Offshore 36' fast crusier

Phideaux

Phideaux

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I'm looking for a fast cruiser for single or double-handed offshore sailing (Channel-hopping) and happy in F8. Price about £40k but needs to have modern navionics (chartplotter, radar, AIS) and be less than 25 years old. I'm quite taken by the Sigma 362, but was wondering if there are any others as it's been suggested that the early Beneteau First and Jeanneau Oceanis are also robust and might meet my needs.

Any recommendations (or boats for sale)?
 
The Sigma has a good reputation but may not be the most comfortable, and many of them seem to have had a hard life. I have sailed in a Dufour 36 classic, which was reasonably fast, and well put together.

The Jeaneau Sun Fast range might appeal to you, Oceanis is Beneteau's cruising range. Whilst I understand the appeal of the more race oriented cruiser racers, for short handed sailing you might find one of the more "bread and Butter" cruisers an easier proposition, and with their generally smaller rig, just as capable if it gets up to force 8. Not many crew enjoy it at force 8, and single handled you are going to be in very cautious mode if not in survival mode.
 
The Sigma 362 is a good quick boat doubt you will find one specked up as you wish for £40K most will look and feel a little tired and require a bit of TLC and refitting. Depending on your experience you may find one to be a bit of a handfull short handed. A different boat but again way of the mark in terms of money if you can find one would be a She 36 many recent threads on that.
 
petehb said:
The Sigma 362 is a good quick boat doubt you will find one specked up as you wish for £40K most will look and feel a little tired and require a bit of TLC and refitting. Depending on your experience you may find one to be a bit of a handfull short handed. A different boat but again way of the mark in terms of money if you can find one would be a She 36 many recent threads on that.
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Hi,
Thanks. The She 36 was an early favourite, but not many on the market and those that I've enquired about are in very poor condition.
 
The Rivals for sale on the link below obviously dont fit your description but are worth a look, especially those that have been refitted professionally recently. Good pedigree, solid hulls, a good turn of speed and some have a high specification at a good price, for example "Steady" and "Tantine": -

http://www.rivalowners.org.uk/noticeboard/forsale/forsale.htm

I have no personnel or professional association with these boats or sellers.
 
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Norman_E said:
The Sigma has a good reputation but may not be the most comfortable, and many of them seem to have had a hard life. I have sailed in a Dufour 36 classic, which was reasonably fast, and well put together.

The Jeaneau Sun Fast range might appeal to you, Oceanis is Beneteau's cruising range. Whilst I understand the appeal of the more race oriented cruiser racers, for short handed sailing you might find one of the more "bread and Butter" cruisers an easier proposition, and with their generally smaller rig, just as capable if it gets up to force 8. Not many crew enjoy it at force 8, and single handled you are going to be in very cautious mode if not in survival mode.
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I've just come back to Portsmouth from Belfast on a Rustler 36 in F7/8. Nice boat, very stable, ideal for blue-water, but not much fun in anything less than F5.
 
Phideaux said:
I've just come back to Portsmouth from Belfast on a Rustler 36 in F7/8. Nice boat, very stable, ideal for blue-water, but not much fun in anything less than F5.
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That is a good observation and is the issue with so called traditional GRP hulls. Most UK sailing in the summer (not this year by the looks of it) is carried out in F3 or less, so a modern, lighter hull shape would be better with that respect.

With regards to the Sigma 362, I much preferred the 36, especially with a fractional rig; another solid boat but with a good turn of speed. I sailed one two up a few times without any problems.
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
With regards to the Sigma 362, I much preferred the 36, especially with a fractional rig; another solid boat but with a good turn of speed. I sailed one two up a few times without any problems.
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Interesting: what made you prefer the 36 over the 362? I was initially committed to preferring a fractional rig, but I'm not so sure now.
 
I sailed the 362 a lot and just found it lighter and smaller than the 36. I used one of the first ones on the market and the mast pumped like mad, we ended up fitting running backstays but Sigma sorted that problem in the end. I did not expect them to get that so wrong.

The 36 was stiffer and a more robust boat. The fractional rigs are great for speed and I find them better for close quarters manoeuvring under sail. More dinghy type response than a mast head. I felt the 36 was also more sure on the helm in the gusts, stable rudder and less prone to luffing up when at heal.

The aft cabin in the 36 was just a big flat bunk off the navigators berth, where as on the 362 it was an aft cabin with an aft heads. The fore cabin on the 362 had a sink, which I thought was pointless, caravan like and a waste of space. I am pretty sure the cockpit was bigger in the 36 and would have been if a wheel was fitted. The 362 wheel was OK but the tiller made for a better for a sail. The 36 felt bigger than the 362, far more spacious.

