First post in Yachting page...Bavaria Cruiser 36 or Jeanneau 36i

[BrianH]

On the furling thing, if you search here there's plenty of cases of furling that has got stuck. And as everyone knows, a disaster is usually a combination of little things rather than one big catastrophe. So it's possible singlehanded you don't get your boom angle/wind angle/topping lift tension/outhaul tension all spot on and make a hash of it and things escalate from there. I'd have in boom furling, simply because if I'm on my own and in the sh1t I can run along the boom with a bread knife and pull the rest down by hand, and potentially even be able to get the sail repaired afterwards, but not having that option would worry me for an in-mast system.

That was my thinking too and why I chose in-boom mainsail furling. In the northern Adriatic a bora can hit suddenly out of nowhere and being single-handed, fast and foolproof reefing is critical.

No need to be cutting sail even if the simple rolling inner boom should jam - it happened to me once due to my negligence in letting the sail overlap within the too-small outer boom shell - the remaining sail can still be easily dropped and lashed to the boom.

 

[Iain C]

^ D'oh!! Very good point!

I'm no racer but I really cannot stand the shape of furling mainsails...I've done plenty miles on a Colvic55 and a Bav32 with furlers and they're just not for me because of the 'orrible shape (admittedly they did not have vertical battens) and the jam potential, However, I also fully understand that a well set-up system absolutley has it's advantages...anything on yacht design is all about compromise and I know many a (slightly masochistic) sailor who would turn their nose up at my genny furler....

 

[Tranona]

I would have thought a charter boat is not the place where you want an under powered engine. As for it being in the Med, I don't see how that is relevant apart from there being next to no tides to worry about. When one of those winds that they all have names for starts blowing and it's right on the nose all those charterers would be glad of that extra power.

The 20 achieves hull speed. Charter boats where this one is based do not have a hard time (I know because I owned one for 7 years) but spend most of their time cruising at 5.5 knots for which the 20 is perfectly adequate. None of the heavy winds that happen in other parts of the Med.

Of course a 30 is a better engine, particularly for our environment. I have one in my Bav 33, which normally has a 20 as standard. Almost certain the 36 the OP is looking at will have a 30 so this discussion is rather irrelevant.

 

[Tranona]

The facts of this dilemma are well understood. You can have either best performance or best convenience. I am always baffled by folk who try to bludgeon their own ideas on to others.

.

Wholeheartedly agree.

Posts 15 and 22 were perfect examples.

 

[bitbaltic]

I have a 36i and have sailed a C36. Much of a muchness really and if I were choosing I'd be more swayed by the specific boats available. I havea 3YM30 and have never felt the need for more powee. Another model I considered at purchase was the Oceanis 37 which I did think had inferior build quality.
Despite Tranona's dogged support for in mast furling, avoid it like the plague. A well set up fully battened main on Selden cars lets you drop the main into the lazy bag from the cockpit without the embarassment and poor performance of hanging a bedsheet from the mast.

Last weekend I sailed alongside a Moody with in-mast from Milford Haven to the pontoon at Dale. Raising sails off Milford he was quickly ahead of us as we had a wardrobe malfunction (like an idiot i’d taken the halyard outside, not inside, the lazyjacks when getting ready- first sail of the season and first time for everything). Wind about 12 knots and we are fast in that so bad caught up with him by the time we got to the heads. As we beam reached into Dale he spent 20 minutes doing comedy donuts trying to put his main away. Older boat so I guess older gear not helping him. We have single-line slab and the handling system is 100% aftermarket not the cheap crap most manufacturers fit as new on modest boats. So I did what I always do in that sort of wind, dropped the sail into its stack pack without changing my heading one degree. We got the last spot on the pontoon and left the chap to anchor further out and contemplate the convenience of in-mast furling.

 

[neil1967]

We had a 2008 SO36i (with in mast furling) which we kept, and chartered, in Turkey for 9 years. We thought she was great, and even after 9 years of chartering, she still looked great and had stood up to the wear very well, although the charter company had also done their bit with the maintenance. Doesn’t help in deciding between the two models, but hopefully some reassurance that the SO36i of that vintage was well built.

 

[JonWA]

Stretching my memory, here, I think performance had a different keel design, folding prop, and Quatuma sails. Running rigging was higher spec too, and it had an adjustable backstay which I don’t think was standard on the 36i. Think that was about it.