• L.O.A. 7.50m 24'7"
• L.W.L. 6.65m 21'10"
• Beam 2.44m 8'0"
• Draft (shoal) 0.82m 2'8"
• Displacement 1880kg 4150 lb
• Ballast 885kg 1950 lb
• Vertical Clearance 9.75m 32 ft.

     She is hull #25 , built and originally commissioned as "Champignon" (first owners had a mushroom farm...) in 1977, in the first year of production of the line, in Dorion, Quebec. The name was changed to Dream Weaver in 1982, it is said, in order to preserve her dignity. She apparently was something of a "wild "mushroom! I became involved with her ownership in 1984. Unlike the illustration, she has three portlights each side between the deck line and the design sheerline, and a skyblue sheer stripe.

     Below, she has a two-cabin plus head layout, comprised of a double settee salon, head with hanging locker, and forepeak berth space, and can comfortably accomodate two adults and two children. There is a day galley (illustrated below, along with some other general shots), sink with cold water supply, ice box, extensive storage, and folding table that will comfortably accomodate four adults.

     An advanced cruising hull design, with a conservative rig for seaworthiness, her lines were about 10 years ahead of the time in terms of shape and performance. Although heavy by racing sled standards, the hull is easily driven. (7.2 kts max so far, cruises steadily at 5-6 kts). Her current sail suit is comprised of 110 sq. ft. main, 115 (100%) sq.ft. self-tacking jib, 220 (150%) sq.ft. #1 Genoa on a removable Schaefer wire furler, 185 (130%) sq.ft. #2 Genoa, and a riding sail (at right) for use at anchor (girls with shallow roots have a tendency to wander!).

     This is the galley area of DW, port side, with its gimballed, removable alcohol stove, and, the starboard side, where the icebox and sink (under the wood cover) are located. Above is the VHF radiotelephone and the LORAN. The LORAN unit can be taken from its brackets and mounted into a custom made companionway slide so that it can be viewed from the helm. It is visible where it is from the port helm position.

     This is the v-berth. Its a bit crowded for two adults, but is quite comfortable for one to curl up with a good book on a dull day. The overhead hatch provides good light. An insert fits into the notch to provide a good sized sleeping area. Since the Tanzer 7.5 does not have a forward anchor locker, the space is put to good use with a removable storage shelf that can be utilized in a varety of ways. The athwartship shelves in the salon are extended into the v-berth to give useful storage for a variety of items
     View from the companionway under way. "Otto the auto" is doing his thing. (DW is a she..., Otto however,...) Those among you who are astute sailors will note that the sailplan is not very well balanced at this moment. The autopilot is the lowly little Autohelm 800. It has absolutely no problem handling this boat. The 'pilot was mounted to factory specs and dimensions; the hanging bracket on the tiller was custom made, as was the pinball. Purely economics- I thought the price for a commercial Autohelm bracket was too high, and I made the pin out of a 1/4" stainless bolt, turning the head on a small lathe that I have. The bracket is made from a piece of 1/4" aluminum flat stock about 1 1/4" wide, and sits about 5" deep. The 'pilot base pin sits in its socket mounted in the seat, reinforced underneath with a small block of 3/4 ply. This isn't needed; if the pin is epoxy bedded, the cockpit seat is plenty stiff enough to withstand the 'pilot. Johann like the liberal use of embedded marine ply and I applaud him for it!

      The weather cloths were a winter project. They extend from the pelican clip around to the tiller as shown here. They are particularly nice on exposed water like Lake Ontario. In the spring and fall, they do provide some protection from a chill wind, and at anchor, they give you significant privacy. While I would make some small changes on a redo, all in all, they have been worthwhile addition. They unclip and slide back at the safety gates. The corner by the outboard is held by a small bungee and readily unclips to access the motor. Naugahyde wear patches were added adjacent to the winches - I found that they tended to rub against the winches in a cross wind at the slip. Despite its features, Sunbrella has poor abrasion resistance.

      There is a significant impact to boat handling at low speeds, particularly in manuevering into my slip. In a cranky docking wind, It takes some practice to compensate. If the wind is strong, and you do not have line handlers at the dock, or an extra pair of hands with a boat hook, you might consider removing them before docking, if there is significant risk with a missed approach. I could see no apparent affect while under way. If you are hunkered down behind them under way, do look up frequently . Especially if you sail in waters like I do where the concept (and law) of "right of way" is unknown.

     Why a she? Many theories, but the one I favour is the image of "mom "- a sailor embraced in the arms of mother, safe and protected from all harm! like mom, a well-found vessel will embrace and protect you from the elements, and keep you safe. To give mom a hand, DW is equipped with a range of modern safety and navigational gear.

     Links to other Tanzer sites (each spawning good links to more Tanzer sites!) can be found at Michael McGoldrick's Tanzer 26 Website, Doug Patterson's "Tanzer" Link, and, for some history, A Tale of Two Tanzers, by Paul Howard.

     The following link may be of interest to many sailors. It comes from the web site of the Radio Amateurs of Canada, and contains diverse links of marine interest, including extensive marine weather links, and US and Canadian Coast Guard links. I think you'll find it worth a visit. RAC Boat Page.

     A useful link is the NEXRAD radar site for the Lake Ontario (Buffalo, N.Y.) area and for the Western Great Lakes (Chicago/midwest) area. These sites will give you good visual indication of developing weather patterns for the lower Great Lakes as seen on composite radar imagery. Other US sites are available from www.intellicast.com/~USA , and international sites from www.intellicast.com/~INTL.

      The New Boat Operator Laws in Canada: Mike McGoldrick has done a super job of bringing these new developments to the web. This link points to his web site with the latest on this bound-to-be-hot topic, or, for the info straight from the captain's table, go to The Office of Boating Safety! [en francais: Bureau de la Securite Nautique] Click on this link to download a zipped MS Word copy of the The Small Vessel Regulations (28K).