# Standfast 36 anyone have any advice



## Vandrews (Nov 4, 2010)

Hi,
I am looking to purchase a Standfast 36, but I can't find any helpful info anywhere. Has anyone any advice at all?
Thanks, Victoria


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## puddinlegs (Jul 5, 2006)

Victoria,
The boat was designed by Frans Maas and built by Palmer Johnson. They're only building super yachts and the like these days, but I'd still call PJ and ask for information. The Maas office is in Holland. So this is what I know about the boat... flush deck, built by PJ around 1973-74 as an IOR One Tonner. The interior was well finished more inline with the early S&S swans that PJ was importing and finishing out at the time. Light below is provided by deck prisms, but will be dark by todays standards. The boat proved uncompetitive, and though very well built, never made much of a mark on the racing scene. Hull form is IOR Mark I all the way... tumblehome, small stern, the works.. Nice skeg rudder... the bottom looks like the Swans of the era as well. I'm sure the boat is very seaworthy if it's been well maintained, but not particularly fast in lighter wind ranges. Should go to windward very well though, but might not be all that fun downhill in a breeze. All that said, they are pretty cool looking boats. For the right price in the right condition in the right venue, it could make a very nice cruising boat.

STANDFAST 36 Sailboat details on sailboatdata.com

PALMER JOHNSON 36 Sailboat details on sailboatdata.com (this is the PJ build)


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## Vandrews (Nov 4, 2010)

Hi,
Thanks for the reply and info. The boat I am looking at seems like a good deal the seller is very motivated and has lowered the price significantly. I thought to give it a shot here and see if someone has owned one or has experience sailing her, before I go and check her out. 
Victoria
1974 Palmer Johnson Standfast Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com


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## puddinlegs (Jul 5, 2006)

Victoria,
Even though the boat has a new engine, etc... do get a survey. Any repairs to the spar, rigging, deck, etc... will be in today's dollars. Again, it's a pretty cool old boat, but you can easily sink a lot of money into it, but hopefully you've already thought that through. A survey including a haulout for inspection will probably cost you around $700 all told. It might seem like a lot, but bear in mind that a new main and genoa for a boat like this will cost at least 10k. Again, apologies if you already know this. If you have the expense calculus worked out, it looks like a fun project boat. You could simplify the deck layout and sail handling hardware a great deal more... bring halyards back to the cockpit, get rid of all but 2 primary, 2 secondary, and a couple of halyard winches with clutches, set up a rigid boom vang, etc... 

Cheers, and good luck!


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## Vandrews (Nov 4, 2010)

*Thank you*

Thank you for your input. I am fairly new to hunting down a good sailing vessel, I am of course going to get a survey done before committing. So I do appreciate any input on things I should consider before going to investigate further. ( like sail pricing for example ) I have asked the broker for more info like last survey and sail inventory shape and so forth. Still waiting for a 
response but the broker much rather would sell me a brand new Beneteau.
Appreciate your feedback, thank you,
Victoria


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## puddinlegs (Jul 5, 2006)

Your broker should know that with the budget you're looking at, a new Beneteau is way out of the question!  

Let us know how the deal unfolds. Oh, and take the last insurance survey with a grain of salt. Boats aren't usually hauled for them. Also have a look at Sailing Dog's list of stuff to look at when buying a used boat.


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## olson34 (Oct 13, 2000)

Those PJ Standfast boats have a _good _reputation for strength. There are two of the 40's in my area, both very updated over the years. Owners say that the basic boat is better built than all but the top high end stuff nowadays.

In the photos the 36 shows a cockpit set for sailing with the traveler in the right place. Nice!
From the small wheel, I wonder if it was delivered with a tiller and later converted. (?)

Anyhow, it looks like a good boat for the minimal bucks. Like all boats on the market, only the survey will tell the real story...

L


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## puddinlegs (Jul 5, 2006)

Indeed, they were originally tiller boats.


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## Rexorp (Nov 20, 2014)

Hello,
First, sorry for responding to an old thread. Second, I know next to nothing about sailboats apart from the years of research I've been doing.



puddinlegs said:


> ...but bear in mind that a new main and genoa for a boat like this will cost at least 10k."


When I read the above quote  I almost gave up on my dream boat. 

