Design and Hull
The 36.7 is Farr design number 446, commissioned as a direct descendant of the highly regarded First 40.7 but with a more refined brief. According to the Farr office, the 36.7 has a more advanced hull shape and refined look when heeled at high angles than its predecessor — a deliberate engineering decision to keep the rudder in clean water when the boat is pressed hard on a reach. In profile the boat announces its intentions immediately: flat sheer, plumb bow, and reverse transom were the fingerprints of European offshore racing filtered into a production mold. The foil work received the same treatment. The Farr team describes a keel that is the result of fifteen years of IOR, IMS, America's Cup, and Volvo Race research, producing sections that don't stall abruptly while tolerating mass-production surface finishes. Two draft options are offered: a shallow version at approximately five feet ten inches and a deep-keel racing variant at seven feet two inches, each with a bulb-weighted fin and spade rudder.
Weight control distinguished the 36.7's construction program from typical production practice. Where builders routinely accept overruns of a thousand pounds or more, the prototype came in within one hundred pounds of its targeted weight, and the first production boat was spot on. That discipline was enforced through close collaboration between the Farr office, Beneteau's production managers, and Sparcraft, which supplies the spars.
Rig and Sailing Behavior
The sailplan is a fractional sloop with swept double spreaders, a large mainsail, and a comparatively small foretriangle — a welcome departure from the IOR-era arrangements that lingered far too long in production cruiser design. The working sail area reported by Beneteau runs to 845 square feet, though the calculated triangle area is more modest; the discrepancy reflects the substantial overlapping inventory and gennaker the boat is designed to carry. Sail-area-to-displacement ratio sits above 24, placing the boat firmly in the high-performance bracket.
On the water, the helm feels balanced and the boat has an overall powerful, smooth feel. The fine bow entry exhibits little tendency to pound into moderate chop. Off the wind the numbers open up quickly: beam reaching, speed held steady at 7.2 to 8.0 knots and the helm responded to two fingers. Downwind, a shorthanded crew could hoist an asymmetrical spinnaker and keep the speedo scrambling. One honest caveat from the test record: in 12 to 13 knots with full main and a 105 percent genoa, the helm was perfectly balanced but the boat felt slightly underpowered — conditions where the big-inventory racing version with its deeper keel and hydraulic backstay adjuster would clearly pull ahead.
Cockpit and Deck Layout
The cockpit is designed as a convertible: removable aft seat sections open the layout into a T-shape for racing maneuvers, a feature Beneteau first developed on the 40.7. The raised and extended traveler track forward of the helm allows for plenty of mainsail travel running in a breeze and room to induce proper twist in the light stuff upwind. Halyards and mainsail controls are led aft to Spinlock ST clutches on the cabintop, with jib and spinnaker sheets to Lewmar self-tailers. End-boom sheeting rather than mid-boom keeps the traveler unobstructed for guests moving forward — a practical decision that benefits both racing trim and casual daysailing.
For the shorthanded sailor or nonracer, the big wheel creates a minor obstacle when accessing the traveler and companionway, and singlehanders will need to be nimble when trying to work the sail controls on the cabintop. Cockpit storage is limited: quarterberths occupy both quarter spaces below, leaving only a small starboard compartment for fenders and dock lines.
Accommodations
Below, the 36.7 delivers more than its hull length suggests. Saloon headroom measures six feet two inches, with settees six feet four inches long and two feet one inch wide — honest sea berths that double as bunks with leecloths fitted. The removable table leaves a stainless steel support that doubles as a foot brace underway and clears the cabin sole for sail stowage in race mode, a detail that shows the design carefully addresses the needs of buyers who want to race competitively at the one-design or club levels yet still cruise in comfort.
American-market boats received a modified aft arrangement: the bulkhead was moved outboard to starboard so the port bunk is nearly queen-sized while the starboard bunk becomes a single quarterberth with privacy — an ideal sea berth. The V-berth forward is minimal for two average-sized adults but is a perfect spot for children. The L-shaped galley to port carries a two-burner stove, double sink, and enclosed storage with teak doors; fiddles are a full three inches deep, which is reassuring offshore. The forward head is, by any candid measure, compact — six feet of headroom allows standing, but showers require sitting on the toilet with little room for swinging arms. On a race-oriented boat, that is an acceptable trade.
Known Production Issues
Three early production issues were documented and addressed. The Edson steering system was designed with a short drag link that inhibited steering; when several boats experienced the problem, the link was lengthened and a repair kit was distributed to owners of hulls one through thirty-three. A spreader-bar washer on the D-2 shroud was found undersized on one boat; hulls one through forty-three were inspected and found sound. A broken spreader bar on one example was considered an anomaly given the same spreader's use on the 40.7 and 42.7, where more than eleven thousand had been produced without failures. These were early-serial problems, addressed under warranty, and not structural failures; later production boats have no equivalent documented record.
On the construction side, Beneteau discontinued its Beneteau Underwater System in favor of vinylester resins designed to prevent osmotic blistering, mixing resins to a proprietary formula. The internal structure is a one-piece grid that reinforces the hull and distributes mast and keel loads, while bulkheads are bonded to both hull and deck and become part of the structure — a robust arrangement that has held up well across a long production run.
Refits and Class Upgrades
The 36.7 supports a well-defined upgrade path for competitive sailing. The factory offered a full racing package that includes a deeper seven-foot-two-inch keel, a three-spreader aluminum Sparcraft rig, Navtec rod rigging, a Tuff Luff headstay system, spinnaker gear, and a carbon fiber pole. Reviewers who sailed the base boat unanimously noted that a better backstay adjustment system — ideally hydraulics — would be a requirement to race competitively. Non-skid aggressiveness was another early criticism that owners frequently address. For cruising conversion, the priority additions are familiar: a properly fitted dodger doesn't interfere with skipper or crew movement underway, and a leecloth set for the settees converts the saloon into functional passage bunks. A liferaft stows under the helm seat as a standard provision.
The Verdict
The First 36.7 is what happens when a first-rate racing design office is given a realistic production brief and a builder disciplined enough to hold weight targets within a hundred pounds. It is genuinely fast — not merely "fast for a cruiser" — and the long production run and active one-design fleet attest to its competitive staying power. The accommodations are honest without being Spartan, and the dual-mode cockpit is one of the more elegant solutions to the racer-cruiser compromise. Shoal-draft buyers should note the shallow option; those prepared to commit to the deep keel gain a meaningfully more capable racing tool.
Pros
- Farr-designed hull with research-grade keel sections and two draft options
- Convertible cockpit that functions in both racing T-shape and cruising modes
- Weight-controlled construction built to CE Class A offshore standards
- End-boom sheeting improves both sailtrim and cockpit access
- Three-cabin interior with nearly queen-sized sea berth to port
- Vinylester laminate with one-piece structural grid for long-term durability
Cons
- Base backstay adjustment inadequate for serious racing without hydraulic upgrade
- Cockpit storage is minimal given the space occupied by quarterberths
- Head compartment is genuinely small — functional offshore, constraining on passage
- Big wheel creates an obstacle for crew moving between traveler and companionway
- Slight feeling of underpowering in light air on the standard-keel, base-sail configuration
