The first series is normally for buoy racing but can be used as you describe. I just took a look on yachtworld and looks like they are asking around 100k for the circa 2000 models. My first observation is the main sheet traveler across the whole cockpit and the huge wheel... important for racing but not for comfort or parties. But believe me, it can be done! Long deep fin keel and rudder, nice.... but what else can you buy for 110k?

 

It's a very rewarding boat to sail, responsive and quick. It would be a great BC boat esp in summer.. but it also responds well reefed in a breeze. We have friends that have been cruising/island hopping between Grenada and Barbuda for 10 years now on a B 36.7.

Storage is lacking, but it doesn't sound like you're planning any month long trips, and in any event in the PNW there's always somewhere to shop and stock up.

We've done over a thousand miles with them down south... fast and fun but yet we managed two weeks with up to 6 aboard no problem, many times. It would be pretty high on my list if it was within budget though my wife would still rather do the Catalina route....

 

I'm with Faster. A great boat for what you propose. Especially if you are willing to give up some creature comforts for sailing performance. Assume the deep keel isn't an issue in the PNW. There is a shoal keel version but not many around.

 

I have used one for teaching coastal cruising. I quite liked it. It will sleep five in separate berths. In light air it moves well.

The galley is adequate. Nice chart table.

Downsides

There is no real double berths. The V berth is quite cramped for two, the aft double has one person sleeping under the the cockpit.

The large racing wheel combined with a cockpit traveller and the backstay adjuster make transom access virtually impossible. There is no gate so you have to climb on board at the shrouds. It has quite a bit of freeboard.

The head is a bit small and can be a little hard to access.

The top shelves in saloon are quirky. Stuff can fall off if you open the cupboard.

The holding tank is a bit small. The pump out is under the v-berth.

There is no cockpit table.

Will post more when it comes to mind.

 

I have used one for teaching coastal cruising. I quite liked it. It will sleep five in separate berths. ....
There is no real double berths. .
.

Interesting comments, Jack.. We were on a (rare) tiller version, French built and purchased new in Guadaloupe. The twin aft cabins are twins exc some ventilation is available through the lazarette for the port cabin. Without the wheel the centerline bulkhead between the two aft cabins is in fact on center.. I still had to tuck myself somewhat under the cockpit sole, but I'm sure it's less confining than what you described with the wheel version. We had no problem sleeping aft, and we are neither of us petite. The owners are smallish people and the V berth seems fine for them.

The boat had a extendable ladder off the swim platform but had the cross-transom seat bolted in place (life raft underneath) so it was a bit of a scramble, the backstay is a handy grab. This one had just a life-line gate across the stern.

All in all I think it would be a fun boat to own/sail.. esp in this area.

 

She might be a handful in the hands of an inexperienced crew.
If your comfortable sailing her than she will serve you well as a quick cruiser.
I agree with the comment about the traveler; although good for control with a race crew, I can see myself knocking my shins on it about 5 times an hour.

 

Another thought.

The 36.7's have been raced successfully in Swiftsure, Van Isle and other PNW races. I crewed on Evolution in Swiftsure in 2004 and Jaz in Swiftsure in 2008. They are not just around the buoys racers in this neck of the woods.

I used Evolution as a teaching boat for a few years.

It is a versatile boat in that respect.

 

Rusty,

We have Beneteau First 36.7 standard draft (shallow) and mostly daysail with several overnighters a year. We also sailed one in the med on a two week cruise. Storage is limited, but that means using an aft berth for storage and generally we just stop storing stuff earlier. The holding tank seemed not just small, but inadequate, so we installed a larger tank. She is a "handful" to sail. My wife has the wheel and I handle the lines. I've never tried sailing solo and doubt that I could in other than lighter air.

As mentioned, sleeping accommodations are limited both in length and width.. My wife and I are both 5' 6" and svelte.

Contact me via private message if you would like to discuss in detail.

 

I looked at one back when I was looking for a boat with three separate sleeping cabins. I took the boat off my list when I saw how small the lazarette(s) where.

Of course, they are small because of the aft cabins. As stated above, I expect that one of the aft cabins would be used for storage.

I recall that there is a removable storage locker aft.

 

A 36.7 to me is towards the camping end of cruising. It would be tolerable for a weeks cruise, but not really comfortable.

Here on the Chesapeake, the 7' draft is a serious limitation as well. One of our club members was compelled to move from his slip of many years due to grounding getting in the marina. Of course once he gave up his slip they dredged the next spring.

