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C&C36:

Typical good looks, performance

The C & C design group certainly deserves an A for consistency. In fact, its designs are so consistent that they are beginning to blur together into one general CSC design. I find it dismaying that I cam no longer recognize each of their models at a glance due to this consistency. While this sounds like a negative way to start a review, there is a definite positive side to this consistency also. From the early CSC days of INFERN0, C&C has only produced one design that 1 have not bound handsome. (Try and guess which one it is.)

The new C&C 36 is designed to a rating of 26.6. I find this common trait humorously amusing. Three years ago most of the new designs were aimed at one of the level ratings i.e., quarter ton, half ton, three-quarter ton, etc. Today development in the level classes is so fast that most builders of stock boats will intentionally pick a rating that falls in between two of the level classes to avoid competing against "grand prix" one-offs. While I am not saying that this is a good or bad trend, it is certainly symptomatic of the confusion and paranoia surrounding the IOR at this time.

If I had to characterize the C&C design style, I would say it consisted of a delicately sprung sheer connecting overhangs that appear biased more towards aesthetics than performance. C&C usually designs yachts with a considerable amount of bow overhang and while there may be a faster bow configuration, 1 have seldom seen a prettier bow than that on the C&C 33. The C&C 36 has a similar bow, although somewhat less accentuated. In plan view the C&C 36 is quite beamy at 11'6". This beam is carried into the ends much more so than in earlier IOR yachts. Rudder and keel are again typical C&C shapes. Note the large plan form of the rudder. C&C has always had a mind of its own relative to keel design and the 36 keel still shows resistance to the near vertical trailing edge. Also note that the canoe body aft fairs into the counter with an almost non-existent bustle. In fact. what appears to be a vestigial bustle may in actuality be a simple skeg fairing. This review is beginning to put me to sleep. Wake up dear reader. The displacement to length ratio is a healthy 250.69.

Studying the sail plan one is immediately struck by another C&C design trait, impeccable draftsmanship. While this may say little for the validity of various design features, it is very important to the prospective client who has yet to see a finished product and it shows in general a professional attitude towards design work. Note the careful blending of the cabin trunk with the cockpit and hull. C&C has always done a masterful job with their deck toolings and they seem to get away beautifully with rather unlikely trunk configurations. The rig shows double spreaders, centerline lowers and a midstay on a track. There is mid-boom sheeting for the main which keeps the main sheet traveller out of the cockpit. The sail area to displacement ratio is 18.31. This is a good number for light air performance.

The C&C 36 shows a very interesting deck layout. There is a flush anchor well forward, track to tack the staysail to and a track to allow for adjustment of the midstay. There is a molded In pickle fork configuration winch base around the mast allowing for convenient location of halyard and reefing winches. Main sheet and, I assume, spinnaker pole topping lift are located either side of the companionway. Chainplate and genoa track location will allow close sheeting angles. The cockpit is laid out in the familiar T-shape with a contoured helmsman's seat aft. Again, students of yacht design should note the clarity of the draftsmanship,

One of the difficulties confronting a designer these days is that the client expects each successive 36 footer to have a larger interior. Aided by IOR benefits to extreme beam, this has not been too difficult to achieve to date. However, I consider a 36-foot boat with 11'6" beam to be a fatty. My own boat is a fatty. Fatties are roomy and have great deck space, are stiff, but not necessarily the ultimate answer from a hydrodynamic standpoint. So, dear reader, please recognize that it is not always possible to give each successive design more room than its predecessor. These remarks are intended to preface my observation that it would be hard to put more usable interior space in a 36-footer of reasonable displacement than is shown in the C&C 36. In boat show lingo, "You've got your U-shaped galley, you've got your double quarter berth to starboard, you've got you nav station, the all important dinette to port, settee berth to starboard with lockers outboard port and starboard." The head is small but adequate, so are the hanging lockers and the V-berths look like your basic V-berths.

If the editor has printed the Inboard profile of the C&C 36 you might notice the interesting configuration of toe spaces and faceting incorporated into the C&C's fiberglass interior liner. While many people find fiberglass liners unaesthetic, they are certainly the most versatile answer from this designer's viewpoint. Anyway, it puzzles me how people can think of a beautifully executed interior liner as ugly and "cold" while they marvel at the exquisite beauty of a 1 /16th inch thick piece of teak veneer. Regardless of your feelings toward fiberglass in yacht interiors, it does afford the designer much more flexibility in designing efficient accommodation

components. Flippancy aside, use of fiberglass in the interior allows the designer to escape the restrictions of the orthogonal layout.

Tankage includes 20 gallons of fuel and 40 of water. No wonder there is no enclosed shower stall on the 36.

I have always been a C&C design fan. They have done an excellent job of developing a style that subtly changes each year without contradicting their previous work.