Tag Yachts – General Specifications

TAG 60

 

TAG YACHTS – GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS

LOA (Hulls):  18.3m   60ft

LWL (No payload):  17.2m   57ft

Beam:   8.4m   27.6ft

Draft hull:  0.6m 2ft

Draft rudder:   1.25m 4ft

Draft centreboard down:  2.5m 8.2ft

Bridge deck clearance:  1.3m 4.3ft

Displacement with no payload:  12,600kg 27700lbs

Displacement with 100% payload (3,000kg):  15,600kg 34300lbs

Fuel capacity:  800litres 210 US gal

Water capacity:  800litres 210 US gal

Black water capacity:  400litres 105USgal

RIGGING

Height to top of mast above water:  26.3m    87ft

Mast length:  24.5m   80ft

Boom length:  7.6m    25ft

Sail area (Main and Self tacking headsail): 187.3m²   2020 sq ft

Mainsail area:  123m²   21328 sq ft

Code Zero area:  164m²   21771 sq ft

Light air jib area:  92m²   2994 sq ft

Self tacking headsail:  66m²   2712 sq ft

Staysail:  32m²   346 sq ft

PERFORMANCE

The TAG 60 is an extraordinary design. This concept is very progressive and makes a statement in aesthetics, high performance and practical usages. The TAG 60 embodies many features and concepts that make this design a complete package in each and every respect. For genuine world cruising ability, the size of this vessel is neither too small nor too large. It can be sailed shorthanded, maintained without full time crew and yet be large enough for seriously comfortable and realistic living.

In general – Cats have significant advantages through space, comfort, sailing upright and in some cases exceptional performance. The TAG 60 has taken the very best attributes and put them all together in a single concept to offer the very best.

This is first and foremost a high performance cruising cat, ideal for spending periods of time onboard in comfort and style. Performance seems to be at odds with this cruising requirement. However this design achieves a high level of performance and practical abilities through strong conceptual design.

Performance means many things to many people and is an often overused, over emphasized statement. The truth is that most cats are quite slow. They sail at low angles upwind and have no real performance abilities sailing in winds under 10 knots (let alone 5 knots). The TAG 60 is a design that performs exceptionally well across the wind and sea range and especially upwind, light airs and choppy uncomfortable sea states.

Here are some key fundamental pointers to the TAG 60s performance parameters:

• Slim easily driven hull shapes with high levels of reserve buoyancy so the TAG 60 can be pushed hard.
• Very high bridge deck clearance so the TAG 60 can handle higher speeds and rougher conditions than most other cats.
• Great attention to Aerodynamic and hydrodynamic details such as forward beam, gunwale shape, cabin design and rig design. The net result is less windage and as an associated consequence – better aesthetics in all areas.
• High tech construction materials and techniques to restrict weight and optimize centre of gravity positions and restrict speed sapping pitching.
• Substantial integrated component parts to restrict global twisting of the structure. A stiff structure is fast.
• High tech rig technology. From the large roach mainsail design to composite rigging: the rig is large yet easily managed and delivers exceptional horsepower to the sailing platform.

The TAG 60 has a potential top speed of well in excess of 20 knots; however it is its upwind angles and its light air performances that are quite remarkable and sets the TAG 60 apart from all other catamarans. This really is a cat for a sailor who really enjoys sailing at a high level.

SAFETY

Most boats satisfy marine safety regulations and consider that they are “safe”. With the TAG 60 we have looked at all the issues relating to personal and vessel safety and have these observations:

A fast boat is a safe boat. Being able to create and then take options when presented with a situation is very important. If you have a vessel capable of travelling at high averages, you will be able to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time much easier.

Weather routing is no longer the preserve of round the world race yachts. It is easily available and economical and we recommend this service. In fact weather routing is more advantageous for the performance multi-hull sailor than any other type of vessel.

The TAG 60 has high freeboard and high bridge deck clearance (ocean going 4WD), which means the crew can safely sail the boat harder and longer before having to back off. Even when backing off and sailing at 70% of its potential, the TAG 60 is still very fast and capable. The vessel is drier and has less slamming from waves than is normal. In extreme conditions you can raise the centreboards so the cat can slide sideways on breaking waves. This is a significant safety point as well as performance enhancement compared with fixed keels as seen on many older style catamarans.

The helmsman position is quite simply the best. From here you can see very easily the waves and wind on the water. You can view the full rig with ease when sailing hard. The small bullet shaped cabin in front of the helm position protects you from the wind to chest height and you can duck behind it if any spray comes your way.

