Overview
The Taswell 58 is a Bill Dixon design built by Ta Shing in Taiwan; sailboatdata.com lists it as the Taswell 58 RS, built from 1999.
Design and Construction
sailboatdata.com lists a fin keel with a skeg-hung rudder, 58 ft overall on a 47.92 ft waterline, 16.5 ft of beam and 7.75 ft of draft. Displacement is 65,000 lb with 19,500 lb of ballast, and the cutter carries about 1,426 sq ft. Cruising World’s reviewers describe the hull as solid hand-laid GRP with 10 foam-filled longitudinal stringers and 10 high-density PVC-foam-cored transverse floors glassed in, while the deck and cabin structure are cored with end-grain balsa. The deck is joined to the hull’s inturned flange with 3M 5200 bedding and stainless steel thru-bolts. They describe Dixon’s hull form as a fine entry forward with a longish, externally mounted Scheel keel and a large skeg-hung rudder. All halyards and reefing gear lead aft across the cabintop, and the reviewers wrote that a shorthanded crew can sail her from the sheltered cockpit. They were impressed with her ability to move out and track in light to moderate air, and found the skeg-hung rudder responsive.
Buyers Notes
John Neal rates Taswells 3 of 5 for good quality and sailing performance, noting limited tankage on some models.
