Skuse'

Ten years ago I bought a 1994 C36 which is sometimes referred to a a MI.5. My boat's interior is exactly the same as a friends 1995. It has lighter wood and the same counter tops. He may have overhead lights in the cabin which I don't have and really wish I did. Below the water line the boats are the same. In '95 they flared the stern above the water line making the cockpit wider and roomier. The cockpit table and pedestal, however, is bulkier and takes up a lot of room and seems to get in the way. Because the stern is wider the storage in the aft lockers are better designed. The earlier 1990's may have more teak on them. The '95 has a little bigger feel to it because of the wider cockpit, but I think the sailing characteristics are exactly the same. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

Skuse,

I think it boils down to purchase price, both are great boats. I do like the dedicated chart table on my MKI, a larger cockpit is a feature that is hard to argue with. If you do a fair amount of sailing with another couple, the added standing room in the aft cabin may be a reasonable trade off for the smaller chart table.

You will feel like you have moved into a mansion in either stepping up from the 30. As for sailing qualities I do not think you would see the difference.
Again I believe it comes down to what you can afford as there is a good size price bump moving to the MKII.

Skruse,
Life is about trade-offs. There is no difference between the MkI and the MkII below the waterline. Both boats will sail exactly the same. However, there is a big difference between the wing vs fin keel, and the std vs tall rig. A tall rig fin keel will outsail a std rig wing keel any day of the week. The MkII has a larger engine (35 hp vs 30, 26, 23, or 21 hp), smaller fuel tank (25 vs 33 gal), more water capacity (66 or 74 gal vs 40), more battery capacity (pair 4Ds vs pair Grp 27s), and a smaller holding tank (13 vs 22 gal). In about 1991 the walk-thru transom was offered as an option, and later became the norm for the MkII. As Steve mentioned, you give up a real nav station (MkI) for a larger aft cabin with a door and bulkhead (MkII). In every year since it's introduction in 1983, there were improvements made to the C36. Fittings, electricals, plumbing, etc. The only major change was made with #1368 in 1994. That was the first MkII, with the wider stern and cockpit. I assume you have already poured over all of the brochures that are on this site? They have a lot of info:
[URL]http://www.c36ia.com/taxonomy/term/26[/URL]
The biggest difference between any two or three or four boats you look at will be how well they were cared for. As I have said before, the only real maintenance issue with the C36 is the PO (previous owner). Find a good one, and you will find a great boat. Hope this helps, and good luck in your search.

Former C36IA MkI Tech Editor

Skuse,
we were like you; contemplating either a late MkI or an early MkII. We settled for a 1993 Mk 1.5 which has all the features of the MkII other than the wider transom and larger cockpit. Our C36 has been repowered with a 38hp Yanmar and the extra power is certainly useful when motor sailing. We have a full aft cabin. Ours is a standard rig, wing keel and there are definitely differences in sailing performance over a tall rig and fin keel. BUT when it blows (and, here in NZ, that happens with a bit more unpredictability than sometimes I would wish)our C36 Mk1.5 seems to just "hunker down" and sails beautifully; well balanced helm, not too much heel and she takes the seas in that wonderfully smooth characteristic common to all Catalina's. The differences between the Mk I and MkII are noticeable and the apparent extra volume is certainly welcome.
Whether you eventually settle for a Mk1.5 or a MkII, I am sure you will be well pleased; either are great boats and if you manage to find one which has had a committed PO then that will just be an added bonus. Happy hunting!!

We had to have the walk-thru transom because we had it on our last boat and once you have it you won't go without it. But we wanted a Mk II because of the wider cockpit and stand up headroom in the aft cabin and both of them have lived up to expectations. We moved up from a Catalina 28 and this boat, even though it is wing keel/standard rig is so much faster we are awestruck every time we take it out. That applies to both motoring and sail.

We have the drop down table and we just love it. You can swivel it around so it takes up less space at times and it makes up into the most phenomenal lounging pit for watching movies. The amount of storage space on the boat is also exceptional, we've got areas we haven't even touched yet.

