sailing characteristics of CD36

[phk]

hi - i used to have a CD30 cutter and considering getting a CD36. I sail in New England - primarily Buzzards Bay and Islands. I know CDs are great when wind >15 knots, but i am concerned when wind ~ 10 knots. Would a CD36 on a reach come close to hull speed ? say i replaced the yankee jib with a 135 % genoa ? Also, how close can i sail a CD36 into the wind ? i recall more than 30 degrees, perhaps a lot more was the best i could do with my CD30 with the cutter rig in perhaps 15 kt of wind. Would a genoa improve it ? Also, how well does it sail under main alone in 10-15 knots ? I am not buying this boat to win races but performance is a consideration. Also, i assume the 50 hp engine can drive it at hull speed in flat conditions. Yes ?

Also, any advice on possible structural etc problems in a used CD36 ? any other advice ?

tx for help. Glad to talk on phone etc

[Steve Laume]

If light air sailing speed and pointing ability are major concerns you may be looking at the wrong boat. Buzzards bay is generally not known for light air and a CD-36 would be an excellent choice. But I may be biased, Steve.

[gonesail]

for light air you may want to consider a 150% jib. it's good to 10 or 12 but can be a bear to furl when the wind really pipes up. enjoy.

[John Stone]

Can’t really compare a stock 36 to my boat though since I have a bigger rig but I would say as a general comment a 36 is a great sailing boat if you know what your doing and very forgiving if you don’t.

I would not put 150 jib on a CD 36. It’s too big. You will be a struggle to tack it over the stays’l, and you’ll get over powered pretty quickly. A better solution if you have the money to spend is get an asymmetric spinnaker or even better a 1.5 oz reacher. I have both but my reacher is a work horse in light air. I sailed engineless for five years in my 36 and never felt like we could not move unless it was dead calm.

I like the reacher better than the asymmetric spinnaker because it’s more versatile. I can sail upwind maybe 50° apparent and when running downwind I can pole it out. My reacher is cut as a 140 percent on my rig so maybe a little bigger than a 160 on a stock boat. Couple photos below of the reacher in action.

John Ring has a lot of experience sailing his mostly stock 36 Tiara. He frequents the forum. You might reach out to him and see what he has to say.

[Paul D.]

I will second the point John makes about careful consideration of good light air headsails. I thought my knowledge of them had plateaued until I crewed in the Trans Superior Race last year. (Witness Protection, our C&C 35, came in second, but we also came in 15 minutes ahead of the boat who came in first.) We had a selection of reachers, spinnakers and code zeros. It cemented my desire to sew up a good cruising spinnaker for Femme, one that would be cut maybe a little flatter for a little wider wind angle range. CD's are better sailers than most think as they are relatively narrow and slippery for a full keel, heavy displacement boat, often with decent sail area. Alberg knew what he was about.

Having a drifter or modern asym in a sock would be my choice for a light air sail for our CD boats.

Carol Hasse has a few good, if general, words to say about light air headsails.

https://www.porttownsendsails.com/pdf/l ... _sails.pdf

[mgphl52]

CD's are better sailers than most think as they are relatively narrow and slippery for a full keel, heavy displacement boat, often with decent sail area. Alberg knew what he was about.

That is so true! Having proper sails with good crew that know how to trim can allow a "heavy" Cape Dory bring home trophies in PHRF races! Been there, done that, a lot!

[Frenchy]

Speaking of light air sails, "Sailing Atticus" had an interesting solution, similar to John Stone's. A nylon
drifter is set on a removable dyneema solent stay. The sail is zippered around the stay and hauled up on a separate
halyard. You can see the sail in action around 11:30 minutes into the video. - Jean


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqILc7xpfQY

[John Stone]

I don’t have a furler so it’s a simple thing for me to haul up the drifter on the head stay. The reacher has only five hanks and a dyneema luff core. I can use the hanks when close upwind work is required or fly it free if reaching or running. If you have a furler you can fly it free or use a code zero or a wide ranger of other solutions. Bottom line is to set up your boat to move well in light air so you neither feel a need to turn on the engine nor miss the the simple pleasures and joy of sailing efficiently in light air.

[jbenagh]

I sailed with John Ring on Tiara when we finished 2nd in the Marion to Bermuda in 2017 and '19. In '17 we had about 8 hours of very light wind. With a code zero we were nearly the only boat in the fleet that was moving. We could do 1.0kt in 1.2kt of breeze. The prior day or two we were able to make over 6kts in 6-8kt of breeze under the code zero. So I would definitely agree that light wind sails make a huge difference.
In higher winds, you will want to run much smaller sails than other boats. Keep her heeled but the rails out of the water by reefing, especially the main.
These boats are pretty underrated but you do need decent sails, appropriate reefs and a light wind sail or two (or more).
Jeff

[phk]

Hi - i really appreciate this information and will be less concerned about the light air sailing. Sailing is about trade-offs - A CD 36 seems worth it. More probably later.
Thanks again.

[Mbigos]

I know you got an earful already on this, but my two cents is to go sailing on a 36. If you want to crew one evening race next season in Casco Bay, private message me.