You mentioned a C34 also. See Looking for and What to Look for at the top of this page: [url]http://www.c34.org/faq-pages/faq.html[/url] Many of the issues are discussed in the rest of that page. The C34 and C36 boats are very similar and share almost all of the same features, systems and issues of boats of that vintage.

There is more information on the main C36 home page.

Sam,

If you haven't already, take a look at our organization's home page. You can access it by clicking on the link in the lower right hand corner of this page, in the blue stripe, "[U]Catalina 36 International Association[/U], or you can go directly via your browser to [URL="http://www.c36ia.com"]http://www.c36ia.com[/URL].

If you haven't visited there, you'll find quite a bit of info that might be of assistance to you. Note that some of the information, expecially the two huge libraries under the 'Technical' tab, one called 'Upgrades' and the other called 'Maintenance,' are accessable only by paid-up Members of the C36IA. A note of explanation...being a Member (capital M) of the C36IA is different than just being a member (small m) of this Forum.

While I'm addressing the idea of C36IA Membership privileges, let me argue for a moment in favour of the benefits of C36IA Membership, especially for someone seriously contemplating purchase of a Catalina 36. A year's Membership can be had for as little as $20 (without the Catalina all-model "Mainsheet" magazine subscription), or for $30 including the Mainsheet. A three-year subscription earns you a free CD of the Tech Notes, which is a compendium of all Mainsheet-published articles (upgrades and maintenance topics) since time immemorial, plus a whole lot of additional reference materials such as equipment manuals and the like. This is a great resource to have at your fingertips as you scan the market for candidate boats! And when you get your Catalina 36, the benefits become even more valuable, with the access to Tom's Tool Box for loaner specialty wrenches, cutlass bearing pullers, and other fancy stuff...all at no charge, except for the shipping.

The Catalina 36 is a great all-around boat, and the C36IA is one of the industry's outstanding owner support associations. We appreciate your visiting us, and wish you success in your search. Thanks for visiting the C36IA.

There were some mainly cosmetic changes going on in the 90's towards the end of the MKI production. First came a walk through transom that the earlier boats didn't have. A year or two later, the interior finishes were lightend up, portlights were added through the hull to allow more natural light in the saloon and the forward facing nav station was turned outward and downsized to allow for a door to the aft cabin allowing a small standing space. Opinions differ on how desireable some of these changes are, but they are not issues or defects, so it comes down to personal preference really.

The C36 also came with 2 saloon configurations a "U" shaped settee with drop table, or an "L" shaped setee with a fold up table. Each has pros and cons, and there are several threads were folks have offered their opinions on which is better and why.

I'm not aware of any real defects that would inform the decsion to buy a particular model year over another. I have heard some express the opinon that the MKII's are "better" boats, but I hold the opinion that they are simply "different" boats and "better" is in the eye of the beholder.

I do think the Hood continuous line furlers installed on many late 90's C36's and C34's is a piece of junk. Hood seemed to acknowledge this some time back and used to offer a conversion to a single line drum using the existing foil, but this is no longer available (unless the C34 guys are successful in their efforts to arrange a group buy). If you find a perfect boat that has that furler, I'd try to negotiate a bit off the price and replace it with a quality furler that would allow you to reef ASAP.

Other than that, I think personal preference will drive your decsion and that either boat, properly equipped, is capable of your stated sailing ambitions. I came very close to buying a C34, but ended up stretching the budget a bit to get a 36, and we're very happy we did, as the boat suits us very well.

Good Luck finding a great boat that fits your needs.

Sam,
I think the continuous line furlers were from the late 80's and early 90's, not the late 90's. One item to look out for in any boat is leaking around the chainplates. This is not a design issue, but more of a (lack of) maintenance issue. If chainplates are not inspected and bedded properly, it could lead to delamination of the deck and/or rotten bulkheads. Both the C34 and the C36 websites have other well documented items that are a "must check", either for a new owner or a prospective owner. Hope this helps.

With respect to the Mk I vs Mk II issue, the Mk I's capsize ratio is better than the Mark II's at least according to one screening method. But the difference is very slight, certainly not enough to make a buying decision on. We wanted a Mk II mostly because the cockpit is wider.

[QUOTE=TomSoko;4190]Sam,
I think the continuous line furlers were from the late 80's and early 90's, not the late 90's.[/QUOTE]

Correct. I meant the early 90's boats. I guess my fingers got ahead of me.

Sam-
I have a 1989 C36 and love it! I am also the newly appointed Membership Officer for the C36IA, so if you have any questions about membership, please let me know.
I TOTALLY echo EVERYTHING that was advised in the previous posts.

Good luck on your search.

Note: Our boat does have a Hood furler, and (KNOCK ON WOOD) we have not had major issues, so this should not be a show stopper for you if you find a C36 that is in your price range.

Best of luck on your search. There are hundreds of member owners here to help you if you buy one.

Laura Olsen , Membership Officer C36ia

S/V Miramar
#938
Baltimore MD

Tom hit the first one - leaking chain plates although I have a 1985 with zero issues relative to that.

2) Upgrade to a 3 inich heat exchanger - the older models had a 2 or 2.5 inch and that has always has been an issue.

3) Upgraded engine wiring harness on the older models - Tom could probably tell you when that upgrade was made on the later MKI models.

4) Fuel tank rusting out on older models because of mounting - again I do not know the years when this was corrected.

All in all - a very hard to beat coastal cruiser for the money. Good luck in your search.

Regards, Mark

What to look for:

As mentioned, look for leaks around the chain plates. This includes checking the port bulkhed to which one of the chain plates is attached. Mine had been leaking enough that I had to replace the entire bulkhead due to dry rot.

Another minor issue: If it has in-mast roller furling, check for stiffness in furling and unfurling the main. In my case, it became so stiff that I nearly couldn't furl it back up. After going crazy checking everything I could think of, I found it was simply that the in-haul line was old and swollen from salt and was rubbing on the inside of the drum. So if you find one that has this problem, it may well be an easy fix.

Earlier models (early and mid 80s) had a tendency towards having a lot of blisters, but this doesn't seem to be a problem with the models of the 90s.