We own a Tayana 55 and my wife (Nell is 50's and I am 60) and I have just done 8000 miles on her in 18 months mostly with just the 2 of us and much of it
offshore. She is a good sailor and fantastic in bad
weather, we took her through 48 hours of a 40-50
knot gale and 20 ft seas with ease. The long modified
keel gives her great stabiity and
tracking and theauto pilot handles the worst weather
We do not have roller reefing on the main which would make her easier to sail short handed but providing we reef early it is not a problem. The 2000 sq ft cruising shute, even with a sock, is a handful so we do not use it as a 'go fast sail' but as a 'light air sail'
Docking is not hard as long as you have a bow thruster, without one she would be a very difficult.
She is a fantastic
live-aboard and a great home in which we plan to circumnavigate.
However, like all big boats it does help if you have experience, she is not a 'beginner boat'
Pic is on our profile
If you need more information e-mail me at
DrPKellett@aol.com