Design and Construction
The South Coast 36's hull is solid fiberglass, as is her deck, with lead ballast housed in a fin keel and steering routed through a skeg-hung rudder. The 43 percent ballast ratio and 14,330-pound displacement place her firmly in the moderate-displacement cruiser class, while a displacement-length ratio of 233 categorizes her among moderate racers rather than heavy voyagers or ultralight planing hulls anchor. Her wetted surface runs about 355 square feet, and an immersion rate of 1,156 pounds per inch means she settles meaningfully under load — a fact relevant to the published draft range of 4.66 to 4.96 feet depending on burden. The capsize screening value of 1.81 and a motion comfort ratio of 28.3 describe a hull with predictable stability characteristics for a boat of this length.
Rig and Handling
She is built with a cutter rig carrying 678 square feet of sail area, yielding a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 18.39 — enough canvas to keep her moving in modest breeze without demanding a large crew. The cutter configuration suits a short-handed watch schedule and gives options for depowering with a staysail in stronger air. Standing and running rigging dimensions show jib and genoa sheets run 36.1 feet at 0.55-inch diameter, the mainsheet is 90.2 feet of the same diameter, and spinnaker sheets are 79.4 feet long anchor. Calculated maximum speed is about 6.9 knots against a theoretical displacement-hull speed of 7.4 knots, so she will not embarrass herself reaching in a fresh breeze but remains a displacement hull at heart.
Refits and Ownership
The Perkins 4108 diesel of 41 horsepower is the named auxiliary, a single-engine installation consistent with the builder's specification.
The Verdict
The South Coast 36 is a coherent early-nineties design from Waalkens and Bofeidt: a solid-fiberglass cutter with a moderate-racer displacement profile, a sensible ballast ratio, and a documented rig-and-sheet specification that makes her approachable for a cruising couple or small family. She is not a lightweight racer nor a heavy-displacement voyager, but the numbers describe a balanced coastal and passage-capable hull.
Pros
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck with lead-ballasted fin keel and skeg-hung rudder
- Cutter rig with 678 sq ft sail plan and sheet dimensions for easy rigging replacement
- Moderate-racer displacement-length ratio (233) with 43 percent ballast ratio for stable handling
Cons
- Immersion rate of 1,156 lbs/inch means loaded draft climbs from 4.66 to 4.96 ft
- No interior layout detail in available specification