I'd love to have something that sailed as well as a 36.7 though. I've watched a couple of them walk away from me in our club races. I did "beat" one once, but he was late leaving the dock (advised the RC that he intended to race) and I have no idea how late he was crossing the line for his start time which was 10 minutes behind ours. We tried our best to keep him behind us, but he managed to get a few boat lengths ahead at the line. Still not nearly enough to beat us on corrected time though.

 

The boat does sail well. Look for one with the ‘deep’ draft and the quick ratio steering. The one I race on is very competitive. Another one I’m signed on with will go to Bermuda from Annapolis in 2012. I think the boat has plenty of space for a coastal cruiser and will do just fine racing 720 miles. If you plan to do well around the cans, we carry 7-9 for w/l racing. The boat needs the weight on the rail. Must be worse with the stubby keel.

 

Thanks to all for the great information and insights. Am posting the same question about a c&C 110.

 

I think the B36.7 and C&C 110 are just on opposite sides of the dividing line between racer/cruiser with the 36.7 to the racy side and the C&C to the cruise-y side.

I haven't looked at a C&C in person for a while, but on paper they look great to me as one that's more of a cruiser than a racer, but still a guy that wants to sail fast.

If the interiors are as funtional in person as they look in the photo's its a boat that would really make me smile, as I know it will easily smoke my current ride and looks to be just about as comfortable for overnights on the hook.

If someone was really bent on racing though, I don't know how the C&C would fare against the 36.7 if you were campaigning for club points champ.

 

The C&C would be a nicer interior boat vs the 36.7. Also more likely to be found around here in better shape, ala "sailed hard put away wet"

The 367 you do have the potential to race 1d at races like the NOODs, where as the 110 there are not enough boats local to do so. If you want a potential 1d race, get a 115, there are enough of those.

Reality is, ANY of these will work for around here doing what you propose.

Marty

 

The 367 you do have the potential to race 1d at races like the NOODs, where as the 110 there are not enough boats local to do so. If you want a potential 1d race, get a 115, there are enough of those.
Marty

There is no OD racing on the bay for the 115. I raced on one all last year, not enough boats. Those that have them, don't race too often.

The 367 is a dieing class for OD racing. This past year was evidence of that. OD racing on the Ches bay is growing thin, and its certainly the case for large boats.

 

I think the B36.7 and C&C 110 are just on opposite sides of the dividing line between racer/cruiser with the 36.7 to the racy side and the C&C to the cruise-y side midlifesailor.

Actually the C&C 110 will be a slightly quicker boat and is designated as a racer/ cruiser. PHRF ratings C&C- 75...Bene376- 78. The C&C is a carbon fibre rig also. Also the winches and rquipment on he C&C is sized larger and is of better quality/ grade than the Bene First. Older C&C such as my 35 are a class of racing unto themselves on the Great Lakes

As fae as cruising The ey both will suit the purpose,

I would be careful buying the new C&C as there have been quality issues since joining with Tartan.

Even though I am an older C&C owner, I do not care for the new ones.

 

Actually the C&C 110 will be a slightly quicker boat and is designated as a racer/ cruiser. PHRF ratings C&C- 75...Bene376- 78. The C&C is a carbon fibre rig also. Also the winches and rquipment on he C&C is sized larger and is of better quality/ grade than the Bene First. Older C&C such as my 35 are a class of racing unto themselves on the Great Lakes

Yeah, they are rated pretty close, but I'm not sure how that bears out in the real world. I just know either will blow the socks off lots of boats that wear the "racer/cruiser" label. From the perspective of the interiors, the C&C offers more of what a cruiser is going to like, than the Bene and the cruising features I see as a plus on the C&C would matter not a bit to a hard core racer.

I'm a bit surpised you don't care for the new C&C's since they do carry on the tradtion of reasonable amenities with a good turn of speed which are traits your C&C 35 shares. Granted they are far from traditional looking.

I wish I had the budget to consider one.

 

Actually, Not ALL 110's are CF in the mast. The one local 110 for sale is a fiberglass hull and alum mast IIRC, ie built before the change to epoxy and CF as is current.

Also locally, the 36.7 is faster than a 110 by 6-9 secs IIRC, the 115 is on par rating wise as 36.7, but generally speaking not able to be sailed, or not sailed by locals to the rating.

Marty

 

I stand corrected that not all C&C 110 have the carbon fiber masts as that was only the PERFERRED option available at the time. Even though the one you see for sale does not, most of my firneds who own 110 or 115 including many in my C&C sailing club have the carbon fiber mast.

