Design and Construction
Both hull and deck are fibreglass, and both are built as a sandwich rather than solid laminate, a choice the original review noted as improving the indoor climate by buffering temperature and condensation. The keel itself is lead, seated on a fin, and the stated ballast ratio sits at 45 percent against a displacement of about 10,976 pounds with 4,928 pounds of ballast. The length-to-beam ratio of 3.33 and a displacement-length ratio near 180 place her among what one performance index calls "light racers" rather than heavy cruisers. That lightness shows in the numbers: the theoretical hull speed of a displacement hull this long is 7.4 knots, and under the Yanmar 3GM20SD diesel with saildrive she makes 7.5 knots. Her capsize screening value is 1.89, and the Motion Comfort Ratio spans 21.6 to 24.2, figures that frame her as a stiff, comparatively easy-motion coastal performer rather than an offshore slug.
Rig and Handling
The Contrast 36 is built with a fractional sloop rig, and the sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 16.3 with the ISO reference sail, rising to 19.0 with a 135 percent genoa. The Relative Speed Performance index is 66, consistent with a boat that rewards sail trim over raw horsepower. The wetted surface of the hull bottom is about 387 square feet, and the immersion rate is roughly 1,151 pounds per inch, so she sits at a predictable waterline under crew and stores. Rigging details are thoroughly documented: the mainsail, jib, and spinnaker halyards each run about 113 feet at a half-inch diameter, while sheets—jib, genoa, mainsheet, and spinnaker—are 14 mm, with the mainsheet alone 90 feet long. A boat sold to home-completing owners means that while the factory product is coherent, finished examples may differ in execution.
Accommodations
The interior is mahogany, in keeping with many Scandinavian yachts of the period. No berth count or cabin plan is published for the design. The sandwich construction that buffers the cabin from outside temperature swings is the same detail that defines the living space's feel.
Known Issues
The single documented caveat is that the Contrast 36 was also sold in a form intended for home completion, which means the quality of each boat may vary. The saildrive transmission is fitted without accompanying warning. A buyer or reviewer should simply recognize that factory-finished and amateur-finished hulls may not share identical standards.
The Verdict
The Contrast 36 is a thoughtfully engineered light-displacement cruiser-racer from the early days of the Scandinavian performance-cruiser movement. Her sandwich construction, lead fin, and fractionally rigged sail plan mark her as a boat built for responsive handling and tolerable cabin comfort rather than brute carrying capacity. The home-completion history is the one cloud over an otherwise coherent design.
Pros
- Sandwich hull and deck for improved cabin climate
- Lead fin keel with 45 percent ballast ratio
- Light-racer displacement profile with 7.4-knot theoretical hull speed
- Fractional rig with strong sail-area-to-displacement under genoa
Cons
- Quality may vary due to home-completed kits
- 6.1–6.4 foot draft restricts her to major marinas
