Targa 34 Mk1 / 2

T

tico

Well-Known Member
Joined
30 May 2001
Messages
3,278
Location
Worcestershire/Pembrokeshire
Visit site
Whats the difference between the Mk1 &Mk2 versions apart from the earlier ones have green tinted windows and the later have smoke tint.

I believe one has an island bed in the forecabin as opposed to an angled bed and one has a smaller heads... but which is which?

Any other layout / trim differences?
Thks
 
Hi Phil, my 1993 T35 is a rebadged Mk1 T34 and has the angled bed in the forward cabin. The forward bulkhead is set quite a bit forward giving a smallish forward berth but the advantage of a more spacious galley/ lounge area. Screens are tinted greyish. Windsreen wipers are crap. Heads are small but dont spend a lot of time in them!

Eddie
 
I have posted some of this before so apologies if you've seen before.

There are a lot of differences, between the two, and in my opinion the Mk I is the better.

I'm referring to the 1997 - 2005 model

Starting from the front working backwards:

The bed in the fore cabin in the MkII is not really a double, and is on the piss. On the Mk I, if you use the infill you’ve got a really good sized double.

On the MKII they have increased the size of the fore cabin to allow for the walk way either side of the bed by putting in a curved panel, which eats into the saloon area, therefore making the saloon smaller, and it feels a lot smaller.

The settee on the Mk II is also smaller, and a lot shallower. The settee on the Mk I encloses a drinks cabinet, which is not to be found anywhere on the Mk II - Most important.

In the heads on the Mk I there is a proper shower cubicle with sliding glass door, & LV lighting etc which is missing totally from the Mk II. The water from the sink in the Mk I drains overboard, whereas on the Mk II it runs into the shower sump, so at night, you not only get the water pump come on and wake everyone, but also the shower pump.

The galley area on the Mk II has a lump, which protrudes from the floor, which is very irritating, and not there on the MK I as the galley is in a totally different place.

The aft cabin door on the MK II opens into the already smaller saloon, whereas on the Mk I the door opens into the cabin.

On the Mk II, there is a lump on the aft cabin wall / ceiling which protrudes and is good for bashing your head on, which isn’t there in the Mk I, although the aft cabin on the Mk II does feel a bit more spacious, although beds in both models are about 6’8” long.

The helm and instrument layout on the MK I is sexier and less cluttered (more like that on the T37) than the MkII, although the seating layout / arrangement is identical on both.

The engine room appears more spacious on the Mk I and the engines & ancillaries are more accessible, and doesn’t have that stupid table storage compartment in there, as does the MK II.

There are probably other differences but these are a few which come to mind. The only two disadvantages I can think of with the MK I over the MK II, is that 1) they are older, but not sure that is such a bad thing & 2) weren’t available with the KAD 300s.

A friend of mine had a new MKII and much prefered the layout in my MKI, and, the Mk I didn't fall apart like the MKII did on a rough crossing to C I s . Internally it was pretty wrecked - all three cabin doors off, settee adrift, fridge adrift, shower sump bust etc etc. We lost our leg position indicator, which cost £2 to fix - that's all!

MBY did a feature on ours in the May 2008 edition. They pretty much reached the same conclusion.

Hope that is of help.

I 've probably got some photos somewhere which I could email you. PM me with your email address if interested.
 
Well having read your post I must admit to being somewhat shocked, the Mk2 that I have is an excellent boat.

[ QUOTE ]
The bed in the fore cabin in the MkII is not really a double, and is on the piss.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well I am over 20 stone and 6ft tall and I fit in in OK with my wife and much prefer it to an infill!

[ QUOTE ]
On the MKII they have increased the size of the fore cabin to allow for the walk way either side of the bed by putting in a curved panel, which eats into the saloon area, therefore making the saloon smaller, and it feels a lot smaller.

[/ QUOTE ]

Saloon size is quite small but the design IMHO is very good.

[ QUOTE ]
The settee on the Mk II is also smaller, and a lot shallower. The settee on the Mk I encloses a drinks cabinet, which is not to be found anywhere on the Mk II - Most important.

[/ QUOTE ]

Settee size is just fine for me and SWMBO, so why make it any bigger?

[ QUOTE ]
In the heads on the Mk I there is a proper shower cubicle with sliding glass door, & LV lighting etc which is missing totally from the Mk II. The water from the sink in the Mk I drains overboard, whereas on the Mk II it runs into the shower sump, so at night, you not only get the water pump come on and wake everyone, but also the shower pump.

[/ QUOTE ]

The shower pump and water pump are not that noisy and much less than the WC macerator anyway. The noise moving around is greater! I being rather large was worried about the head, but with the shower curtain and LV lighting which is in place it works really well. I think this is an excellent design.

