The Vancouver 36 is an American

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

that was designed by Robert B. Harris as a bluewater ocean cruiser and first built in 1977.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 290-291. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. This boat design is often confused with the later and unrelated Tony Taylore-designed Vancouver 36 sailboat, which was built in the

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by Northshore Yachts, starting in 1989. The Harris design is usually appended with his name to differentiate it from the other design.

Production

The design was built by Durbeck's Inc in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

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, starting in 1977, until they went out of business in 1983. Hidden Harbor Boatworks, also in Sarasota, then produced the design until they too went out of business a few years later, in the late 1980s, ending production. A total of 13 boats were built. Boats were factory-produced in three states of completion. Some were delivered to customers by road, as kits with the hull and deck joined. Some were delivered wit engines installed, so they could be motored home from the factory, while the majority were delivered complete, with interiors and ready-to-sail.

Design

The Vancouver 36 is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

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, with minimal

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wood trim above decks. Construction is of thick fiberglass, with an Airtex core. It has a cutter rig with

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

spars, a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a canoe transom, a keel-mounted

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

controlled by a wheel and a fixed modified long

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

, with a cutaway foot. It displaces and carries of ballast. A

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version was introduced in 1987. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel fitted. The boat is fitted with a Swedish

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MD 17 C

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of for docking and maneuvering. Reviewer Richard Jordan described the engine in this application as "woefully underpowered". The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The design could be a completed with a number or different cabin plans. A typical one includes a large bow stateroom, with a double berth on the port side, a workbench on the port side, a large ensuite head with a shower. A settee berth to port and a pilot berth on the starboard side are provided in the main cabin for total sleeping accommodation for four people. The galley is to starboard aft, at the foot of the companionway way steps, and includes a three-burner stove and a

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrige ...

. A navigation station is provided to port. Unusually this cabin layout includes a

fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design ...

. The bow has an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ� ...

chain locker and a large sail locker. Aft of the companionway steps are a large sail locker, a wet locker and the engine compartment. The cabin sole is made from Ventilation is provided by four deck hatches, plus two cowl vents. The cockpit is small and seats four people, to make more room below decks. The

mainsheet traveler A traveller is a part of the rigging of a boat or ship that provides a moving attachment point for a rope, sail or yard to a fixed part of the vessel. It may take the form of anything from a simple ring on a metal bar or a spar to, especially in a ...

is located on the cabin roof, sheeting mid- boom. The shrouds are mounted inboard and the

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is sheeted outboard, at the toe-rail.

Operational history

In a review Richard Sherwood wrote, "Robert Harris also designed the Vancouver 27, 32, and 42, but the first two are produced in England and the latter in Taiwan. The 36 has an unusual cabin layout. With a large space but only four bunks, she is designed for long-range cruising. Entry is fine, bilges are hard, and the maximum beam is well aft. Ballast/displacement ratio is 42 percent." In a 2009 review Richard Jordan wrote, "this is a no nonsense tank – a boat that is meant to go places. Just slip the dock lines and head for the horizon … The 36 like her sisters is a bluewater cruiser, heavy and strong. She has a classic cruising look – a powerfully straight raked bow and canoe stern. Her lines are modest with a subtle sheer. Most notable in look is her stepped cabin trunk similar to the pilothouse deck mold of her 42-foot sistership and perforated aluminum toe rail. Her stern is thick and full bodied and not for everyone."

References

{{Reflist Keelboats 1970s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Robert B. Harris Sailboat types built by Durbeck's Inc Sailboat types built by Hidden Harbor Boatworks

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References