What used 36' to buy?

[bestfriend]

Family of three (6 year old boy) looking to buy our first sailboat. 35 to 36ft under 100k. Walk thru transom a must, so most of the older boats won't do. We live on the west coast, San Francisco Bay and would do most of our sailing in the Bay and some down the coast, maybe the Ba-ha-ha. We have been looking at Benehuntalinas as they have been so affectionately called here. The Hunters seem just plain ugly and cheap. I like the Beneteaus and she likes the Catalinas. I was told that the extra displacement of the Catalina is better in the Bay where it routinely blows 25 knots. I am now hearing concerns over cored vs uncored hulls for coastel cruising. Does it make that much difference? What other brands should we be looking at?
Thanks!

[sailingfool]

Although none of the boats you mentioned have cored hulls, IMHO avoid cored hulls - who needs the worry, (see http://www.yachtsurvey.com/cored_hull_bottoms.htm for more opinion).

As to Benewhazzits, if I sailed in SanFrancisco I would definately put a premium on a stiff boat, which is a little different from high displacement. Catalina makes a good cruising boat, but they are weak performers, if that works for you, then dig into them.

Walk thru transom - a must - is a unusual requirement, especailly as a deal-breaker. Such transoms have pluses and minuses, but why do you feel its a necessity?

If you can get away from the transom deal you might look for a CS 36T (http://closereach.com/csoa/cs36.htm). Some people compare their boats to cars to convey the character of the boat - I'd describe the CS 36T as an M-1 tank, tough, heavy but fast. It'd be a great boat for SF. The M-1 analogy came to me on Sunday single-handing in 25 knots, small jib, full main, and she goes like a freight train. Stiff is good.

[GoLikeaFish]

From what I can piece together from this and other forums, of the types of used boats widely available in the SF bay area, a late model Beneteau First might be a good balance between budget, comfort, performance, and quality.

Others will disagree, of course...

[Gary M]

I was going to recommend the CS 36 but Sailingfool beat me to it. I have not sailed on one but read an article a couple of years ago about a CS36 that sailed from the Baja to Hawaii. They left with about 6 other "bluewater" type boats and all hit heavy weather. According to the article the CS was the best behaved and driest boat in the group.

Gary

[CBinRI]

Can't agree about cored hulls. Just means you have to be careful. I thought the C&C '36 was a great boat. You could get a late 70s or early 80s one in the 40s and have a lot of money left over for cruising, but you may not want to go that old.

[sailingfool]

Originally Posted by CBinRI

Can't agree about cored hulls. Just means you have to be careful. I thought the C&C '36 was a great boat. You could get a late 70s or early 80s one in the 40s and have a lot of money left over for cruising, but you may not want to go that old.

My dim view regarding cored hulls started in the late '70s with a friend's experience with wet core in his one-year old C&C 34 ... he was able to pass the hull rebuild onto a subsequent owner. If by be careful, you mean never run aground, well good luck

C&Cs are a favorite marque. I don't think time has looked well on either the 34 or 36 models, I guess because they are somewhat family black sheep. C&C is a performance family and slow boats are sore subjects. The 35 II is a much better boat, and even though older, will be more expensive when comparably equipped. The 35 III is also a great design, if you are comfortable with the cored hull subject. I'd buy a 35 II in a sec (and tried to last time around the market), but you couldn't give me a 34 or 36.

Just my opinion.

[jmencel]

There's alot of CS 36's up here in Canada, and most of the owners I know love them. They have a rather flat underbelly (not much rocker) so they can pound a bit (slap coming off a wave) in larger seas. Probably not a big issue in ocean swells, but a bit uncomfortable in the square waves of the great lakes. Have you ever considered a Bayfield 36 ? Built like a tank, very classic lines, cutter rigged, heavy displacement, and no history of mushy decks even though they are balsa cored. And you can head off to Hawaii some day if you'd like !

[jmencel]

Another 35 footer worth considering (if you can find one in your neck of the woods) is the Niagara 35. Built by Hinterhoeller Yachts in Canada during the 1980's. Very high quality construction, and lots of them making the trek to the Caribbean from Canada each year. You could probably easily buy it and ship it home and be within your price range. Ever considered an Ontario or Michigan / Ohio/ Wisconsin etc.boat. Only in the water 4-5 months a year, then very dry winter storage, and fresh (not salt) water. A 20 year boats can be similar to a 10 year old saltie.

[rockDAWG]

Originally Posted by jmencel

You could probably easily buy it and ship it home and be within your price range. Ever considered an Ontario or Michigan / Ohio/ Wisconsin etc.boat. Only in the water 4-5 months a year, then very dry winter storage, and fresh (not salt) water. A 20 year boats can be similar to a 10 year old saltie.

I too like the idea of getting a boat from the great lake regions. Is it common to have it ship along the country. I would think that the transportion expense is quite high. Anyone know how do they charge, by ton per mile? Thanks.

[jmencel]

I think for most trucking firms its by the mile. I can't be too bad though. I ran into a fellow from Texas last summer northern Lake Huron on his Beneteau 50 (?). He trucked it from Texas to Wisconsin, then climbed about to tour the Great Lakes for the summer. He then planned to head out the St. Laurance to the Atlantic, through Panama then up the west coast to BC. He's probably still out there. And when he is finished, the boat goes back on the truck to Texas. Maybe he owns a trucking company ????