Union Polaris 36 and Tayana 37

[Ruso]

Asking price in Tayana kind of in premium side. The teak removal will set you back at least 10k. I would negotiate hard in her.

[barnakiel]

A friend who sailed a different boat went for a Polaris. Some time later he had some comments on the boat being slow and hard to sail in light winds.


I bet Tayana is a similar case. Both boats a very good choice if you are sailing in a predominantly windy area.


b.

[SV__Grace]

Both are beautiful but I vote the Tayana. Solar, diesel heater for WA, composting toilet is a plus. In the Union a leaky tank is a big expensive problem to avoid if possible as there are likely other hidden problems as well. The whole package of the Tayana is compelling to me.

[Joyful Noise]

I would want to know what the keels are made of. A number of these Taiwanese built boats used iron enclosed in glass rather than lead. As a result of a relatively mild grounding in one such boat, salt water intrusion caused the iron to swell making repair prohibitively expensive

[Bill Youmans]

Nice classic nautical look both but too much wood outside maintenance-run while you can.

[gonesail]

the teak looks old on the Tayana. decks are probably already saturated. keep looking.

[Orion Jim]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sy5...VIH3JYc4B40jom

This couple purchased a Tatyana 37 in the Med. several months ago and may provide some valuable insight.

[Lazerbrains]

I'll add to the chorus - the Tayana is the better of the two. Better sailing, better built, and better layout - they have tons of storage. The biggest issue with removing teak decks is the possibility of the core being wet and needing replacing - not fun. If you like the boat, get a good survey for possible water intrusion.

[Mike OReilly]

My Rafiki-37 is very similar to a Tayana-37. When boat shopping last, I did look a a few T37s, and would have bought one had they been in good enough shape.

The issues with these types of boats have already been mentioned. Teak decks, iron tanks, chain plates. I don't know much about the Union-36, but most of these pedigree of boats have good bones; well designed and well built. Certainly worth a good look.

[maijipo]

Thank you for all your comments. We are just coming back from our visit so I looked at the two boats very open-minded since I didn't know your comments/advice.

We first saw the Tayna 37. We loved it. Very well equiped. New engine. New sails. Everything seems dry. However, the boat needs some cosmetics painting. The teck has been cleaned and now need new paint. Also, it is clear that at one point it would need to be removed.

When we left the Tayana to see the Polaris we were all in for the Tayana. It does really looks like the blue water boat we were looking for. Robust, elegant with this "old lady look".

Then we saw the Polaris. Huge difference. The boat is very well maintained. Teck in great condition etc...like new...Also, the cockpit is bigger a bit more comfortable. At the end you end up spending a lot of time in the cockpit. Now, the boat has apparently a small leak from the fuel tank (detected during engine maintenance). Very small apparently but still a leak that can potentially turn into a problem. Removing the tank, putting new one can bit a lot of work and expensive (around 10k also).

Nonetheless, when driving back home we were more inclined to the Polaris mainly because he is well maintained (you can see the owner took care of her with attention) and because it is more "habitable". Also he is obviously "cheaper".

We actually love both boats. The size is perfect for us, the style and the habitability. Now looking at your comments, they seem to be inline with what I read about the Polaris. My understanding is that it is a good blue water boat but tank leak and deck leak are usual issues. The Tayana problem are for the moment mostly cosmetic (painting) and I didn't see any apparent leak.

Since we like both boats, I am thinking about being aggressive on the price. At the end if both boats are seaworthy, it all comes to the cost of fixing problems. I am tempted to do an aggressive offer for the Tayana (maybe around 40k) and then possibly switch to the Polaris where I think the price could be easier to negotiate (they seems less popular). In all cases we will do a survey. That is clear. We did it before buying our Tartan and I will not invest 50k without a complete survey.

[Ruso]

Teak deck... unless it was re-worked in the near past - time to remove it, may be a few years down the road -bring it to negotiation.
Tank replacement on Polaris - instead of big one consider 2 smaller (10K sounds way too much)
Offer very aggressively. Of course the Devil hides in details but I would start $30K on Union and consider $35K
For Tayana... New engine of 2006 is NOT new engine - better then original one for sure. I would agree on $40- $42K - no dollar more.
But I would just wait for Tayana, Baba, Cape Dory, Union with no teak deck.
Just don't to get emotionally attached.

[maijipo]

Originally Posted by Ruso

Teak deck... unless it was re-worked in the near past - time to remove it, may be a few years down the road -bring it to negotiation.
Tank replacement on Polaris - instead of big one consider 2 smaller (10K sounds way too much)
Offer very aggressively. Of course the Devil hides in details but I would start $30K on Union and consider $35K
For Tayana... New engine of 2006 is NOT new engine - better then original one for sure. I would agree on $40- $42K - no dollar more.
But I would just wait for Tayana, Baba, Cape Dory, Union with no teak deck.
Just don't to get emotionally attached.

Thx for the advice concerning the negotiation. We can try that and passed if we don't get what we want. But as you know there is always a lot of emotion in a boat or you would not buy any. We saw a lot of boats and none really raised much interest to us. These 2 directly did. The same happened when we bought the Tartan after seeing so many others...hard to keep the emotion out.

[Ruso]

Originally Posted by maijipo

Thx for the advice concerning the negotiation. We can try that and passed if we don't get what we want. But as you know there is always a lot of emotion in a boat or you would not buy any. We saw a lot of boats and none really raised much interest to us. These 2 directly did. The same happened when we bought the Tartan after seeing so many others...hard to keep the emotion out.

Another thing.. Ask for records of maintenance. Normally brokers never have them and ask direct contact with the owner if you have (you should) questions.
Also.. don't know if it feasible bring a surveyor for couple hours work to view both boats - you might get some different perspective..
If you have two boats you like - you are in the good position to negotiate. Good luck! I am really eager to jump into the process - just not there yet.

[maijipo]

Yes that is what we think. Since we like both understanding their inconvenient we have some leverage...we hope so

[maijipo]

Also found that article about the Polaris: https://www.practical-sailor.com/sai...36-boat-review

Concerning the Tayana same article and also excellent.