About Tboat Design
About Tboat design! The first Tboat design, the T8 was built mid 1996 by myself and a couple of mates. The boat was named Tom Tom Taxi and was subsequently bought by Chris Bouzaid and Trice Kilroy and renamed Wairere.
The boat was shipped to the USA and campaigned there. That was the start of a legacy that has seen over 250 Tboat built and sailed around the world. A number have been built as production boats from moulds but the majority built by amateur builders.
Tboats have been involved in designing and producing boats over the last 28 years. Today I am concentrating on designing new boats and marketing our existing stock designs.
The company is based in New Zealand but work remotely with my 4 staff. My office is my T38 Tom Tom Taxi in the NZ summers and somewhere warm in the world in our winters.
I am online most days to answer customer queries.
Check out my About Steve page for more background on Tboats
Steve Thompson. Yacht designer
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Hauraki Gulf Auckland, New Zealand
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- By John Burnham
- Updated: October 29, 2001
From the drawing board of the man who helped engineer the Auckland Sky Tower and, more recently, designed the Viper 830, comes a speedy prototype called the T590. Thats 5.9 meters, or about 19 feet LOA. The T is for Steve Thompson, who quit his career as a construction engineer five years ago and turned to his passion for yacht design.
Like his other designs, which include Chris Bouzaids 30-foot Wairere, the 590 is light (about 1,000 pounds), with a narrow waterline beam and a fair amount of rocker (fore-and-aft hull curvature). The latter two characteristics help it go upwind, and Thompson relies on its low displacement to give it downwind legs.
A shallow, double-bottomed cockpit is rigged with hiking straps, and the side decks are wide for comfortable, effective hiking. Controls lead to the front of the cockpit beneath a removable section of deck, which keeps the deck clear and butt friendly, although you cant reach the controls from a hiking position.
The T590s real departure is in its sail plan, which is set on a stayed, carbon rig. Upwind, with two or three crew aboard, a powerful mainsail alone drives the boat. Downwind, you hoist an asymmetric from a channel under the foredeck, adding plenty of horsepower. There are no backstays, but the prebent mast with swept spreaders can handle the chute. Thompsons approach results in a fun boat thats quick and also easy to sail.
I sailed the drop-keel prototype one morning last winter on Auckland Harbor in six to eight knots of breeze. Thompson trimmed the main (there being no jibsheet to attend to), and we hiked out a little. In a puff, I’d feather the boat, and if I lowered the traveler slightly, the boat responded. I’d estimate we were sailing at a little over five knots. Downwind, the boat moved well as we sailed wide jibing angles, building apparent wind and then carrying the speed down to a deeper angle. We caught up to a ferryboat wave, and our speed jumped at least three knots as the forward sections popped out of the wave. That was a small taste of how much fun this boat would be to sail downwind in breeze and waves.
I put the boat on a shy spinnaker reach and found it had no tendency to wipe out. Just when I thought I was heeling way too much, the extra stability of the flared deck wings would kick in without much fuss. Jibing came easily enough, with me on the main and Thompson on the chute. For those of you who are dinghy sailors, a roll jibe would come naturally. The only difficulty I had was that–with the mainsheet cleat in front of the traveler–it was hard to switch sides and trim the main properly on the new jibe. Thompson also put a full-length batten in the main, and it was a challenge in light air to pop it onto the new tack. With a third crew aboard to handle the main, I’m sure a practiced roll jibe could be a thing of beauty.
We launched the 590 on a trailer ramp in a drysail park in less than 15 minutes. With its narrow waterline, the boat was tippy at the dock until we lowered the 180-pound keel into its tapered slot. The rudder was a simple, high-aspect blade that slipped easily into its housing, hung on a faired mount in the open transom.
Thompson still has a few things to work out. For one, hes going to rearrange the mechanics of the retractable pole so it doesnt interfere with the chute going up and down. The system for raising and lowering the keel also needs development. But later this year, Thompson hopes to deliver boats in the United States for about $17,000.
If you want to start a one-design fleet for a crew of two or three weighing about 500 pounds–or just have a fast, simple boat for daysailing or Portsmouth Yardstick racing–keep an eye on www. tboat.com or e-mail enquiry@tboats. co.nz (64-9-483-3520).
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COMMENTS
“I have worked with Steve to design and build my own custom T9 canting racing yacht in Australia. I can highly recommend Steve’s design and build processes to make the experience easier. Check out my experience building the boat here” Johnno Whitfield. Open Johnno’s full experience
Tom Tom Taxi Design page. I also get to stay in a warmer climate around the world in out NZ winters. I manage the design business by using permanent remote workers for the drafting, web and promotional work. My life lesson so far “Don’t try to be everything to everybody – just do the basics well” Steve Thompson. Yacht designer
Longtze L680 production yacht. T38 Tom Tom Taxi, the office. The company is based in New Zealand but work remotely with my 4 staff. My office is my T38 Tom Tom Taxi in the NZ summers and somewhere warm in the world in our winters. I am online most days to answer customer queries. Check out my About Steve page for more background on Tboats ...
Sep 15, 2001 · Steve runs Thompson Performance Design and he has many sport yachts sailing around the globe. Thompson Performance Design PO Box 34-540 Birkenhead Auckland, New Zealand Phone +64 9 419 0922 steve@tboat.com www.tboat.com Thompson boats are imported into the USA by: Thompson Marine USA PO Box 4856 Middletown RI 02842 Phone: (401) 662 0855
Oct 29, 2001 · Test of the high-speed 19-footer by New Zealand s Steve Thompson. ... years ago and turned to his passion for yacht design. ... start a one-design fleet for a crew of two or three weighing about ...
Nov 11, 2004 · Thompson Performance Design PO Box 34-540 Birkenhead Auckland, New Zealand Phone +64 9 419 0922 steve@tboat.com www.tboat.com Thompson boats are imported into the USA by: Thompson Marine USA PO Box 4856 Middletown RI 02842 Phone: (401) 662 0855 Email: [email protected] www.tboat.com This article courtesy Boating New Zealand magazine.
Flat out racing Steve Thompson design sailing yacht with water ballast, retractable keel, new sails, hydraulic propulsion, bowsprit and electric winches, now available for sale. Launched 2022 this fast racer comes equipped with triple spreader mast with controls going back to the cockpit and is ideal for short handed sailing.
Electric Yacht. SeaWaterPro. SBD App Non-BR. top 1 ads row1. top 2 ads row2. top 3 ads row2. Steve Thompson . www.tboat.com. Sailboats Designed By Steve Thompson ...
Flat out racing Steve Thompson design sailing yacht with water ballast, retractable keel, new sails, hydraulic propulsion, bowsprit and electric winches, now available for sale. Launched 2022 this fast racer comes equipped with triple spreader mast with controls going back to the cockpit and is ideal for short handed sailing.
Yacht Design at Tmarine · Experience: Tmarine · Location: Whangaparaoa · 2 connections on LinkedIn. View Steve Thompson’s profile on LinkedIn, a professional community of 1 billion members.