I might need a CD 36

[chase]

After four years and 2500 hundred miles, Anne Freeman is feeling a bit cramped with the family. My wife recently commented on this during our recent cruise to the Chesapeake. It's the last thing I thought I would hear from her, "we need a bigger boat" to which her modestly paid farm manager husband said, "we can't afford another boat." She's very thrifty. I am the idea guy.....but hey, I never thought I'd have a vessel as nice as I do now. Anyway, wait til she gets home tonight and hears what I'm cooking up.....

So I am driving to the coast to look at a CD 36 this weekend, priced in the forties. I'm told the boat has been sailed little, and the Perkins has 600 original hours. It appears to be better engine access than my 30 but likely idled for much of these hours.

I'm reluctant to take on a project boat -- I've invested so much time into Anne Freeman and she is such a great boat with new repower, etc. but I want to keep my growing teenager and soon to be teen involved in cruising between Maine and the Bahamas while they are still at home. My farm manager position has allowed me to really use the boat with substantial time off to compensate for the 80-100 hour weeks, so we have shown that we cruise our boat 4-6 weeks each year. I’ll also be taking winter 10/11 off for a four month cruise to the near Caribbean. I think this would be a fine boat for my wife and I to do long term cruising with visits from college age kids, so could potentially keep this boat for many years. Our plans involve lots of voyaging 8-10 years down the road.

Any thoughts on CD 36 issues to look closely at? I'll look at everything I have learned from refitting my CD30 but please let me know if there are particular issues I should pay attention to.

Any other sage wisdom about my logic or lack thereof is appreciated. After a recent 575 mile three week cruise my head is still a little in the clouds.

Thanks all-

Chase

[Troy Scott]

Chase,

Expect some gelcoat problems. Also, expect some wet core where hardware wasn't bedded well. Also, expect some cabin sole problems. But these are all standard "old CD" problems.

The engine bed, if it's original, will probably be rusty. They were made of mild steel and given only one coat of primer before installation. I removed my engine. I made a jig to help me locate the pads on a replacement bed. Then I cut and ground until the old mount was gone. We welded up a replacement bed very similar to the original, but with sealed ends and an excellent paint job. I glassed it into position using the aforementioned jigs to make sure it was positioned like the original. This was a HUGE project.

My 36 is in a thousand pieces now. Feel free to ask any specific questions.

[chase]

Thanks Troy!

Chase

[Larry McAnally]

Chase,
I Moved from a 30 to a 36 two years ago and would could not be more pleased with the 36.
IMHO it would be well worth taking on the "project" if that is what it is. The years of long term cruising you are planning on should pay big dividends in comfort and features. The additional room in the 36 is drastic and features such as factory installed propane locker and stove are nice. The biggest difference though is the performance of the boat. The added length at waterline and weight make for an incredible improvement in handling and comfort.
There are, of course, increases in cost to own and maintain to consider. The 36 is a very nice boat!
Larry

[Russell]

features such as factory installed propane locker and stove are nice.

Just wanted to note that most CD36s built do not have this, only the late models.

[Dick Turner]

Chase,

Contact Ken Coit at parfait@nc.rr.com. His CD36 S/V Parfait is for sale.

Capt. Dick
S/V Mystical CD31
New Bern, NC

[chase]

The one that is in my price range is in reasonable shape for the price. The decks seem good, rig looks good, and I cannot see evidence of water intrusion from above. You can't really even see as much beyond the liner like you can on a CD30.

The engine mounts are very rusty and there is plenty of rust on the engine too. The boat would need a pretty good going through, -- wiring and plumbing and other general updating, seacocks, bilge pumps, etc but in general the bones looks good from my two hour probing. The engine does have good access so I don't see too much of a problem working on it and the stuffing box is easy to get at too. The bowsprit backing plate looked ok from where you can see.

I'm concerned about the aluminum fuel tank in the bilge, does that thing sit in seawater? Same with the waste tank? Looks like the sole would have to come up for any work on it.

Thanks for all the opinions please keep it coming. I'm putting my pencil to paper and weighing options. In general the boat feels like a good size. It does not feel like a big boat but the decks are easy to pass, this is a real asset. Larry I appreciate your input o n the handling, I am happy to hear that the increased waterline and displacement settle the boat down. Two in my crowd get seasick so any improvement here is great.

cheers-

Chase

[Russell]

I'm concerned about the aluminum fuel tank in the bilge, does that thing sit in seawater? Same with the waste tank? Looks like the sole would have to come up for any work on it.

Yes, the aluminium fuel tank does sit in a tad of water, ussually not an issue in a boat that is not used much as the bilge pump will keep the bilge dry enough that it is not sitting in water constantly. Ultimately there have been few reports of people having to replace this tank, but there have been some. Its certainly been a constant worry of mine. As for the waste tank, what year is this boat? Most CD36s have a fibreglass waste tank that is integral to the hull (under the engine). I am currently replacing my cabin sole and debating replacing the fuel tank, even though there is no evidence of problem, just because it would be a nightmare to remove the whole sole again a year later if a problem should crop up. For what its worth, on most cape dorys, the floor around this area, the only thing that needs to be dismantaled is the L in the port setee, then the entire floor above the fuel tank can come up in one peice, pre 82 CD36s this is probably different though. WHile it is on one hand a down side in inaccessability, the up side is the fuel tank in the bilge makes use of a lot of otherwise unusable space and gives the CD36 an unprecidently huge fuel tank for its class. I would not base my purchase decision on this, unless it is actually leaking right now or showing serious bad signs (have it pressure tested as part of the survey if worried).

