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Garage, Galley & Hangar
GG&H
Technical Owner's Manual
Islander 36FIG. 1
36' 1"
ISLANDER YACHTS
Islander 36
The Complete Owner's Reference
REV 1.0 · 145 PP
SAILBOAT · 36' 1"
GARAGE, GALLEY & HANGAR
9 chapters · 94-term glossary · 79-entry index
Sailboat · Islander Yachts

Islander 36

The Islander 36 pairs an Alan Gurney hull with Joe Artese's landmark molded interior, built by Islander Yachts of California from 1971 into the mid-1980s in a fleet roughly 770 hulls strong. It is a roomy, well-mannered masthead-sloop cruiser-racer that suits a coastal family sailor or a one-design club racer who wants genuine headroom and volume for the length. This reference is honest about the weak points that define the survey: the bulkhead-mounted chainplates, the cored deck, the keel-joint smile, and the corroding aluminum mast step.

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A sample of what's inside

Specifications

Length overall36 ft 1 in (11.00 m)
Beam11 ft 2 in (3.40 m)
Displacement13,450 lb (deep keel)
Keel / RigFin keel (6.0 ft deep, ~4.9 ft shoal), masthead sloop
EngineVarious by year; Perkins 4-108 diesel (~40 to 50 hp) the classic option, many now repowered to Yanmar
Used market~$15k to $40k, condition-driven

Known issues, covered honestly

  • Chainplates bolt to a plywood bulkhead not bonded to the hull on early boats, and upwind loads can approach the boat's own displacement, so this is its defining structural weak point.
  • The cored deck (plywood, balsa in some reports) rots wherever water enters at the toe rail, chainplate slots, and mast partners, and rot at the partners can end in a dismasting.
  • The hull-to-keel joint develops a transverse crack owners call the smile, and the galvanized 1970s keel bolts corrode and lose section.
  • The low aluminum mast step corrodes and can weld the mast to the step, while the original aluminum fuel tank is at end of life and prone to pinholes.

…and the full survey guide, service schedules, systems, and parts sourcing in the complete volume.

Custom Edition

Make it your boat.

We fold in your year, your engine, your electronics and refits, your hull number, and your vessel name and your own boat's photo on the cover. The book stops describing the boat that left the factory and starts describing the one in your slip.

$260
personalized to your vessel