Design Brief & Intent
The primary mission of the Morgan Out Island 36 was to maximize liveaboard comfort and peace of mind for coastal cruisers and island hoppers. Charles Morgan prioritized stability and volume over racing aesthetics, utilizing high topsides, a broad 11.42-foot beam, and a long, encapsulated full keel. This approach contrasted sharply with the sleek, performance-oriented ocean racers of the era, such as those from C&C Yachts or Pearson, placing the Out Island 36 squarely in competition with the heavy-displacement, comfort-first cruisers of Gulfstar and early Irwin models.
Below deck, the interior is dominated by a warm, traditional aesthetic utilizing teak, holly, and dark veneers. The layout provides a degree of privacy unusual for a 36-footer of this vintage by placing a completely separate owner’s stateroom aft of the center cockpit. Unlike later, larger cruisers, the Out Island 36 does not feature an interior walk-through passage connecting the main saloon to the aft cabin; the aft stateroom must be accessed via its own companionway from the cockpit. While this design choice can feel isolating in inclement weather, it provides an exceptionally private aft "suite" complete with a queen-size berth, a dedicated head, and a shower. The forward cabin layout is similarly generous, featuring a large V-berth with a massive overhead hatch, a second head to port, and a galley and dinette area designed for comfortable dockside living or anchored entertaining.
Variations & Configurations
While the exterior lines of the Morgan Out Island 36 remained largely unchanged throughout its four-year production run, there were discrete options available to early buyers. The most significant variation was the sail plan. The standard configuration was a masthead sloop rig, which offered the simplest sail-handling setup. However, Morgan also offered a ketch-rigged variant. Though less popular when new, the ketch configuration split the sail area into smaller, more easily managed sails, which appealed to short-handed crews looking to balance the boat easily in varying wind conditions.
Draft and keel configurations remained remarkably consistent. Unlike some competitors that offered swing-keel or centerboard options, the Out Island 36 was built exclusively with a shallow-draft, encapsulated full keel drawing just 3.75 feet. This design integrated 7,500 pounds of lead ballast directly into the heavy hand-laid fiberglass hull, eliminating the risk of rusty keel bolts or catastrophic keel loss.
Sailing Performance & Handling
The sailing performance of the Out Island 36 is heavily dictated by its design compromises. With a heavy displacement of 16,000 pounds and a modest sail area, the boat features an under-canvased Sail Area-to-Displacement (SA/Disp) ratio of 14.59. In practice, this means the Out Island 36 is sluggish in light air, requiring at least 12 to 15 knots of breeze to truly wake up and move. Upwind performance is notably poor; the combination of a shallow full keel, a wide beam, and windage from deck structures results in a wide tacking angle and substantial leeway when trying to claw off a lee shore.
However, when the wind moves off the beam, the boat’s heavy-displacement characteristics shine. A Displacement-to-Length (Disp/LWL) ratio of 325.39 and a high Comfort Ratio of 31.8 deliver a highly predictable, motion-kindly ride in a seaway. The hull dampens the harsh pounding and hobby-horsing common to lighter, modern fin-keel designs. With a Capsize Screening Formula of 1.81, the vessel is inherently stable and resists rolling, making it a reassuring platform for inexperienced crews or those prone to seasickness. Steering is managed via a robust, skeg-hung rudder. While the helm feels heavy and lacks the fingertip sensitivity of a spade rudder, it offers excellent directional tracking, allowing the boat to hold its course with minimal driver fatigue.
Known Issues & Triage
Because of the era in which the Morgan Out Island 36 was built, the fiberglass layups are incredibly thick and overbuilt. Structural hull failures are virtually non-existent, but there are several age-related vulnerabilities that buyers must investigate:
- Deck Coring Rot: Like most production boats of the 1970s, the decks are plywood-cored. Over decades, water penetration through poorly bedded deck hardware, stanchion bases, and the chainplates can rot the underlying core. Hand-testing for soft spots and conducting a thorough moisture-meter survey of the deck is mandatory.
- Rub Rail Adhesion: The thick, heavy rubber rub rail wrapped around the hull-to-deck joint was factory-secured using 5200 adhesive. Over time, this adhesive dries out, causing the rub rail to pull away, which can allow water to seep into the hull-deck seam during heavy healing or when washing down the decks. Re-securing this requires mechanically fastening the rail and resealing the joint.
- Steering Cable Stretch: The long steering runs required by the center-cockpit design rely on cables and sheaves under the cockpit sole. These cables can stretch, fray, or corrode over decades. Any slop or stiffness at the pedestal demands immediate inspection of the quadrant, cables, and steering sheaves.
Modernization & Upgrades
The aging process of these vessels has made them popular candidates for extensive DIY restorations and modern upgrades:
- Drivetrain Repowering: Many Out Island 36s originally left the factory with the ubiquitous Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine. While these four-cylinder engines are reliable if meticulously maintained, the safety risks of carrying gasoline onboard and the lack of low-end torque have prompted many owners to repower. The most common and successful repower option is the installation of a 30 to 40-horsepower marine diesel, such as a Westerbeke 40 or a Yanmar 3JH series, which vastly improves motoring reliability and fuel economy.
- Electrical and Solar Conversions: The lack of a walkthrough cabin means the engine compartment under the cockpit sole is highly accessible, making it easier to install modernized electrical systems. Owners frequently convert the old, heavy lead-acid battery banks to lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), supporting the addition of modern 12V refrigeration and high-output watermakers.
- Rigging and Sail Controls: Upgrading the original standing rigging is standard practice for boats of this age. Many owners have also added modern genoa furling systems and moved the main halyard lines aft to the cockpit to make single-handed or short-handed cruising even safer.
The Verdict
The Morgan Out Island 36 is not a performance yacht, nor was it ever intended to be. It is a rugged, comfortably slow "trawler with sails" designed to take a couple or a small family down the Intercoastal Waterway and across the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas in safety and comfort. For sailors who value living space, shallow-draft versatility, and structural durability over speed and pointing ability, it remains one of the most cost-effective and spacious classic cruisers on the secondhand market.
Pros:
- Extremely shallow draft of 3.75 feet, ideal for Florida, the Bahamas, and coastal gunkholing.
- Exceptional interior volume and accommodations, featuring a highly private aft stateroom.
- Overbuilt, heavily laminated solid fiberglass hull with a robust, encapsulated lead keel.
- Excellent motion comfort and stability in a seaway due to its high displacement and conservative hull shape.
- Easy engine access under the cockpit sole for servicing and repowering.
Cons:
- Poor upwind performance and sailing efficiency, particularly in light air.
- No interior walkthrough connection between the main saloon and the aft cabin.
- The original Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine requires careful maintenance and is often preferred to be replaced with a diesel.
- High windage due to elevated topsides and center-cockpit height.
