Sailboats 36-40ft

The now-venerable French production company is back with a line to rival the big US builders.

This woody, seaworthy Crealock design has proved a good investment over the years.

This recent update of this extraordinarily popular 18-year-old Catalina 36 MK II design is a good all-around boat. Owners’ main complaint is with interior woodwork.

From the recently resurrected Canadian Sailcraft company, this early 80's racer/cruiser is well built, with a fair turn of speed. Its few shortcomings include a shallow bilge, difficult engine access and marginal stowage.

This German-built production cruiser has first-class construction and is favorably priced. For serious cruising, however, she does have a few drawbacks such as a small galley and marginal sea berths.

A gentleman’s cruiser that’s easy to single-hand, great to look at, well-built, but a bit small for long-term voyaging.

The smallest Sabre is a performance cruiser with an all-wood interior. It’s done well in some ocean races, though it’s too heavy to be flat-out fast.

This French cruiser has a nice all-wood interior, but a small sail plan for coastal US waters.

In its heyday, the Block Island 40 had a good racing record. In the 1960 Bermuda Race six of the first 11 places were won by BI 40s, and in 1978, the BI 40 Alaris won her class. Its PHRF rating varies between rig (sloop or yawl) and fleet from a low of 156 to a high of 186. The average seems to be 165. It's difficult to make comparisons, but more contemporary boats with similar ratings include the Hunter 33, Irwin 34 Citation and Island Packet 38. But what's the point? The BI 40 is not a round-the-buoys racer. She's a cruising boat displacing 20,000 pounds.

The Columbia 36 was in production between 1967 and 1972. One reader estimates that more than 600 were built, making it a very successful model. The Columbia 36 was a pretty slick looking boat in its day, and though its lines have worn reasonably well with time, we're reluctant to call it a "classic."