Design and Construction
Corsair built the 36 around a relatively skinny main hull that flares above the waterline, a shape that limits interior volume but pays back in speed. The structure is a vacuum-bagged foam-and-glass sandwich laminate with carbon and Kevlar reinforcing, and the crossbeams are made entirely of carbon. The lamination schedule layers NPG gelcoat over a vinylester skin for blister resistance, then uni- and bi-directional fiberglass with Kevlar in high-stress zones, using vinylester resins, carbon fiber, double-bias Kevlar fabrics, and vacuum-bag curing. The akas pair fiberglass, carbon, and foam for stiffness, while the amas carry watertight bulkheads for buoyancy. Hull #1 came within 200 pounds of design weight, and later boats shed another 100 pounds as the builder refined the moldings. With more than 30 separate moldings in the tooling, the 36 was a serious production investment for the marque.
Rig and Handling
The 36 carries a 3/4 fractional rig on a deck-stepped rotating mast that turns 45 degrees on a Delrin bearing, driving a square-top, full-battened mainsail with generous roach. The test boat wore a double-spreader rig with swept spreaders and wire rigging, but the builder soon dropped the second spreader set as redundant in production. A Harken traveler spans the stern, and the mainsheet leads to it at the boom end. Shrouds sit out on the amas rather than near the crew, and the deck has no handrails or lifelines, which demands care moving forward. All deck hardware, winches included, comes from Harken or Spinlock. Test sailors found her close-hauled in 8–12 knots of breeze at a steady 8–10 knots of boatspeed pivoting on the daggerboard through 95–100 degrees of tack. With a screacher aloft and the wind past 35 degrees she climbed to 12–15 knots while heeling only 5–10 degrees. A prototype had earlier touched 20 knots in Australian testing, and period racing saw tight-reach bursts to 17 and low-20s reaching.
Accommodations
Below, the 36 gives 6-foot-6 standing headroom and a saloon stretching nearly 6 feet from companionway to head. The exposed fiberglass interior is bright, relieved only by red cushions and a cabin sole. To port, a C-shaped dinette becomes a 6-foot berth tapering 41 to 30 inches; a V-berth forward runs 6-foot-4 on centerline and 5 feet wide with 4-inch cushions. A queen berth lies under the cockpit sole, reached by aft hatches or by lifting the companionway steps. The head is a molded fiberglass pod about 40 by 35 inches sharing space with the daggerboard trunk, fitted with vanity, toilet, and handheld shower. Storage is tight, and the ama lockers, though large, are awkward to reach. There is no dedicated nav station; the dinette table serves. The cockpit seats four to six and is narrow enough for shorthanded headsail work, with mesh stern-pulpit seats and a stern deck of mesh and stainless benches.
Known Issues
The folded beam of 9 feet 10 inches exceeds that of smaller Corsair models, so owners may need wide-load permits in some states when trailering. Early hulls showed a fracture where the forward beam meets the hull from an underbuilt fiberglass block; the builder replaced it on all boats with a stronger aluminum casting. The deck's lack of handrails and lifelines is a baseline condition rather than a defect, but worth noting for crew safety.
Refits and Ownership
After hull #1 was introduced, dealer and consumer feedback at two boat shows prompted modifications, and later boats gained a third hatch in the main cabin beyond the head and forward berths of the test boat. The production rig shifted from double to single spreaders. Corsair says a boat can be rigged, unloaded, and sailing in an hour, with mast stepping and launch about two hours. The tilt-up rudder and shallow draft let her anchor in under two feet or take to a beach, and she folds at anchor in tight quarters or into a slip in about five minutes, though at 5,500 pounds she is "transportable" rather than truly trailerable.
The Verdict
The Corsair 36 is a serious fast-cruising trimaran that wraps near-racer performance in a folding platform with genuine extended-cruise accommodations. She is light on her feet, quick to rig, and clever below, but storage and deck security are compromises born of the narrow hull and ama-mounted shrouds.
Pros
- Sailing performance from 8–10 knots upwind to low-20s reaching
- Folding beam and shallow draft for beaching, anchoring, and slip fit
- Rotating carbon-rigged mast with square-top main and easy sail handling
- Standing headroom and berths suited to extended cruising
Cons
- Folded beam may require wide-load permits
- No handrails or lifelines; shrouds remote on amas
- Storage at a premium and ama access awkward
- Early beam-block defect (corrected in production)
