Moonfleet 36 Sailboats for Sale

Hull Type

Monohull · long

Rig

Masthead Sloop

LOA

36' · 10.97 m

Disp.

17,000 lbs · 7,711 kg

First year

1988

In 1988, the celebrated British yard of David Hillyard Yachts found itself at a historic crossroads. For more than threequarters of a century, the Littlehamptonbased builder had reigned as a premier craftsman of traditional, canoesterned wooden cruising ketches and sloops. However, as the yachting world inexorably pivoted toward glassreinforced plastic (GRP), the yard needed a modern vessel to secure its future. The result of this highstakes, expensive transition was the Moonfleet 36. To ensure the new model had elite bluewater credentials, Hillyard commissioned the legendary naval architecture firm Laurent Giles and Partners to design a highly capable, modern centercockpit cruiser. This unique boat combined Hillyard’s uncompromising standard of robust construction and interior luxury with Giles’s expertise in seaworthy, modern hull forms. Tragically, the Moonfleet 36 arrived near the end of the yard's active sailing production, and only a very small number—reputed to be as few as six hulls—were ever completed. Today, the Moonfleet 36 stands as a rare and captivating GRP cruiser that masterfully bridges classic British shipwrightry with robust fiberglass engineering.