# Islander 36 vs. Islander Freeport 36



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Sailors,

I am the Marine who posted about a week ago. Thank you all for responding. I have a few questions. I like the idea of owning a classic racer/cruisers. I plan on joining the yacht club to race for fun, but I also want to be able to cruise anywhere I want to offshore. I am interested in the Islander 36 and the Catalina 38. They seem to be the very serious classic racer/cruisers. I am sold on the old boats designed and built in the 1970's.

I would also like a protected rudder - preferably a skeg mounted rudder. I plan on going aground at least once a week. My major limitation is the shallow (sheol?) marina up New River, where I plan on slipping for the next two years. Max draft must be 5'4" or less. This rules out both the Islander 36 and the Catalina 38, unless they are modified ($6-8k for a keel job). 

What can you tell me about the Islander Freeport 36 designed by Robert Perry? Did they use the same molds for the hull as the I36? Is it still a fast boat? or just rare and roomy? I understand there were less than 200 built.

What other boats should I look at? Are there others that fit into this category that I don't know about yet? There must be. I have only been in the sailing community for about five minutes. Please enlighten me.

S/F
Christopher


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

I'm sure Jeff H can correct me if required, but I believe the I36 is an Alan Gurney design. It and the Freeport 36 are very different boats.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Last year i sailed an older Islander 36 from San Francisco to Cabo/Mexico in the BajaHaHa. Got stuck in a bit of bad weather on occasion while enroute - lots of chop and gusts over 40 and the boat was excellent. Very solid feel at the helm and we averaged a good speed in all wind conditions. Cant comment on the Catalina 38 but I think it is a safe bet to say the Islander was built better then similiar size Cat/Hunter/Irwin of the same period, and Ive owned Irwin Citations and Hunters and wouldnt venture much further out under the Golden Gate then a few miles.


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## pigslo (Nov 22, 2004)

*Catalina 38*

The Catalina 38 was designed as an offshore race boat and not the same as other Catalinas.


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## Artwerke (Nov 25, 2005)

I've got a 1970 Irwin 38, different boat than the later Citations, stout and fast,has a 3'9"draft with centerboard up,carries about 700 Sq ft sail, 10'6" beam,About 30ft waterline, picks up about 3 ft. underway, I sail around Corpus Christi Bay ,see 7 kts on GPS on close reach with 18 kt breezes quite frequently. I've only seen references to 2 of these boats so far and mine's one of them. Art.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Islander36 or Catalina38*

Look at a Tartan 37 from the 70's: The most popular model was build with a centerboard (draft from 4.7' to over 7').
Great pedigree, like the Catalina 38, she is an S&S design. She is fast, well build and has a very functional interior.
They were (and still are) very poular on the East Coast and in the Great Lake areas.
Hopes it helps you,
Paul


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

The Freeport 36 was a pilothouse (Mostly) motorsailor, rather than the Island 36, which was a cruiser/racer. 

The Freeport was a pretty boat, loads of space and (unusually) had a queen sized bed in a small cabin forward of the saloon. As I recall it had a cutout forefoot, but was basically a long-keel boat. I also remember it didn't seem to have enough sail area for a boat that heavy. 

I think all of the Islanders were made at the same plant, but don't hold my feet to the fire on that one. I remember they seemed well built, and were a very popular boat in the 1970's/1980's, before the economy tanked and a lot of boat builders went belly up. 

Hope that helps a bit.


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## speciald (Mar 27, 2007)

Almost bought a Freport Islander once - in 1978!


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## blt2ski (May 5, 2005)

The freeport 36 is a Bob Perry design.

Marty


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## rcarr (Aug 17, 2000)

The Islander Freeport 36 is a raised salon, not a pilot house, fin keel with a skeg rudder. It is not a motor sailer. It sails very well. It is a Bob Perry design. It is an excellent boat for a couple. Search yahoo groups for "foggers". This is a Freport owners groups. Post you question there. Also go to goodoldboat.com and search their owners associations section and you will find some Islander 36 owner groups. The Good Old Boat 
Magazine did a story on the Freeport 36 a while back. You might be able to get a copy of that. Both boats are excellents boat.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Funny. I remember there being a steering wheel inside the cabin, at a raised seat when I went to the Long Beach Sailboat show and saw it.

But I'm old and my memory does play tricks occasionally.


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## rcarr (Aug 17, 2000)

If you want to see the interior of a Freeport 36 go to yacthworld.com and search islander freeport. They list several 36's, a couple 38's, which is the same boat as the 36 with a few minor changes and a bow sprit, and several 41's.


Rodger


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## JiffyLube (Jan 25, 2008)

I'm a 1981 Freeport 36 owner, and what rcarr says is true about the boat. I sailed it down to San Diego from San Francisco shortly after purchasing it (in SF), and they boat handled the wind and water conditions just fine. I find that it can generally stay up with most boats of its size, and has a pretty comfortable ride even in rougher conditions. Mast is keel stepped. This boat is a cruiser, but moves good when you need it to. The engine is located low below the salon floor, and that helps a lot with a low center of gravity...and there is an actual bilge below the engine compartment. The boat was designed with plenty of storage space (and carries loads well), and is very livable for two people...especially couples. While it is not great at backing up (probably because of the large skeg mounted rudder), it does steer very good in most conditions...making it a pleasure for the helmsman. I would say that the biggest draw back to this boat are the sleeping accommodations (because it was designed for couples), so if you're going to have a crew of more than three, this might not be the boat for you. The interior layout is very nice, with good teak work everywhere except in the forward head which is mostly fiberglass...which makes perfect sense for that area. Some people do not like the idea of a forward head (thinking it's not a good place in rougher conditions), but the toilet is really located closer to where many boat's toilets are located anyway. The head is very roomy, and two people could use it at the same time. The door to the anchor locker is located on the forward wall in the head, and that also makes perfect sense in case of a leak from the locker...it's also very easy to get to the locker. No boat is perfect, but this boat works for me. I may have some pictures, and layout plans posted to this site that can show you more about this boat.


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## DouglasYoung (Sep 20, 2002)

pigslo said:


> The Catalina 38 was designed as an offshore race boat and not the same as other Catalinas.


The Islander Freeport 36 is a Bob Perry design however I can understand the error. My wife and I have just made an offer on one here in Puget Sound. We have already had a good look over the boat and pending survey and sea trial she will be ours. It's good to see all the posts about them and things to look for although at this point the items are about the same for a vessel built in the 70's. Ill post more as things progress.


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## 2Lions4Fun (Nov 2, 2016)

Hi, we just purchased a 1977 Islander Freeport 36 (rough but great project boat), sure could use any info you can trow our way! TY


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

Lion, just start tossing out questions as they come up. Tons of knowledge here on SN. In order to advance the conversation more quickly, Google the topic first with 'site:sailnet.com' added.


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

And start a new thread for each topic.


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