression of boats, you push it a little here and there.  But seldom will you go and make a huge radical step; because from a company’s point of view, it’s a major investment. Rex: Here at the show, the rise of the raised deck salon is apparent.  Is that where the boat designers are going? Tim: I think the sailboat market was ready to look at something different.  Everybody’s aesthetics change over the years.  If you had put any one of our boats in the show fifteen years ago, people would have said “oh my gosh, it’s an ungodly amount of freeboard” and the house structure would look big.  People's sense of proportion changes.  If I did an overlay of the Tartan 3700 over the old Tartan 37, it would have huge proportions compared to that boat.  It’s higher out of the water, the house structure is bigger.  Fifteen years ago putting on a raised salon deck structure would have been a shock to people’s aesthetics.  I think the market is ready for it.  Things do change in that regard. Formula For Cruising Rex: How does the 44 handle? Tim: It’s set up for a cruising couple.  The boat we have here has electric primaries and an electric halyard winch.  The mainsheet is led forward and then down the side decks, back to the helm area so you can trim the main and the jib while steering the boat.  Everybody likes the housetop traveler but that means a housetop mainsheet.  This arrangement allows the helmsmen to have the mainsheet and jib sheet right there at the helm area making for good single handed control.  Rex: The raised roof seems pretty high.  How is that for someone in the cockpit to look over? Tim: The standard for the helm station is that you should be able to stand at the wheel and see the bow of the boat.  We have the cockpit high enough in the boat – I’m 5’9 and I can stand at the wheel and see the stem fitting.  Some of those basic proportions you stick with.  I like to be able to stand at the wheel and see the bow. Rex: So, the cockpit a little bit higher? Tim: Yes, and from a sailing standpoint, when you’re sailing the boat upwind or reaching, you can sit out on the combing, reach the wheel, and you’re sitting just outside of the house structure – you can see the slot and the headsail.  The boat is comfortable to sail upwind, and you have good visibility. Rex: How is she under power? Tim: I think the power performance of boats is also expected to be higher.  People were comfortable to cruise along at 6 knots under power – those days are gone.  8 to 8.5 knots cruising is what people are looking for these days.  The 44 under power will max out at 9.3 to 9.4 knots, and it’ll cruise all day at 8 to 8.5 knots.  You’re starting to nudge up against the equivalent of what an awful lot of sailors went out to look for on the power end with trawlers.  A trawler at 10-11 knots is about what they’re comfortable doing.  Rex: Let’s talk about some of the other boats in the range.  How do you feel about the positioning of the other boats in the range in this market? Tim: The rest of the Tartan line is made up of good contemporary half-cockpit boats with emphasis on very good manners, excellent building practices, and continuing the Tartan lineage.  There’s no mistaking one of our boats when it comes into a harbor.  We had a rendezvous in Essex this summer – I think 40 or 45 boats came in.  We’ve done an awful lot of dark blue and dark green and colored hulls; so it was distinctive.  We have a really strong family lineage. Rex: The 44 has taken Tartan in a somewhat new direction considering its opulence.  Is that the kind of thing we can come to expect? Tim: The Tartan 4100 is no less hand-crafted and detailed than the 44.  We’ve learned some new things with the 44 that are taking Tartan further upscale.  We’re doing some neat things with laminated trim moldings that allow us to do some real nice curve shapes that are beyond what we’ve done in the past.  Some of these things are different and will find their way into the rest of the line.  The build and trim details take the level of craftsmanship up a couple of notches. The C & C Connection Rex: Are you involved with the C&C line as well? Tim: Yes, we acquired C&C about 5 years ago.  At the time we acquired it, the brand was flat on its back.  It had a fire, and the molds that had existed were destroyed.  But we looked at C&C as a very good sister brand to Tartan, and an opportunity to define each brand uniquely.  When we acquired it, we acquired a brand and a heritage, but – essentially – no boats. We moved what there was; basically all the old engineering materials, design files, and models.  Our initial plan was that we would do a 32, a mid 30s, and a 40 ft C&C as the relaunch of the brand.  We’ve accomplished that, and it’s a very successful sister to Tartan.  The ability to have two distinct design styles is exciting to me.  I really enjoy it. Rex: In a sense, hasn’t picking up the C&C line actually helped you focus the Tartan design area? Tim:  It’s helped us define where we want to be with Tartan.  Before C&C we tried to take it more down the middle of the road.  We still want to appeal to the performance wishes of our customers.  They want to have a well-mannered good-performing boat, but they also want the luxurious accommodations.  The 44 is large and cavernous, but we were real careful that with every step you take you can find a handhold.  If you’re crashing through some 8 footers and you go through that boat, you’ve got that next handhold to move from the front end to the back end.  At the dock it’s obviously very comfortable, but you still have to keep weather in mind as well.  Rex: Are you designing the new C&Cs? Tim: Different pencil, different attitude.  They’re wonderful boats.  The difficult thing for us on C&C was winning people over.  C&C had been bashed around pretty good, and they were a little leery of the next group that was going to do something with it.  When we talked to the owners’ groups, we tried to get across that what we’re doing with the brand would benefit them.  There’s a current brand and that’s going to support their boats as well. The goal has been to make C&C and Tartan equal.  We have two brands, a distinguished product mix, and offer 7 boats now.

The Future Rex: Back to Tartan, what’s the future going to bring – without tipping your hand? Tim: We want to take Tartan down into a smaller size.  We’d like to get down into the low 30s with Tartan, and we think there’s an opportunity to go to the other end as well. Rex: From what I see, it looks like people want bigger boats. Tim: There are a lot of parts of the country where a thirty-foot Tartan would have a lot of appeal.  Throughout our history and, really, that of any brand, the ability to bring new people in and move them up through the product range is a very important aspect. Right now the 3500 is the entry boat into Tartan.  It’s a $200,000 entry.  We aren’t going to get a lot of new entries that way.  The other thing between the two brands is that with C&C we want to go even smaller – under 30 feet.  With that, the intent isn’t to build thousands of them.  The modest goal of 50 a year of each brings a hundred new people to our umbrella.  Whether they stay with C&C or, as they mature, they want to cruise and move into Tartan.  The concept is to go smaller and bring new people in to let them grow with us.  Rex: Well, it was certainly a pleasure to stand aboard the 4400 and talk to the man who knows more about Tartan Yachts than anyone else on the planet.  It's obvious from Tim's candid discussion that Tartan's future as a leader in cruising sailboat design is secure.  In a time when companies are tirelessly trying to re-invent brand names and enter new markets, Tartan surely seems to have a strong foothold. Yet is more than up to the challenge of increasing its range, specifically into the under-30 foot sailboat market.  After taking a detailed look at the flagship of the fleet, and getting a tour second-to-none from its mastermind, I can say with confidence that Tartan has found and mastered a solid formula for success.