Taras, the last Willard 36

Taras, Hull #40 of the Willard 36 line, shown around 1971 or so. She was the last of 39 hulls struck (Hull #13 was skipped). In the picture are the owner, his son, and a good friend George Angle. The original owner kept Taras in Newport Beach and made frequent trips to Baja. George was so impressed with the boat that he purchased Willard Marine several years later. Taras' current owner purchased her in 1999 in San Francisco. A few years after purchasing Weebles (current name), he met George Angle and learned of his fondness of the boat.

Weebles carries 500 gallons of diesel and 200 gallons of water. Her Perkins 4-236 75hp burns around 1.25 gph at 7 kts. Not shown in the photo are hydraulic stabilizers that would have been installed during commissioning, or probably shortly after this picture was taken.

The Willard 36 production run started in 1961 and included a "Cruiser" layout (the sedan pictured - the most popular layout); a "Trawler" layout (aft pilothouse - about 5 were produced in the late 1960's), and a Motorsailor layout (only one or two were produced).

The Willard 36 was arguably the first production fiberglass trawler capable of offshore cruising - long before the Nordhavn 46 debuted 1988. In the 1960's - long before affordable electronics and watermakers, Willard 36's were active cruisers in Baja and ventured as far as the Galapogos Islands. In 1987, a Willard 36 went from San Diego to Honolulu burning 330 gallons of fuel for the 2000 mile/19-day trip, averaging around 6-kts.

[-From WBO Yahoo Group]