# Islander 36



## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Hello,
I am currently doing research on boats. The wife and i are planning to do some sailing when the kids leave in a few years and we want to purchase the boat, get used to sailing it, and find out all it''s quirks before we leave.
We do not plan to do any extensive offshore passagemaking, although we will be ofshore at least some of the time. We plan coastal cruising along with some sailing around the Carribean a bit.
We currently own a thirt foot boat and sail it regularly, it''s almost big enough, but i think it would be a bit cramped.
Our budget for the boat is 35K and plan to put another 10-15 into it to get it ready to go. For this i would like to have a boat that sails well, i don''t intend to race this boat but i don''t want to sail a slug either, and I would like to have as much room as is reasonable with a max length of about 36-37 feet. 
With all that said, we have been looking at Cal 34''s and Tartan 34''s, but they don''t seem to have as much room as our current boat. I had a broker tell me that the Islander were offshore boats, i had never heard that before. That''s got me looking at a 1978 Islander 36. Of course i will have any boat intend to purchase surveyed. These boats seem to be in my budget range and i''m told that they sail well and are fairly roomy.
If the Islander isn''t a good choice, could i get a few pointers on what you''ll think would be a good boat.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

As the happy owner of an Islander 36 I will have to say they are a great boat. Roomy, fast, and a joy to sail. As an offshore boat...they are not. However, a number have cruised offshore and around the Pacific sucessfully. 

The Islander 36 is an excellent coastal cruiser but a large, deep cockpit with small drains, doesn''t fit most seasoned sailors ideas of an "offshore cruiser." That doesn''t mean the boat couldn''t be adapted to make it more suitable....it just wasn''t designed to be a blue water boat. 

I''ve owned mine (a ''78 by the way) for six years. I just love the boat and haven''t seen anything in the price range that I would want instead.

Suggest you check out the Islander 36 Association web page www.islander36.org/

You will find a wealth of information about the boat, maintenance concerns, and lots of good pictures!

Jin


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