Design and Construction
Dubois drew the Corsair 36 as a centre-cockpit monohull with a fin keel. Its cockpit was longer than the Conway’s, leaving less room aft—a constraint that shaped the early compromises in the aft cabin.
The Corsair measures 35 feet 8 inches overall, with a 30 foot 5 inch waterline, a 12 foot 6 inch beam, and a moderate 4 foot 11 inch draft. Displacement is 15,500 pounds, including 6,600 pounds of ballast. Westerly’s Lloyd’s Series Production certified GRP practice underpinned the solid fiberglass hull and deck.
The Corsair’s sister yacht is the Oceanranger, a stretched sugar-scoop variant. Launched in 1986, the Corsair II added a proper navigator’s seat and the famed Westerly tiled galley worksurface.
Rig and Sailing Performance
The standard rig was a masthead sloop. Westerly also offered a ketch version on early boats, with a slightly lower mast and reduced main and genoa area, but only a few were built.
The sloop carries a 296 square foot mainsail and a 540 square foot No. 1 genoa. The ketch substitutes a 231 square foot main, an 80.5 square foot mizzen, and a 523 square foot genoa.
The Corsair delighted early sailors with excellent light-air performance and astonishing interior volume. Under load, one owner reported staying with and passing cruising boats of her size and larger. Another logged 168 miles a day for four consecutive days while close-reaching in about 18 knots.
The boat also showed its mettle in harder weather. Southwest of Bermuda, one sailed fine under triple-reefed sails in 35 knots and 15 foot seas. After five days of gales off Ireland, nothing broke.
Accommodation
The Corsair 36 sleeps eight and has two heads, but the early aft cabin was a genuine design struggle. The original layout had two lengthways berths with a square central cut-out, intended to form an athwartships harbour double without an infill. It provided hanging-locker space to starboard only, with none to port.
On hull three, production’s answer was to cram a toilet into the starboard locker and fit a basin opposite, meeting with loud ridicule. Between hulls six and twelve, the half bulkhead was moved roughly six inches aft, with Lloyd’s approval, to free up the aft cabin.
The 1986 Corsair II further refined the interior. Its saloon gained a U-shaped port berth and a curved navigator’s seat, while the navigator’s berth tucked back into the aft hanging locker with a small foot roof.
Engines and Handling Under Power
Throughout the Corsair production run, the standard engine was the three-cylinder, 28 horsepower Volvo Penta MD2003. A few boats received 42 horsepower turbo engines, while some were fitted with particularly well-regarded Bukh 356 installations.
Period opinion holds that the standard Volvo 2003’s 28 horsepower leaves her unable to exceed four knots into a strong headwind under power. Under sail in the same conditions, however, six knots is readily available.
In 1992, the basic specification gained in-mast mainsail reefing.
Known Issues and Layout Changes
Beyond the aft cabin’s teething problems, the first few hulls had minor interior issues stemming from a single-head installation before the two-head layout settled. One owner reported that the forward-head hatch cracked after a large wave broke over the deck. The same owner separately noted engine trouble in the Isles of Scilly.
The Oceanranger’s redesigned stern required the large stern water tank to be moved beneath the starboard saloon settee. This put the weight in a better position but sacrificed convenient storage.
Cruising and Ownership
A fellow sailor in the Eastern Caribbean called the Corsair a “rocket ship,” although the owner himself considered that label exaggerated. Even so, the boat’s blend of handiness and toughness has kept it circling the globe.
The Verdict
The Corsair 36 is a Dubois-designed, centre-cockpit cruiser that turned a difficult start with its aft-cabin layout into an enduring Westerly classic. It combines lively light-air performance and demonstrated offshore toughness with a roomy eight-berth interior that matured through the Corsair II.
Pros
- Excellent light-air performance and astonishing interior volume for 35 feet 8 inches
- Centre-cockpit, fin-keel layout with eight berths and two heads
- Proven offshore behaviour in 35-knot gales and 15 foot seas
- More mature aft-cabin layout after the bulkhead revision and through the Corsair II
Cons
- Early hulls had aft-cabin and single-head layout problems
- Standard 28 horsepower engine struggles to exceed four knots into a strong headwind
- One owner reported the forward-head hatch cracking after a large wave broke over the deck