The comments about a PO who cared for their boat are seconded by me, we sure put a lot more time/sweat/money into this boat than we figured it would take. If it looks bad, it probably is worse than it looks.

One other feature you may want, or want to avoid, depending on your preferences is through the hull portlights. The MKI through the early MKI.5 did not have them. The Later 1.5's and MKII's do. For me, it was just a place to leak, so I preferred not to have them. I will say that my boat is dark below decks, but at night when windows through the hull wouldn't help anyway. I really wish Catalina had put in overhead lights, like on my O'day 322.

I also found I preferred the "U" style settee after setting out to find a boat with the "L" type. I really liked the "L" configuration on boats like the Sabre and Caliber, but felt Catalina's execution was not as well done as those boats. So I decided to drop that as a criteria for my search and accept whichever configuration happened to be on the boat I otherwise liked.

As others pointed out, picking the boat in the best condition, with the most equipment you want is the best advice, and the best boat we found in our price range had the "U" settee and we've come to really like it. Two can stretch out to read or watch TV without moving the table, or you can drop it for a truly huge TV pit.

I 2nd bboggs on the portlights. I hate 'em, my wife loves 'em. If I could figure out how to fill them in without making a mess I'd do it in a heartbeat. Well, at least the one in the aft cabin which is leaking and is a PITA, even my bride agrees on that one anyway.

the U dinette, among other things, creates space underneath for tankage, in my boat's case the holding tank but maybe other storage on newer boats. It also allows more people to sit at the table. TV on a boat? Please....

The drawer space on the older C-36: There is lots of storage but it is all in deep small spaces that is hard to use. Lots of people have come up with creative use of trays and shelves to make them work a bit better.

The storage space on the Mk II was what sold the Admiral on the boat in the first place. Throughout the boat, there is a huge amount of space. The U-shaped dinette has the forward bench seat (the fwd part of the U) that has easily accessable storage beneath it.

The primary reason we selected the U-shaped dinette was the intimacy of the layout with guests on board. The U really carries through to include the stbd double seats, making the U, in effect, a really large U that spans the full beam of the boat.

We also use the fore-aft (ie, middle) portion of the U as the bunk when underway at sea. I remove all of the back cushions of the U, which makes the bunk roomier, then I lower the table to about 5 inches above the seat level to serve as sort of a fiddle to hold the sleeper in place in a seaway. Of course, we always sleep with feet forward to prevent injury should the boat come to a sudden stop (hitting a submerged object, driving into the face of a wave, etc).

If you're on the US east coast, then shoal draft keel is likely a must. If on the west coast, then fin keel would serve your needs better. TR or SR...doesn't make me no never mind...my SR is super. I've seen over 8 kts (accurately measured) with full 135 gennie and one reef in the main on my SR/FK.

The C36 handles like a dream in close quarters with the fin keel. I imagine the shoal draft keel would have a slightly wider turning radius at an given speed. The propwalk to port with my twoi-blade standard prop is absolutely predictable, and therefore it becomes a powerful tool rather than a handicap. I cannot coment on feathering props, as my only experience with one was on a Hunter 43.5 that made the boat a dog to handle in close quarters with as little as 10 kts of wind.

I wish that you, skuse, and all Forum participants in fact, would identify themselves better in this Forum. Having a name helps me to visualize the person I'm trying to assist, and knowing a little more about where you sail helps all of us target or comments.

If you are looking for a fresh water boat, I think it would be better to look in the Great Lakes and have it shipped. There is a much greater supply.

Hello Steven,

The very first thing I did was to remove that table in the main salon; other than replacing the hatch boards with doors. I figured that most of our time spent reading charts and eating would/could be done either on the starboard table or in the cockpit. It is amazing how much room that provides when the table is taken out. I then removed the pedestal and cut the table top in about the middle. By doing that I can still utilize it if I need more sleeping berths in the mail salon. The other piece of it I use as a "work bench" on the area that is provided. I just set it in place and attach a small vice on it for small projects. I just remembered that I cut a hole in the piece of wood that I use under the spare cushion. Does that make sense?