In terms of PHRF ratings I will stand by what I posted as I am using the PHRF determined by USPHRF Affiliated Fleets not the local or egional PHRF ratings of your area which can be greatly skewed by a few non skilled racers if there are not many of the type of sailboat ranked. The ratings I quoted are by the United States Sailing association, the sanctioning body for the regional associations which use a broader spectrum that the regional associations. That being said as Mid stated they are very close performance wise. In my small amount of racing on the Chessapeake the C&C 110 or 115 do not take a back seat to many and certainly none of the Bennetaus of comparable size and PHRF ratings. I beleive yhe hardware on the C&C us a small amunt superior.

Here is the link in case anyone ever wants to check their PHRF ratings

http://offshore.ussailing.org/Assets/Offshore/PHRF/Hi+Lo+Mean+Report+September+19+2011.pdf

Mid...I agree the cruising amenities are nicer on the 110 vs the 367 Bene First. The reason I would not look at the newer C&C is the quality control problems they have had since joining up with Tartan as well as their warrenty issues. I love the older ones ( obviously) just as I liked the older tartans ( pre 1998). When they both went to the epoxy process there were structural issues well documented along with a number of lawsuits which we are not allowed to discuss here on Sailnet which caused many reputable Sailnet members to leave this forum.

Dave

 

Yeah, Tartan certainly hurt themselves pretty badly with the way they handled at least that one problematic boat and perhaps others as well. I haven't heard of the same kinds of issues with C&C's despite the common ownership.

I do hope the current Tartan/C&C ownership is able to repair their reputation and return to turning out quality boats.

I too love the older Tartans (almost bought a 37, crewed on, and would love to own a 40) . Although I like the looks of the new ones, they would not be on my post lottery shopping list, mainly due to what I consider funky interiors (even if we ignore the possiblity of quality issues).

 

The article below about cruising a First 36.7 is interesting reading.

| Sailing World

 

beneteau 27.7 first

I deliverd a "beneteau 27 first" from Key West to Columbia and have become true believer in thier blue water capabilities. From Key West to Jamacia we we're taking on water from somewhere. It turned out to be through the rudder post well. The owners had put a five man life raft on the stern, weighting it down so the top of the rudder well was at water line. In heavy sea's, water would splash over the top. I reached in with my left hand and wrapped the well with a sheet of closed cell foam and 5200/ hose calmps and raised the top of the well a foot above the waterline. The vovlo penta water pump crapped out in Jamacia so I sailed from the dock in Port Antonio to the Club Nautico in Cartagenia with no engine. The last 200 miles where 15 to 20 foot sea's with 3 foot chop on top of them. That little boat was right at home in those conditions. If the 27 can handle it, the larger "First's" are only that much better!

 

Thanks again to all. These posts have been a great help in my quest to find the right boat for me and my family.

 

Beneteau 36.7's would be great for cruising. We pass them all the time.

 

I bet you pass them twice, usually on Sunday's, on your way out to the Bouy's, and on your way back to the marina as they head out to sea. Ofcourse, what do I know, all I've ever raced is the weather and sometimes the tide.

 

Thanks Jimscal for the sailing world article. It was helpfu.

 

We sailed a tiller 36.7 from the UK to the Med, and then 2500 miles around it last year.There are so many cruising boats in the Med loaded to the gunwhales with so called cruising stuff, but really you don't need it. You need a simple lightweight boat with a big easily reefed rig, 60M of chain and a good anchor winch. A First 36.7 does the job very well. At night when the wind drops to maybe 7kn we could still see 6, we had a good fridge, we had a small pv panel over the companionway hatch and we swam every day.

 

A good friend and customer has one and I can run down what they like and the what could be better list. It is a really fun boat and what I consider a great value. They run a 110 dacron for cruising but also have a couple full set of exotic race sails.... We cruised with them for almost two weeks this summer so spent a lot of time listening to the likes & could be better's.

Keep in mind their primary purchase decision for this boat was a OD or PHRF boat to race, that could also be cruised. They accept the compromises and much of the could be better points are already being addressed..

