Seal 36 Buyer's Guide
The Seal 36 is a 1976 van de Stadt flush-deck cruiser built in steel, aluminum, or wood, and found today across several international markets as a steady, heavy-displacement bluewater candidate. Shopping one means weighing material choice, draft, and the realities of a separate-aft-cabin layout against her below-average headroom and modest sail plan.
Layouts on the Used Market
Used Seal 36 yachts appear in sloop, cutter, and occasionally ketch rig, all sharing the flush deck and raised hull that gives standing room without a long coach-roof. The roomy interior with a completely separate aft cabin reached below deck is the defining layout feature buyers should verify is intact anchor. High freeboard keeps water off the deck, but headroom below rates as below average for the size anchor, so taller crews should board any candidate before committing.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Brokers' listings commonly describe Seal 36s with solar arrays, autopilot, chartplotter, inverter, AIS, and radar as standard cruising kit, often alongside a liferaft, dinghy davits, and a watermaker. A wind generator and lithium batteries are also frequently fitted, pointing to boats set up for extended off-grid living. Often-seen additions include an asymmetric spinnaker, electric winches, a freezer, and a swim platform — the electric winches matter most on a boat whose masthead rig carries 12 mm halyards over 33 meters long anchor.
What to Inspect
Confirm the fin keel's depth — about 1.90 to 2.00 meters loaded — since that governs where she can berth anchor. Check the flush-deck penetrations and the below-deck access to the separate aft cabin for any water ingress, and measure headroom against your own needs.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Seal 36s typically appear in Malaysia, Germany, the United States, and Portugal. For the shopper, the checklist is short: confirm hull material and its associated displacement and ballast, verify the aft cabin and headroom suit you, and assess rig and equipment against your cruising style.
- Decide which hull material (steel, aluminum, wood) fits your maintenance appetite
- Verify separate aft cabin access and real headroom
- Check draft against your intended marinas
- Review solar, lithium, autopilot, and winch upgrades as capability signals
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Seal 36. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 4 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 25 | 1 | $105,997 | — |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $48,000 | -54.7% |
| Apr 26 | 2 | $48,000 | 0.0% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $35,000 | -27.1% |
Where they're listed
Seal 36 listings appear across 2 countries. Malaysia has the most listings with 1 (50.0%), followed by United States.
Country view
2 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | $48,000 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
| United States | $35,000 | 1 | 0 | 50.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rustler Yachts 36 | 35.33' | $ 98,956 | 31 | 8 |
| Cape George 36 | 36' | $ 112,250 | 12 | 5 |
| Moody 36-1 | 36' | $ 67,914 | 10 | 2 |
| Van De Stadt 44 | 44.33' | $ 244,351 | 9 | 1 |
| Koopmans 36 | 36.75' | $ 32,915 | 7 | 1 |
| Van de Stadt 36You are here | — | $ 48,000 | 4 | 0 |