C 36 Mkii 1995

[rbtrinkle]

My wife and I have been shopping for boats for about 1 year now and have come across a 1995 C36? Any opinions on this boat? It has been sailed in upper Chesapeake most of its life. For the past 2 years it has been on the hard. All sails and canvas stored below. Our broker is giving it another look for us today. Any issues with Universal/Westerbeke engine being out of water that long? I'm not sure of the maintenance history since its been out of water.
Thx...

 

[Stu Jackson]

Great boats. Great engines.

http://forums.sbo.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=102541

Also try the Forums at www.c36ia.org

 

[Stephen K]

Heck, I'm biased but love the boat and really glad I moved up to the C-36...previously had a C-30 and a C-26 before that. The boat is easily handled solo or with a mate....yet roomy enough to accommodate 8 guests last week for a day sail. Its a well built production boat. You also get a great support network with this website and the national C-34 and C-36 organizations.

As others will say....get a good surveyor and take lots of notes. If you are going to make an offer, hopefully you can schedule a sea trial. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more.

 

[Stu Jackson]

HYou also get a great support network with this website and the national C-34 and C-36 organizations.

Worth its weight in gold. Our two boats have essentially identical systems and very good websites (in addition to this great board).

The amount of information available, and saving you having to reinvent the wheel is priceless.

 

[Joe Diver]

I would LOVE to own a boat like a C36....

It was a C36 that got me in to sailing.....a friend with an '05 took me out one afternoon....beautiful vessel....and after an hour or so of "this does that, pull that line, let that one out", etc...he finally put me behind the wheel. As I stood there, steering this magnificent vessel, slightly heeled over....it hit me like a ton of bricks and I knew it was something I could do the rest of my life.

A month later I bought my C25.

 

[jrowan]

We started sailing on smaller boats loke the C 22 & C25. We love our C 30 which is really a perfect size for a couple or family of 4. I think that it's a natural progression to want to move up in sailboats like the C 36 as your love of sailing & your budget grows (hopefully). That said the costs of ownership almost double with a boat of this size, when figuring the purchase costs, engine maintenance, upkeep, upgrades, slip fees, haul outs, insurance, taxes.........but to me its all worth it when I'm behind the wheel leaving my cares behind me. Now if somebody could fix the problem of having to go back to home & work!

 

[Faris]

Jrowan indirectly brings up a good question. Is this your first boat? If so, it is probably not a good choice, depending on your prior experience sailing and maintaining boats. A boat this size is a bloody lot of work. No two ways about it. The C-36 is less maintenance than many other boats its size, but still, unless you have good experience, estimate what you think you will have to spend in time and money each year and quadruple those numbers.

So, to build on the responses you've already had ...

For a boat of this type and size, it's a great choice. The question of whether this type and size of boat is a good choice for you, that's a much more complicated question. For people who do not intend to live aboard or spend weeks/months at a time, 36 feet is generally way too much boat. You will sail less and it will cost twice what a 30 foot boat would cost in terms of registration, maintenance, moorage, insurance, etc. (I don't know about it costing "twice" as much, but the difference is substantial for every foot you add to a boat - particularly with maintenance.)

 

[Stu Jackson]

Bigger boat maintenance costs

The point could well be made that exponential costs on bigger boats is an urban myth.

Think of it this way: Most of the SYSTEMS on bigger boats like C36 are pretty similar to those on a C30 or C27. Engine's are almost the same (M18, M25, M25XP) so filters and fuel and engine related issues like transmissions and cutlass bearings, etc., would be pretty much the same. Except for the length of wires, electrical systems, too. A head and holding tank are the same. Most have fresh water systems with pressure pumps and shower sumps.

So what's different? Berthing, waxing the hull (cockpits on some of these boats are almost as long as the smaller ones since Catalina always made great cockpits), new sails and standing rigging. Anything I missed? The few dollars difference for insurance seems small.