The 362 is a good boat, but if I had a choice of both, condition and money being similar, then the 36 with a tiller, fractional rig, would be my choice.

Following the considerable success of his one-design Sigma 33 cruiser-racer, introduced in 1978 as the first Sigma model, David Thomas designed the larger Sigma 36 in 1980/81 with the aim of repeating the success with a bigger version, though there was probably never any intention to market the 36 as a one-design racer.

The wide beam of the Sigma 36 gives spacious accommodation, including a large aft double berth under the cockpit. Like virtually all David Thomas designs, the Sigma 36 is close-winded and fast, yet is easy enough to handle and sail to make a good long-distance cruiser. 'Yachting Monthly' reviewed the design in 2001, commenting "....the Sigma 36 is beautiful to sail. There are not many yachts that can compare. She gives a huge feeling of security .... backed up by fabulous handling"

The Sigma 36 was later reworked into the Sigma 362 fast cruiser, with a slightly detuned rig and a modified interior, with larger heads and an aft cabin separated by a door.
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I dont understand why your so keen on that 36 foot size... I dont think you can get a decent boat that you want at that size for that money.

I would have thought that something like a Westerly Storm would have been perfectly fit for what you want to do, and hit the right price as well....
 
BlowingOldBoots said:
I sailed the 362 a lot and just found it lighter and smaller than the 36. I used one of the first ones on the market and the mast pumped like mad, we ended up fitting running backstays but Sigma sorted that problem in the end. I did not expect them to get that so wrong.

The 36 was stiffer and a more robust boat. The fractional rigs are great for speed and I find them better for close quarters manoeuvring under sail. More dinghy type response than a mast head. I felt the 36 was also more sure on the helm in the gusts, stable rudder and less prone to luffing up when at heal.

The aft cabin in the 36 was just a big flat bunk off the navigators berth, where as on the 362 it was an aft cabin with an aft heads. The fore cabin on the 362 had a sink, which I thought was pointless, caravan like and a waste of space. I am pretty sure the cockpit was bigger in the 36 and would have been if a wheel was fitted. The 362 wheel was OK but the tiller made for a better for a sail. The 36 felt bigger than the 362, far more spacious.

The 362 is a good boat, but if I had a choice of both, condition and money being similar, then the 36 with a tiller, fractional rig, would be my choice.
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Many thanks for this, I really appreciate it. It's so nice when someone with some actual experience, rather than opinion, answers the question.
 
photodog said:
I dont understand why your so keen on that 36 foot size... I dont think you can get a decent boat that you want at that size for that money.

I would have thought that something like a Westerly Storm would have been perfectly fit for what you want to do, and hit the right price as well....
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34' to 38' simply because I'd like enough room to swing a cat, yet be able to handle easily.
 
I think that you should be looking 33-34 feet.... in reality you will then get a slightly more modern boat... probably well kitted out.... and as its a bit more modern, the interior space will be very simular if not better than what you have been looking at....

The She 36, lovely boat that they are, is not modern for accomodation....

I would suggest that in that size, you could then be looking at...

Westerly Storm (33 feet)
Sadler 34
Dehler 34
Feeling 346
Mid 90's Bavaria 330 or 350..
MG335
Scanmar 33

Just to start...

Here is a nice looking Storm..

http://uk.yachtworld.com/boats/1987/Westerly-Storm-2323657/United-Kingdom
 
Phideaux said:
I'm looking for a fast cruiser for single or double-handed offshore sailing (Channel-hopping) and happy in F8. Price about £40k but needs to have modern navionics (chartplotter, radar, AIS) and be less than 25 years old. I'm quite taken by the Sigma 362, but was wondering if there are any others as it's been suggested that the early Beneteau First and Jeanneau Oceanis are also robust and might meet my needs.

Any recommendations (or boats for sale)?
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My 37 footer went quite well on Saturday single handed :D
managed 56 mls in total

P7094103.jpg

P7094097.jpg
 
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What about an Oyster Lightwave 395 ? I might be tempted to sell and she certainly meets all your criteria. Proven in offshore racing, single handed and double handed. Just had a set of new Carbon / Kevlar sails less than one season old. .........................
Sleeps 6 very comfortably. Drop me a line if you need more info.
 
I used to have a First 345. Almost identical in hull shape to a Sigma 36 but masthead rig.

Very solid and comfy boat, and easy to handle with a good turn of speed.

Not too many of them in the UK (we went to France to buy ours), bit £30k-£35k would get you a very sorted example.

Only thing to watch for is the pox. Not a big problem, but the price will need to be about £6k lower if it shows any signs of blistering.
 
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