Tartan 3800 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The hull is hand-laminated from unidirectional E glass, with balsa coring through the topsides and a solid laminate below the waterline; the deck is likewise balsa-cored fiberglass, with solid laminate and backing plates substituted wherever hardware is bolted anchor. Tartan sealed the deck to an inward hull flange with 3M 5200 adhesive, and the wood toe rail’s screws tap into a 6061-T6 aluminum strip glassed into that flange, a detail that speaks to structural continuity rather than cosmetic trim alone. Both hull and deck carry interior liners, and the overhead uses removable cover panels—even fully removable if needed—to reach deck-gear bolts. Exterior teak toe rails, handholds, and Dorade boxes lend the proper yacht ambience, though the wood is finished with Sikkens Setol penetrating oil rather than varnish. Ventilation is generous: four Dorade boxes, four Lewmar hatches, and 11 stainless opening portlights. The plans carry ABS approval, with an optional ABS certificate available.

Rig and Handling

As a masthead sloop, the 3800 carries a keel-stepped aluminum mast by Offshore Spars with in-line double spreaders and continuous wire rigging, plus a permanent baby stay to the lower spreaders that steadies the rig against pumping without running backstays anchor. Sail handling is centralized: mainsheet, traveler, halyards, and reef lines lead to size-32 winches and stoppers at the aft cabin-house edge, while Harken 48 self-tailing jib-sheet winches sit where either helmsman or crew can work them. The traveler sits just forward of the dodger so both mainsheet and traveler are controlled from the cabin top. Writing in Cruising World, Bill Lee and Sheila McCurdy found the boat responsive and forgiving, hove to easily, and tacked through 80 to 85 degrees with full-battened main and genoa in up to 15 knots; she stayed quite stiff even with the shoal keel in 20 knots and maintained speed with less helm after reefing anchor. Cruising World’s test sailors felt the steering was a bit numb, possibly from a slightly overbalanced spade rudder.

Accommodations

Below, the teak-trimmed interior sleeps six to seven across two cabins and two heads, arranged as a forward double stateroom and an aft double, with the head layout thoughtful enough to include a separate shower stall and wet locker. The chart table faces forward in a generous niche, and side panels to port and starboard of the companionway fend errant salt spray from galley and nav station. The galley sink sits near centerline for draining on either tack, though the deep icebox’s top-and-front access demands forethought in provision stowage, and the stove gimballs 40 degrees to port but only 25 to starboard thanks to a trim interference the reviewers called easily remedied. Cedar-lined hanging lockers use finger-through-a-hole latches rather than push buttons, a quirk the test noted as a possible nuisance in bumpy conditions. The cockpit is compact but comfortable, with a wheel easy to step around and a layout that functioned well with five aboard.

Keels and Power

Two keel choices define the boat’s character. The standard 5'4" shoal-draft “beavertail” keel sailed very well in the Cruising World test with a two-bladed fixed prop, while a 6'10" high-lift elliptical keel is offered for higher performance anchor. Auxiliary power in the reviewed boat was a 37-horsepower Westerbeke diesel, accessed by lifting the molded companionway steps and through two side-panel doors; bronze seacocks are used throughout. Tankage is ample for the size: 38 gallons fuel, 80 water, and 24 holding.

The Verdict

The Tartan 3800 is a solid, honest cruising boat with enough performance for passage making and club-level racing, built in small numbers but with a long standard-feature list and short options list. Jackett’s hull balances stiffness and livability, and the deck-and-rig detail shows real cruising intent.

Pros