CS 36 Merlin Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a CS 36 Merlin means entering a small but devoted corner of the used-boat world. Tony Castro's 36-foot design was built by CS Yachts in Canada between 1986 and 1990, about 100 completed, and roughly 20 went straight into charter fleets. Because the standard options list ran nearly five pages, boats outside charter service rarely match each other — yet the Merlin holds a micro market of its own, with a concentration in Southern Ontario and a following that keeps examples moving among knowledgeable owners.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available; ex-charter examples are common. The three-cabin arrangement places a forward cabin, main saloon, and aft quarter cabin below, with the galley set well aft and a separate aft cabin that closes off with its own door. Charter boats tend to be more uniform in fitout, while privately specced Merlins vary widely in keel, rig, and engine choices. The beam carried to the stern keeps the cockpit and helm area open, and the optional wide swim platform with a transom shower appears on some boats.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, autopilots, chartplotters, AIS, and short-handed sail-handling setups are commonly fitted, and many boats carry a gennaker or asymmetric spinner for offwind ease. Often-seen upgrades cluster around power and comfort: heating, solar, lithium batteries, an inverter, electric winches, and a bimini. For a buyer, the energy cluster matters most — lithium and solar paired with an inverter mean a boat that can sit at anchor without a generator, while electric winches reduce loads on a powerful rig. Canvas such as a bimini supports the long comfortable cockpit. Less common owner additions include a dodger, dinghy davits, a freezer, and hot water. Most boats retain the original Force 10 three-burner propane stove and the standard Volvo Penta diesel.
What to Inspect
Every Merlin's hull and deck are fastened with through bolts and a butyl tape seam that stays permanently soft, and the oozing of this butyl tape is normal maintenance rather than a leak signal — don't let weeping sealant scare you off. The flat-bottom hull leaves very little bilge space for excess water, so check how any sump or pump is arranged. On late-1989 examples, the coach-house mainsheet traveler attaches with the sheet a third of the distance back from the gooseneck, which makes the main difficult to sheet properly and is not healthy for the boom — a redesigned traveler setup worth avoiding or budgeting to revert. Otherwise the glassed-in bulkheads, structural grid, and forged chainplates are straightforward to survey.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats turn up in the United States, Netherlands, Canada, and Mexico. For a shopper, the takeaway is simple: confirm keel configuration (shoal, wing, deep, or performance bulb), verify traveler location by build date, expect heavy options variation, and treat weeping butyl as routine. Inspect the flat-bilge drainage, and favor a privately specced three-cabin boat if layout uniformity matters less than individual condition.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the CS 36 Merlin. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 6 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25 | 1 | $17,484 | — |
| Sep 25 | 4 | $38,450 | +119.9% |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $56,000 | +45.6% |
| Apr 26 | 4 | $49,126 | -12.3% |
| May 26 | 1 | $47,900 | -2.5% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $39,500 | -17.5% |
Where they're listed
CS 36 Merlin listings appear across 3 countries. Canada has the most listings with 3 (37.5%), followed by United States and Netherlands.
Country view
8 listings · 3 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $50,351 | 3 | 0 | 37.5% |
| United States | $47,900 | 3 | 1 | 37.5% |
| Netherlands | $17,484 | 2 | 0 | 25.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dehler 36 | 35.92' | $ 90,947 | 17 | 3 |
| Jeanneau Sun Sun Fast 36 | 37.11' | $ 78,063 | 14 | 1 |
| CS Yachts 36 MerlinYou are here | — | $ 47,900 | 11 | 2 |
| Elan 36 | 36.09' | $ 57,428 | 11 | 3 |
| Ericson 36 | 35.58' | $ 23,700 | 8 | 1 |
| Baltic 35 | 34.83' | $ 67,278 | 3 | 0 |