Above you see the beautifully restored original Thai longtail-style boat ‘Miss Longtail’. This is the very last privately-owned boat designed and built by our company’s founder, the sailor and great racing yachtsman Rolly Tasker. Sleek and fast, driving the boat is tremendous fun and can be quite exhilarating.
Why Rolly Built a Longtail Boat
When living in Phuket, Rolly always had a great interest in the local fishing boats. He used to walk down to the beach and talk boats with the fishermen there.
He then sat down to design his own longtail boat in the traditional style. It was eventually built in Perth, Australia, in Western Red Cedar and originally powered by a longtail-style engine sitting on top of the stern. This, however, turned out to be quite impractical especially in confined waters, so eventually this engine was swapped for a 50 hp outboard motor.
‘Miss Longtail’ Got Lost and Found Again
After Rolly passed away in 2012, his widow Kerry donated the boat to the yacht club in Mandurah, WA. This is where Sven Cornelius, a close friend of Kerry and Rolly Tasker and now owner and CEO of Rolly Tasker Sails, found the boat.
It obviously was unused for a long time and in an accordingly sorry and neglected state. Sven decided on the spot to adopt the boat to save it from further decay.
‘Miss Longtail’s Second Life in Germany
Sven then had the boat shipped to Bremen, Germany, in a 40-foot container.
Here, he treated it with a thorough refit which included a new floor, new teak decks, new spoiler, new electric, new paint-job and a new, 90 hp Suzuki outboard engine.
A Little Representation of Thailand in Europe
Sven now keeps the boat in mint condition in fond memory of his friend and sail-making mentor Rolly as a true gentleman’s longtail-boat.
‘Miss Longtail’ now represents a tiny piece of Thailand in Northern Europe, and sure is a sight to behold when it creams down the river outside of Sven’s home doing 20 knots. On those much too rare occasions when he isn’t either working in Thailand or sailing his own 38-foot fast cruiser on the North Sea.
