Sailboats 36-40ft

Hans Christian 34/36 - While not a good boat for the weekend coastal cruiser, or for anyone who does much sailing in light-to-moderate air, this is an excellent choice for the serious blue-water sailor. This is a boat that will take you offshore to Bermuda or just about anywhere and will stand up to a gale. The 34/36 wont get you there fast, but it will get you there safely.

The Tartan 37 is a moderately high performance, shoal-draft cruiser built between 1967 and 1988 by Tartan Marine, a company that helped usher in the fiberglass era under Charlie Britton in the 1960s. At the time of the Tartan 37s introduction, the company had its headquarters in Grand River, Ohio, and a factory in Hamlet, N.C.

For cruising in comfort and sailing with ease it's hard to top modern designs like the Beneteau 393. Openness, creature comfort, and smooth-running systems put boats like these well ahead of the "narrow, dark, cavelike" designs of just a few years ago. However, if your need is to claw off a lee shore in a gale, to go where the waves are bigger than you are, or to cast off with "anything goes" readiness, these new coastal cruising designs aren't as good as the old.

When classical musicians start playing rock and roll, fans take note. When their first songs a hit, everyone listens to the lyrics. Bob Johnson, Bill Bolin, and the Island Packet Yachts (IP) crew have decades of experience delivering traditional cruisers to appreciative owners, but IPs newest player has increased the tempo.

Cheoy Lee Shipyards of Hong Kong has been a commercial builder since the early 1900s and is one of the first molders of fiberglass boats in Asia. Production of fiberglass boats began in the early 1960s and continues today, although the company-like many big yards around the world-has turned its focus toward commercial ships and the mega-yacht market. Looking at the line of 78- to 100-plus-foot yachts catering to Far East millionaires and billionaires, it is clear that any concerns about what would happen to Cheoy Lee when Hong Kong reverted to China were way off target.

In a search for a budget cruiser, Practical Sailor has made it a point over the years to look at used boats from a prior...

In the 13 years since naval architect Bob Johnson founded Island Packet Yachts, he's developed quite a following. We've had many requests to review one of his boats, mostly from satisfied owners. The others have come from couples considering the boat for living aboard and cruising. In a period when most boatbuilders are foundering, Island Packet has found a niche and is servicing it admirably.

Still going strong after more than 35 years, the Bill Crealock-designed Cabo Rico 38 is much admired for its strength, seakeeping ability, and teak joinery work. While the original beauty was out of reach of the average cruiser, the recession has put enough of a dent in this market that some attractively priced boats are popping up now and then. With the molds for this popular boat in limbo, it could well be that the only Cabo 38s well see in the future are those that are out sailing today, and this shouldnt hurt their value.

To begin with, lets make clear which Ericson 34 were reviewing about here because Ericson Yachts has a handful of boats in the 35-foot range. Back in 1967, the first Ericson 35 was a typical Cruising Club of America cruising boat, with a long keel and attached rudder. In 1978, an IOR-inspired Ericson 34 was introduced along with the 34T (same hull with a different deck). The boat we are describing here was built by Ericson and then by Pacific Seacraft, post 1991, where it evolved into the new Ericson 35.

The Ericson 34-2 hull hand-laminated monocoque structure made from a single mold.