Visibility and crew protection are vital. The TAG 60 does have an inside helm function at the Navigation station, however we consider that in rough weather this position can get hit quite hard with spray and waves and don’t consider it to the best place as far as visibility of the rig and sails is concerned either. Great for motoring and calm conditions though. If the crew is comfortable and feels safe, they will sail better, push a bit harder (with confidence) and the boat will respond to this and record high daily mileages.

HANDLING

The TAG 60 has been designed to be sailed single handed and this includes reefing the mainsail. All sail and sheet operations are carried out from the helm station. Handling the TAG 60 couldn’t be easier. The mainsail and jib sheet are controlled with push button sail controls. If you want to tack or jibe, simply put the helm down and adjust the sheets onto the new tack with your fingers.

The real gain is when you have to reef, normally you would have to send a crew to the mast to tuck in a reef and do a highly coordinated process which at night in zero visibility and tough conditions isn’t the safest thing to be doing. The TAG has a unique furling boom design and is the world’s first hybrid design that allows us to carry high performance mainsail roach yet still have an in boom reefing function. You can reef the mainsail to any position single handed and also shake the reef out just as easy. What this means is that you will be able to tune the rig configuration easier and because it’s easy – you will do it more often. This means a safe, confident and happy crew because you are sailing at your optimum all the time

The other sails are operated from the helm station also. The halyards, furling lines, sheets etc are all easy to reach and from the helm position you have a great view of the sails at all times. Ask us about our secret trysail design. So simple and easy to use – this is another example of the innovative thinking that has gone into the TAG 60.

One of the biggest areas of concern when manoeuvring a cat is how to bring it alongside a marina or back it into a tight space. The TAG 60 not only has electric drive propulsion which provides instant torque, it also has the best helm position to confidently bring the vessel in no matter what the situation. It’s really important to be able to see down the hull length fore and aft so you can judge the direction/distance and also look over the side and get a real gauge on how far you are from the dockside. Manoeuvring a catamaran from a central helm position or even slightly inboard, just makes it that much harder to do.

SALOON and COCKPIT

The TAG 60 features a breakthrough concept in the creation of our truly unique cabin design. As with many of they latest contemporary house designs, opening up the inside to the outside has been the ideal that many designers have been moving towards in recent years. The TAG 60 is possibly the only catamaran in the world that has managed to fully integrate and make practical the notion of inside/outside living at sea. Catamarans are well known for their large saloon and cockpit areas, yet the TAG 60 has exceeded this by incorporating the cockpit and saloon. This huge area is open to the elements or protected as suits you or the weather.

The first benefit from this concept is that it offers a better aesthetic. Most cats have cabins that are wide and short. This makes the vessel look squat and not very attractive. With the TAG 60 design the main cabin is long and has a very aerodynamic shape. The long cabin creates a correct impression of sleek lines and high performance. The second benefit of this cabin design is that it effectively “doubles” the useable space normally found on a cat this size. By creating a clever method of opening and closing this cabin, we retain the outside ambiance for good weather situations and interaction and at the same time you can change the configuration at the touch of a button. This way you make very efficient usage of the available area.

Imagine – with the TAG 60 the entertaining and living area stretches from one gunwale to the other, the impression is one of open space and multiple lounging and seating options. The interior of the saloon is fully open with lots of air, light and views in all directions, yet you have the option to sit in the sun or in the shade in the main saloon.

ACCOMODATION

The accommodation consists of four cabins and three bathrooms. Features consist of: Extra length double beds – ample storage in hanging closets and under-counter drawers – hardwood floors -ceilings and walls are fully lined with padded liners -LED lighting located for specific tasks – air conditioned and naturally ventilated – large portlights and opening hatch for good views and air flow – Bathrooms with separate shower and full size Headhunter toilet.

HIGH TECH RIG DESIGN

We think that this will be the most technically advanced and high tech rig yet seen on a cruising catamaran. The sail plan offers significant advantages as follows: Carbon wing mast. The mast section was chosen after carefully balancing up the needs between a stiff mast section, practical surface (sail) area and light weight. The amount of rigging is reduced to a minimum for less aerodynamic drag and by being able to rotate the mast we can significantly power up the rig for reaching and running as well as creating other set up variations. Most racing multi hulls have this style of rig and the TAG 60 is one of the first to fully employ this technology on a production cruising cat.

Furling /park avenue boom. Big roach mainsails place high loads on the top battens, so much so that a normal furling boom/luff groove configuration cannot carry these loads so you are restricted to a small roach mainsail or slab reefing. The TAG 60 has the best of both worlds. The top section of the mainsail runs on high load batten cars while the lower part of the mainsail runs in a special groove track. This way we can handle the high loads while still having a furling mainsail that you can effortlessly reef from the cockpit without crew or having to go up to the mast area.