Running rigging will be a tad more. (I have NO idea how that came out as a URL )

For people who do not intend to live aboard or spend weeks/months at a time, 36 feet is generally way too much boat. You will sail less and it will cost twice what a 30 foot boat would cost

I beg to differ. I have a 34 foot boat and I use it, singlehanding most of the time, as much and even more than I did our C25. I have had both for the same 13 years of ownership. The larger boat is more comfortable, my wife comes with me more, I anchor out more than daysail because it's more comfortable, and we go further, faster. "Way too much boat..." is incorrect, at least for me and for those of us who USE our boats. Yeah, there are lotsa harbor queens out there, but I'm not one of 'em. :dance:

So, while the question of whether this is this OP's first boat remain valid, if it's not and he wants it, I recall a discussion last week where someone suggested that the poster get the largest boat he can afford to avoid going through, essentially, 3-foot-itis. I find it interesting that when someone asks about a 36 foot boat, the replies from those with smaller boats suggests he should get a smaller one, rather than answering the question about the quality of the boat he asked about to begin with. That's all.

 

[Faris]

My point is this: If a person knows they want/need a 36' boat (or whatever) then the advice to go smaller will be easily and confidently dismissed. If a person doesn't know, they would be wise to consider the smaller boat. Lots of people just get too big of a boat because they simply don't realize that a smaller boat would be fine or better. You moved up from a C25, so you came into your 34 from an informed position.

As for expense - it really depends on the boat and it doesn't scale linearly. I had a 22, and it cost very little to keep. My 27 is easily 3 times the expense. A 32' would add some expense, but not proportionate to the increase in coming from the 22.

A 32' is 20% bigger than a 27'. My estimate is that expenses probably scale at about the same rate. Really, it is as you said, Stu, that adding 20% to the length probably adds about 20% to the cost of maintenance. However, each system you add or make more complex (which typically comes with bigger boats) increases the cost significantly.

My 27 is so much more expensive than my 22 was, mostly because we now have a full galley, head, holding tank, etc. The big factors are those things that are expensive and regular expenses. Sails and bottom paint come to mind.

I think I will spend about $3000 per year on maintenance on my 27 (though I vow to never keep track since I don't want to know). I think it is fair to say that a 36' would be about $3600, and a 40' would be about $4000 (to maintain to the same level).

Hmm ... in fact, that might be a good planning number - $100 per foot per year? Don't really know because, as I mentioned, I really don't want to know. But, I think it's fair to say adding 5 feet to a boat will add close to $100 per month in additional expense (maintenance, insurance, registration, moorage, etc.) ... at least in my neighborhood where moorage is $7 per foot.

 

[rbtrinkle]

I really appreciate all the posts on this question. It opens up a lot of answers I have had regarding maintenance costs in general as well as other things.

To answer some questions asked about us, the admiral and I both have boat experience. I spent 11 years in the Coast Guard in damage control and operations (9 years onboard boats from 82 - 180 feet in length). I grew up sailing and racing Prindle 18 cat. My wife grew up on a 42' Wauquiez, and raced Scotts when older.

We currently have a 26 ft Mac sailboat, definitely not a single hand boat and very touchy at sheets and helm. It was really hard to relax on a sail in 10-12 knot winds or higher. We spent most weekends on it and we know this is too small for us.

We plan on having 4-6 POB consistently, and an occassional 8-9 when visiting family in Annapolis and Point Lookout, MD. We do plan on week long trips, but mostly weekends or long weekends.

While I might not have a wealth of knowledge on all the C 36 marine systems, I do have a large knowledge base to work with, including family and firiends, and have alot of marine experience.

We are actually torn between a C32 MKII and the C36 MKII, 1996 and 1995 respectivly. If we had the 32, we thought we would be looking to upgrade in a few years, when we plan on extended sails to Florida to visit in-laws and take vacation. If we had the 36, we most likely would not need to upgrade.

At $100 per foot / year,, we can swing that. We tend to do a self escrow on our boats just to keep extra money around for it in case of emergencies.