Likes:
Great sailing boat with great sail control
Harken MK-IV furler
Lazy Jacks (a recently added must-do)
Layout down below
Good sized cockpit
Draft - Means really great pointing
Speed - great cruiser / racer
Light air performance
Traveler - One of the best main sheet trimming systems out there
Space - For a relatively narrow beam boat a great use of space
Speed, speed, speed...
Aesthetics - She's a nice looking boat in a contemporary way
Ventilation - Excellent ventilation with hatches & opening ports
Ultraleather interior cushions, with kids, makes for easy clean up
Synthetic "teak & holly" sole is very durable

Could Be Better:

Battery Capacity -required custom work to fit a cruising capacity
They do not fit in v-berth he is 6' 3"
Aft cabins are used for adults and v-berth for kids
Hull grid-liner makes keeping bilge dry a PITA
Head Access behind center-line table can be a pita if people are sitting to port.
Draft - The boat has too much draft to bring home in the winter something they had planned on. Requires an additional $800-$1000 to get it home in permits and a special trailer with pads tall enough.
Boom height - They are trying to add a dodger for cruising but it is not an easy option with the low boom height
Keel - the nearly vertical keel has been a pot buoy & weed catcher
Galley - while workable the wife wishes it to be just a bit bigger, especially oven (loves sink though)
Lack of a decent sized lazarette means the starboard aft cabin becomes the "garage"..
No lifeline gate - tough for a mooring sailed boat with launch service
Dinghy access off stern/stern ladder a PITA for the kids
Emergency tiller access is a continual tripping hazard behind the wheel
Tim rubs his head on backstay (adjuster) when standing at wheel
Only 14 DC breakers he wishes he had room for expansion
Holding tank is very small and pick up tube broke off on delivery trip from Nova Scotia making pump out impossible.
Anchor handling / bow roller, as in non-existent.
Storage - on the very light side
Leaks - A few pesky leaks that have not been identified or found yet

I also work on a C&C 110 and find find them pretty comparable boats to the 36.7 with a bit better cruising edge.. The C&C has a better fit & finish, more robust build, more storage, similar hardware a larger galley and bigger aft cabin. It also has an aft head. The C&C 110 I find is a NOISY boat at anchor with hull slap that drives me bonkers just working on her. She is very "echoey" but certainly not to the level of a race boat like the Sydney 38.. The C&C uses 93 Series Mareon seacocks and the cheap ball valve on a thru-hull Beneteau seacocks you could not pay me to have on my own vessel. The C&C also has a better executed electrical system with over 20 DC breakers and at least 6AC breakers. Both boats have Volvo's (really a Perkins/Shibaura) which is a negative for a lot of sailors...

 

As mentioned we've spent quite a bit of time on a 36.7, and I would agree mostly with MS's assessment above, esp for cruising. It's a shame the tiller version is not available more in North America.. it avoids the clutter and backstay interference issue mentioned above, and also with the optional cockpit 'deck boxes' that fill the "T" cockpit spaces (for the wheel) deck storage is much improved and the lack of a real lazarette less of an issue - although the one we were on did have a pretty good, deep lazarette aft of the stbd aft cabin.. enough to stow an 8 HP outboard vertically along with several fenders.

The plumb bow has presented the biggest difficulty anchoring - or more truthfully - retrieving the anchor. Given that they often do this in tradewind conditions they have to be pretty adept and quick once the anchor breaks the surface to avoid dragging it up the stem itself. They do not use a windlass - which would likely be too slow in any event. They keep some sternway on to keep the anchor somewhat away from the boat during the pickup. They also work very hard to anchor in 7M or less depths...

Agree that accessing the head can be difficult, and despite the 'open transom' the (normally bolted down) stern seat gets in the way for climbing in and out of dinghies. C&C's 'swingaway' stern seat makes more sense. I'm not a big fan of Beneteau's 'Lego' pattern nonskid, esp if spending time barefoot.

Have sailed a bit on the C&C 110 and 115 and found the 36.7 a tad quicker to get up to speed esp. on a beat, but both are spirited performers.

 

I used to teach on one, and have raced a couple. Great light air boat.

Agree with MS and Faster.

Some additional concerns.

The mid-cockpit traveler left several bruises on my shins - I must be a slow learner.

The shelf storage is poor. The locker door serves as the shelf edge, stuff falls off the windward side when you open the storage shelf.

Boarding is a PITA. Huge wheel gets in the way when boarding from the stern. High freeboard hard on my old knees when boarding from dockside.

Have also some a C&C. It is more comfortable, but the galley sink is a huge disaster - why is it not divided into two sinks.

 

.....C&C. It is more comfortable, but the galley sink is a huge disaster - why is it not divided into two sinks.

Yeah - that one amazes me too.. it would take 1/3 of my water tank to fill that sink.. crazy and unnecessary.

 

Two comments. There is a shoal draft version but it's rare. Second, there were two interiors offered - one with a large aft berth and another with two small equal sized aft berths. The first was popular in the US and the second in Europe.

I considered the 36.7 when I was looking for a mid 30-foot performance cruiser. If I had come across a shoal draft version at the right price I might have bought it.

The J109 is another (pricier) competitor to the 36.7.