Large roach mainsail design. In recent years development in battens, batten cars and auto response mast designs has allowed designers to design very efficient mainsail profiles. Normally a large roach mainsail can be a handful to handle; however the TAG 60 system offers the best of both worlds with its unique furling boom design that integrates with a batten car system allowing us to carry the optimum mainsail design.

Furling headsails. While we do offer a gennaker as a sail option, most cruising cats won’t need it thanks to the effort we have put into our bowsprit design and being able to carry highly loaded Code zero sails. The TAG 60 has an all purpose heavy duty self tacking headsail for most sailing situations, however and as most cat sailors know, when the wind drops below 10 knots and there is some left over chop, many cats struggle in these conditions as they are not fully powered up by the short foot working headsail. The TAG 60 has a purpose designed upwind headsail that is furled in the bowsprit for such conditions.

 

The long foot length really powers the cat up and pushes the lee bow hard so the cat remains pointing high and footing fast. Some cats have so called similar sails, but very few (if any) are able to fully hoist and sheet such a sail for effective upwind sailing.

PBO rigging: To help reduce weight aloft and help reduce pitching, the TAG 60 joins only a very few manufacturers in offering PBO rigging as standard. In addition all halyards and tails are vectran to further reduce stretch and weight.

PROPULSION

Standard specification for the inboard diesel engines are Yanmar 4JH  54 HP with SD 50 Saildrive legs. Also as standard supply are 3 blade Bruntons Varifold folding propellers.

Fortunately this is a very high performance vessel and the cost in overall sailing pleasure is minimal. Even when at anchor the batteries are continually charging thanks to the optional solar panel array.

The TAG 60 has been engineered by High Modulus Ltd and is the very latest in high tech construction materials and techniques using full female tooling. The TAG 60 features a full carbon construction, vacuum consolidated laminates using epoxy resin systems and cooking to achieve ultimate structural properties.

The TAG 60 enjoys many compound curved shapes and like an egg shell – they are inherently stronger than the flat panel shapes as seen on most catamaran designs (for the same m2/kg).

• Integral carbon fibre forward beam, main bulkhead, rear beam and all structural bulkheads. Carbon fibre centreboards and rudders
• Integral carbon fibre bowsprit
• Integral carbon chain plates and attachments
• Sacrificial foam and glass knuckle in case of impact
• Structural hull soles. Extensive Integral part construction (to help eliminate secondary bonding processes)

DINGHY

We have designed the TAG 60 for a RIB of up to 4.0m. Most catamarans use davits to lift your dinghy in and out of the water. Instead of davits, we have designed a platform that raises the dinghy out of the water. The platform has been designed to live at three levels. Top level is when the dinghy is in the up position and you are ready to go sailing, the bottom position launches the dinghy and the mid position is at the same level as the stern boarding platform.

This then forms a large “beach” area which is ideal for swimming from, setting up dive gear, wind surfer rigs and other water sport gear. This design is much nicer aesthetically and most important it protects the dinghy from being hit by waves from underneath. The dinghy is also much more secure than hanging from davits, not to mention davits are generally quite ugly and can block the view aft. The system is easily raised and lowered and when in the up position has a locking device to make it safe and secure.

IS THIS ART?

The emotion and feeling you get when you see this vessel for the first time is very important and establishes the excitement and anticipation of pleasure for your senses that will remain with you forever. The feeling that the TAG 60 creates is one of “raw” high performance, subtle lines, minimal extraneous features and sophisticated simplicity. Less is more and in this regard this design offers a new minimalist approach to multi hull design. Some examples:

• The bow design is designed to offer the less resistance going through waves with ease and has the ability to shed water quickly should you bury it completely. The net result is not just its function, but it looks spectacular as well.
• The forward beam has a unique “wing” style design, it does away with the normal “A” frame and wires and awkward attachment fittings as is common on most cats. Simply beautiful.
• Normally catamaran cabins are short and wide and not that attractive. In recent times people have tacked on cockpit overhangs almost as an afterthought. The TAG 60 has an amazing and sleek cabin design that successfully hides a massive volume and yet remains aerodynamically and structurally very efficient. Simple yet visually stunning design.

These examples are just a taste. Everywhere you look on the TAG 60 you will find examples of practical and performance orientated design detail that will ensure that the TAG 60 is simply one of the most stunning looking vessels yet launched.