So, feeling a bit defeated , I decided to do a quick search for sail prices for the Standfast 36 and my dream boat. What I found put the wind back in my sails, so to speak.  For the main, head and spinnaker, all brand new, was about $6k US. Initially, I was thinking $10k for each sail. 

My point, and no offense to anyone, is don't believe everything you read online even if it is coming from a "Senior Member", again no offense intended. There is so much contradicting information in forums that one must just take it all with a grain of salt, glean any wisdom and double/triple check what is questionable to ones logic. 

 Thank you, to all that post, for the excellent stories and information.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

Rexorp said:


> Hello,
> First, sorry for responding to an old thread. Second, I know next to nothing about sailboats apart from the years of research I've been doing.
> 
> When I read the above quote  I almost gave up on my dream boat.
> ...


Well buying sails is kind of a huge variable. You can get imported sails of inexpensive materials, or custom made out of high tech materials that may not even have existed in sails at the time of the original post that might be double or more the amount stated. All depends on your use, budget and expectations. I must say kind of an odd duck to have as your dream boat, but hope you have fun if you get one. They seem to be well made boats, but the problem with old racing boats, is that they are just that old racing boats. May or may not be competitive today and may or may not make good cruising boats. I must say I am not that familiar with this model, but other Palmer Johnson boats have a very good reputation.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

Miatapaul and Puddinglegs are more right about the cost of sails for a boat like the Standfast 36 than you may wish to think. 

The Standfast has a rig proportion, which came into being as a way to cheat a racing rule. This rig proportion, especially when combined with the hullform on the Standfast is very unforgiving. When new, these boats carried a very large inventory of sails including; a mainsail, a light #1 which was 170%, and a heavy #1 which was 155%, #2 genoa (somewhere around a 130-135%), #3 genoa around (105%) a working jib (95%), a storm jib, trysail, and a running spinnaker and a reaching/heavy air chute. To keep the boat moving in light air, you needed the larger sails, but these boats were tender and not very easy to control, and so frequent sail changes were required to keep them on their feet and under control as the wind speed built. Boats like these do not tolerate badly made sails nor carrying too much canvas, or not enough canvas. 

With modern sail cloth and careful cutting patterns you might get by with fewer sails, perhaps only a mainsail, #1, #2 and a working jib, (if you are going offshore a storm jib) and a spinnaker. But to get by with this reduced sail inventory these are not going to be bargain basement sails. A well made mainsail for a boat like this will be somewhere around $4,000 and a well made 150% genoa will be close to $5,000 and could be well over that if you try to get a wider wind range out of it. The spinnaker would be the bargain of the three at something less than $4K. And then you still need the rest of the sail inventory. 

When you look at the resale value of a boat like the Standfast (somewhere around $20K), the cost of adding a decent sail inventory can be a deal breaker since there are a whole lot of really better, by which I mean easier to handle, more seaworthy, and more well rounded, boats out there for just a little more or less. 

Boats like these are really tough, because they are beautiful to look at. That makes them very charismatic, but in real life they are a handful to sail. They never were very good race boats and these days are next to useless as race boats now that offshore race boat designs have become much easier to handle, much faster, more forgiving, and way more seaworthy. Although well built they are also mediocre cruising boats being comparatively cramped for a 36 footer, very sensitive to carrying excess weight in stores and supplied, and very hard to handle in changing conditions. 

Respectfully 
Jeff


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## nantucket (Mar 9, 2015)

I owned a PJ Standfast 36 from 1990-1996 when I moved to a Frers 38. The Standfast is a great boat. Not competitive in PHRF, but probably the safest boat you could buy. The glass is solid and inches thick (probably why she is not competitive). The great parts of her are the cool pilot berths, which if you are small enough, are incredibly comfortable. I took my PJ-36 from Woods Hole to Bermuda, and with a tiller auto pilot, alone, slept comfortably in the pilot berth. There are a few around, check yachtworld. The hulls are prone to delamination, but it's easily fixed. I would trust a well inspected PJ in any type of heavy seas. They truly are solid well built boats. The flush deck is very cool. When you come into a new port, you will get looks from sailors who know boats. This was a well designed boat, unfortunately maybe too well, as the hull is solid glass that makes her quite heavy. That translates to a wonderfully smooth, comfortable ride.


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