[ QUOTE ]
The galley area on the Mk II has a lump, which protrudes from the floor, which is very irritating, and not there on the MK I as the galley is in a totally different place.

[/ QUOTE ]

No lump on the 2006 model?

[ QUOTE ]
The aft cabin door on the MK II opens into the already smaller saloon, whereas on the Mk I the door opens into the cabin.

[/ QUOTE ]

Opens into the aft cabin on the 2006 model?

[ QUOTE ]
On the Mk II, there is a lump on the aft cabin wall / ceiling which protrudes and is good for bashing your head on, which isn’t there in the Mk I, although the aft cabin on the Mk II does feel a bit more spacious, although beds in both models are about 6’8” long.

[/ QUOTE ]

Would rather have more space, but agree the ceiling height is low for much of the aft cabin.

[ QUOTE ]
The helm and instrument layout on the MK I is sexier and less cluttered (more like that on the T37) than the MkII, although the seating layout / arrangement is identical on both.

[/ QUOTE ]

I love the look of the helm on the MK2, just take a look:

DBB1321_07.jpg


[ QUOTE ]
The engine room appears more spacious on the Mk I and the engines & ancillaries are more accessible, and doesn’t have that stupid table storage compartment in there, as does the MK II.

[/ QUOTE ]

The storage compartment takes 3 minutes to remove and is an excellent storage facility. Space is tight but then again it is a small boat!

[ QUOTE ]
A friend of mine had a new MKII and much prefered the layout in my MKI, and, the Mk I didn't fall apart like the MKII

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I dont know what boat your friend bought. Jon Mendez and I had a very rough trip last March/April from Brighton to Torquay in my Mk2 which slammed us around quite a bit through St Albans Ledge but nothing fell apart at all. I also did a 300NM round trip to Majorca and back last September and hit F4/5 very lumpy but again all held fast and secure?

Your not trying to sell your Mk1 to upgrade to a Mk2 are you /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
Your not trying to sell your Mk1 to upgrade to a Mk2 are you /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

Funny you should mention that, because we very very nearly did 2 years ago. We had the opportunity to buy a year old MKII for £136k. (It actually sold at that price) Seemed a steal at the time, but the MKI has a better layout, which suits us better, and on those grounds alone, knocked it on the head. Read the MBY article.

I'm 6'2" and Mrs Q is 5'7" and there's no way we could comfortably sleep in the MKII's forecabin bed. It's tiny, by comparison. Three can sleep in the MKI's /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Don't get me wrong, I'm not having a pop - I nearly bought one, remember, - the MK II is a fab boat. The layout is just a step backwards design-wise over the original, in my (and lots of others - including MKII owners) opinion. Why Fairline changed it is beyond me.

If ours died tomorrow, I would replace it with another like yours without hesiation, on the following grounds: 1) It's newer, & 2) for the KAD 300s. We've toyed with the idea of selling but keep deciding to hang on.

Nb When my friend's MKII got a bit wrecked it was a rough crossing, not force 4/5 wind over tide sort of thing. Big rough.
 
No offense taken! Horses for courses of course! Both excellent boats.

But honestly, the bed once you get use to it is fine, I suppose at your height you would need to stick to the starboard side as I do and SWMBO port, my wife is 5'7" too! But has a much narrower beam than me!

Once you get use to the MK2 it's really a great boat and the KAD300's are excellent. If it's the test I read many moons ago this was the older MK2 without the KAD300's - if they tested the newer boat it would have won the class!

I may be selling mine in 3-4m as I am looking to go up a size, so must mitigate any negative posts! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
why did they make such a lot of changes? all seem to be the detriment of the design
i can only think they did a cost reduction exercise and tried to simplfy the design and reduce manufacturing costs
similar fairline oddity - i once hankered after a targa 30 but was so dissapointedn when i eventually got to inspect one, it seemed such a step back from the the 29
 
I'm 6' 2" as well and have a 2002 MKII; SWMBO and I have slept comfortably in the forecabin bed numerous times. My toes dangle off the bed if I sleep on the port side, but its never been a problem.

I'd love to know how to get the storage compartment out of the engine bay easily, as I always have a problem accessing the fuel filters to check them with it in place.
 
With regard to removing the storage compartment, on my boat there are three screws below white caps, just under the 'NO STEP' cover near to the top of the compartment, roughly positioned where indicated (but below the cover), just undo them and lift it out! It takes me just a few minutes. Hope its the same on your boat!

Storage.jpg


Hey and dont forget to make SWMBO sleep on the port side, tell her its something to do with weight distribution and that you dont want the boat to capsize whilst you are both asleep! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top