Design and Construction
The hull and deck are hand-laminated from multiaxial glass fibre with a rigid foam core and vinyl ester resins, while laminated bulkheads and a laminated deck-to-hull joint speak to a careful structural approach anchor. The interior was crafted by Janssen & Renkhoff in Kappeln, who also built the test boat as a 1:1 sailing mock-up for the yard. Solid wooden floor cradles sit in a neatly finished bilge, and the keel bolts pass through the curved steel floor plate of the saloon table, capped with polished nuts. The designer attributes the boat's low weight to a hollow keel fin, broad use of sandwich materials including in the furniture, and an overall weight-optimized, narrow and flat shape. A fixed keel is standard, with an optional lifting keel whose box tucks into the wet cell module; draught runs 1.90 m or 1.65 m fixed, and 1.05 to 2.00 m with the lifting variant.
Rig and Handling
On the wind, test sailors recorded about 6.6 knots at tacking angles near 45 degrees, and owners report the ability to sail a steady 40 degrees off the breeze while remaining genuinely quick in light air anchor. The fractional sloop carries a 34.5 m² mainsail and a 26.5 m² self-tacking jib, with an optional gennaker that sends her planing past nine knots in 12 to 15 knots of true wind. An ingenious fitting layout and tiller steering on a 20-degree bevelled coaming let a short-handed pair — or a single sailor — handle her without athletic effort, and the cockpit thwarts stretch a full 2.20 m with cork non-slip surfaces underfoot. The high rig is anodised aluminium as standard, though a cream RAL 1013 paint finish was offered at extra cost.
Accommodations
Below, the ambience is bright, warm, and high-quality, with upscale furnishings and LED ambient lighting; two-tone cherry wood and light ivory were available on request. Saloon headroom is just under 1.80 m, but the foredeck drops to about 1.65 m, where a full 1.80 m-wide berth and a folding desk with small seat turn the bow into a sleeping and working retreat. There is no enclosed aft cabin, only an open dog berth, and the 1.60 m saloon settees are too short for sleeping — though the starboard berth could be lengthened on request through a foot hole into the wardrobe. A large L-shaped galley with stove and oven and a well-appointed wet room with shower serve a crew of two plus a guest, and layouts with up to five berths were offered.
The Verdict
The Tide 36 succeeds as a lightweight, easy-to-handle performance cruiser that wears its retro styling honestly rather than as costume. She is quick upwind and exhilarating off the wind, finished to a high standard below, and conceived for short-handed sailing. The trade-offs are real: limited headroom forward, no true aft cabin, and saloon berths unsuited to sleeping constrain live-aboard appeal, but for a couple seeking stylish speed in a CE A package, she is a distinctive choice.
Pros
- Lightweight construction and lively performance under sail, including planing under gennaker
- Self-tacking jib and tiller layout make short-handed sailing straightforward
- High-quality, bright interior with flexible forward-cabin workspace and optional five-berth plans
- CE category A with fixed or lifting keel options
Cons
- Saloon berths too short for sleeping; no enclosed aft cabin
- Foredeck headroom around 1.65 m limits comfort forward