I am curious to hear more about this particular boat, the other issues you have mentioned sound good or par for the course (rusted engine bed is expected).

Russell

[Russell]

BTW Chase, you didnt happen to be looking at a CD36 in Annapolis today were you? There is a CD36, early vintage (79 to 82 my best guess from exterior) that is for sale and a guy was on all day today at my marina looking at.

[chase]

Hi Russell,

The boat is an '83, hull 88. Nope I was not in Annapolis today, that's a long way from home.

I see no evidence of leaking of any of the tankage. The interior is good and no real signs of water intrusion on the lathe boards cabinets, behind settees, etc. The two ports are bad with 6 x 6 areas that would need replacement, not just veneer.

There are virtually no electronics on board. The stove is pressure alcolhol, I have an old propane hillerange in storage I picked up off of SSCA for $50. Can I use the aft locker i nthe cockpit for propane? It was shut and locked with a rusty lock.

The cabin sole around the mast looks really good and the sole in general has been refinished at some point but has some good life left in it.

The cockpit sole flexes around the forward port tank fill (or pumpout) or maybe that was a scupper?... The winches are hard to turn. The larger wheel is harder to get around than in my cockpit.

The roller furling would have to be replaced I'm betting. The standing rigging is original, running rigging would need replacing for sure. Spar looks pretty good really, but not as good as down below

There's a decent bimini, did not see the dodger but I think it has one.

Anchor is a 35 lb CQR, unsure of windlass. I think it has a manual one but I neglected to take much note. I can pretty well horse mine in on the 30 so I've never had a windlass....

The big nut on the front of the motor flywheel is badly rusted, there is oil leaking from a seal up high on the aft part of the motor accessed from the quarterbirth. I'll bet you that there have been few oil changes, zinc changes, etc over the 500 hours of use from this original engine but that's speculation. I *LIKE* that this is not a V-drive!

Thanks Russell-

Chase

[Carter Brey]

I was out yesterday afternoon sailing with my son. As we played chicken with an incredible number of sailboats out enjoying the sunshine and brisk (18-20 knots) wind, I saw a larger sailboat sailing close hauled toward us on the reciprocal tack, her course southwest toward New York City. I pointed her out to my son and said, "Look at the beautiful lines on that boat. That's really nice. I wonder what it is." As she thrashed through the waves toward us, heeled over, she was everything a sailboat should look like.

As we closed I could make out five elongated portlights... moderate overhangs... a bowsprit... and finally the logo on the main. Needless to say, it was a Cape Dory 36.

Carter

[bottomscraper]

There are virtually no electronics on board.
...
The winches are hard to turn.
...
The roller furling would have to be replaced I'm betting. The standing rigging is original, running rigging would need replacing for sure. Spar looks pretty good really, but not as good as down below
...
Anchor is a 35 lb CQR, unsure of windlass. I think it has a manual one but I neglected to take much note. I can pretty well horse mine in on the 30 so I've never had a windlass....
...
The big nut on the front of the motor flywheel is badly rusted, there is oil leaking from a seal up high on the aft part of the motor accessed from the quarterbirth. I'll bet you that there have been few oil changes, zinc changes, etc over the 500 hours of use from this original engine but that's speculation.

New electronics are better than old. As long as you figure that as part of your overall cost lack of electronics isn't a big deal.

My guess is that the winches need service but are still ok.

I'm a fan of an electric windlass but I'm a small guy that's getting older.

Standing rigging should really be replaced if it is that old.

The oil leak is probably the valve cover gasket. That's an easy fix. I adjusted the valves and changed the valve cover gasket on ours this spring. The hardest part was scraping off the old gasket. Total time for the job was about 1 hour. The engine runs better and I fixed the oil leak that I couldn't find. The Perkins engine doesn't have an internal zinc.

[chase]

John, thanks for the heads up.

Rich great info on the Perkins, appreciate all the insight.

Chase

[Renova]

Chase,

We bought our 36 two summers ago, and have loved every minute of it. Of course, we had a full survey completed upon purchase, and if it would be helpful, I'd be happy to share it with you. Ours is hull 41, 1980. Biggest issues that I can think of off the top of my head are:
- replaced all standing rigging
- backing plate for bowsprint (in chain locker) required replacing
- a couple of soft spots in the cabin sole -
- Perkins engine --- our largest problem, but seems to be sorted out after our third (!) rebuild.

Since we had the engine out - we were able to inspect, clean and repaint the engine bed. No major problems. Not pretty, but still plenty of life left.

We put the propane box in the aft lazarette, on it's side, requiring a pricey horizontal tank. The vertical configuration took up most of the opening, and limited our use of the locker. I'd be interested to hear how others have solved this.

[Troy Scott]

Renova,

Why did you have to get the Perkins rebuilt three times? Were the first two rebuilds actually partial rebuilds or gasket replacements? I'm really curious because I had my Perkins thoroughly rebuilt and installed on a new engine bed. . I have not yet installed and used it, but I did observe it running at the shop after the work was completed.