Ta Shing sailboats for sale

Buying a used Ta Shing: you're buying the yard, not the badge

On the used market, "Ta Shing" is less a brand than a pedigree. The same Tainan shop floor produced boats sold as Baba, Panda, Tashiba, Mason, and Taswell, so a buyer shopping this builder is really shopping build quality across several nameplates - and in some cases the same Bob Perry hull under three of them. That flips the usual calculus: with a builder that reviewers and surveyors have consistently rated at the top of the Taiwan fleet, the spread in value between two examples comes down almost entirely to how each boat's teak, tanks, and original systems have been kept up. A neglected example is expensive to bring back precisely because there is so much wood to restore; a well-kept one rewards the search.

Which era to target

The earliest boats are the Baba-era double-enders of the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s, from the Baba 30 through the Baba 35 and 40, along with the Mason boats built for Pacific Asian Enterprises in the same years. These carry the most traditional character - the earliest 40-footers are known for highly ornate, hand-carved interior woodwork - and Practical Sailor noted early Baba 30 interiors finished in gelcoat and quilted vinyl, with foam insulation and teak battens arriving on later boats.

From the mid-1980s the yard rebadged and refined rather than redesigned: the Tashiba 40, in production from 1984 onward, kept the Baba 40's hull and rig but typically toned down the interior carving and updated hardware, and the Tashiba 36 introduced in 1986 gained vinylester outer skins for blister resistance. Buyers wanting Perry's canoe-stern concept with the most evolved construction should look here. The late-1980s-onward Taswell boats are a different proposition altogether - Bill Dixon-designed fin-keelers rather than full-keel double-enders - so choose between the two families on sailing intent, not vintage alone.

What to inspect across the range

Three items recur across the yard's sail era regardless of badge. First, teak decks: they were laid over structural sub-decks with screw fastenings on boats like the Tashiba 40 and Taswell 43, giving water a path below as the decks age - a Taswell 43 review warns the plywood sub-deck can rot before the overlay is dealt with, and Baba 35 decks are similarly known to develop leaks. Budget the deck's remaining life into any offer. Second, original fuel tanks: the black iron and steel tanks fitted across the Baba, Tashiba, and related models are documented corrosion points, and replacement is labor-intensive because tanks often sit beneath the cabin sole or engine; many boats have already had this done, which is worth verifying rather than assuming. Third, rigging attachment and hull skin: Practical Sailor's surveyors reported corroded chainplate bolts on some Baba 30s - happily visible from below for easy monitoring - while crevice corrosion in chainplates is called common on the Tashiba 40, and minor blistering, usually within a foot of the waterline, shows up on some Baba-era hulls. Engine access and hours deserve attention too, given the age of the fleet.

Navigating the lineup

Think of the range as two families. The Perry double-enders run from the Baba 30 up through the 35, Tashiba 36, and the Baba/Panda/Tashiba 40 - one design language in ascending sizes, with badge indicating era more than substance. The Dixon-drawn Taswells and the Tatoosh 42 offer the same builder in more contemporary configurations, and the Mason line is covered on its own pages. The full model directory on this page lays out every version by size.