C&C 34/36 or C&C 37/40

[sailerblue]

Hi,

I am interested in purchasing either a C&C 34/36 or C&C 37/40 sailboat.

Both are 1990s model and they are similar except in size from what I can tell. I am attracted to the cockpit on the 34+ ie 34/36 since it seems to have better seating and feels a bit safer, whereas the 37+ ie 37/40 has a very flat cockpit in comparison.

Does anyone have experience sailing either of these boats off shore? Would one handle rough water better than the other? Any comments on the rigging on these boats? I've seen videos on youtube in which these boats are going down the coast

For serious off shore coastal cruising which boat would be prefereable and why?

Thanks. Any thoughts are appreciated.

Sailorblue

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Sailorblue.

C&C 34/36+ ➥ http://www.cncphotoalbum.com/reviews/review34-36.htm

[sailerblue]

Thanks Gord for that link to Lloyd Hircock's excellent delivery article on the 34+. It certainly suggests that this boat can take some of the worse off shore storms, since, in fact, it did during a Noreaster.

Does anyone have any articles or experiences with the bigger sister to the 34/36, namely, the 37+ or 37/40?

Trying to see if they are both capable of such punishing abuse off shore. Given that money isn't an object between the two boats, is there any advantage to simply getting the bigger one.

I should add that I hope to be able to single had it as well as have a few crew members from time to time. Since all lines are lead aft I assume that both should lend themselves equally to single handed action. Maybe the bigger boat is more sea kindly and therefore better for single handed action over a long time period.

There is a great video of a C&C 110 winning the LongPac 2013 Single handed sailing race of the coast of San Francisco. While there are differences between the 110 and the 34R or 34+, they are both boats within an inch of each other in size, comporably designed in the cabin (if you look long enough you will see the simiilarities) the 34/36 was the last made under C&C and the 110 was the output under Tartan and, imo they got their design from the C&C. What's the point of all that? Simply to say you can get a cheap 110 "like" boat by getting the original design: no it doesn't have the carbon fibre mast, no it is not as new, no it may not look as perfect. But it is mighty close and if you add the same cushions and interior fittings I think the 34/36 might look better. The cockpit is reversed port to aft of coourse

How about the 37+ or 37/40 any thoughts on that boat? Is it not similar to the Tartan produced C&C 121?

Anyway, we have come full circle and back to the original question. Which of the two would you get if you wanted to head down the coast, spend a couple of years around the islands, maybe take a cross Atlantic journey (not worries about tankage) for the purpose of this chat.


Thanks guys

[nwdiver]

Try an older C&C Landfall 38...... they are configured for cruising..

[UNCIVILIZED]

Greetings sailerblue, & welcome to CF,

As to your pending decision, I hope that I might be of some help.At least in terms of ideas, info, & some things to consider.Since I haven’t yet had the pleasure of sailing on both of the boats which you’re inquiring about.
That said, here are some things for you & your wife to ponder, prior to choosing a boat.

When you’re living aboard, especially cruising, a lot of your time’s spent onboard, with a giant percentage of same, anchored out (typically).So the cockpit has to be comfortable, especially for warmer locales.
On the 37/40, the design of the boat is based on one hull, with several different cockpits, cabin layouts, showers, & galleys, plus a few different keels & masts.So it’s semi-modular, & to some degree, the lines between one model & another blur a bit.The XL, the Plus, the R, & a few hybridizations of such. I'm guessing that the 34/36 is much the same.
Odds are it’d help to take a look at several different boats built on that hull, & see what amenities “fit” you guys best.And some of this can be done via remote control, via pics & videos. For example

Ah, I almost forgot, but other than the cockpit, the galley’s likely one of the top features in a cruising boat.As generally speaking, you’ll be doing a lot more cooking than a lot of folks tend to typically do on land.So that’s something to keep in mind.

Also, look at & think about how easy the various boats will be to board from a dinghy, & to get into one from the mother ship. Plus how easy it'll be to lead & unload several hundred pounds of gear or groceries at a time.
It’s an easy thing to overlook, when looking at boats from the docks.But when you’re living aboard, it’s a Huge part of your daily living.So a boat which is properly & purposefully designed for same is a big bonus.Ditto on having an easy place to stow the dinghy.

Given where you state that you’ll likely be cruising, less draft is better.So optimally, the winged keel, or keel/CB are probably the best choices.And 8’ draft will be a lot more restrictive, plus I’ve run across feedback from owners with the winged keel who praise it.Although the keel/CB can’t be a slouch, given it’s PHRF racing rating, as compared to it’s deep keeled cousins.
For ease of handling, & a stronger rig, the less in terms of number of spreaders & runners, the better.Though it’d make sense to look into a 2nd headstay of some type, down the road a bit. And make sure to find out how old the rod is, or when it was last re-headed. Because replacing it's not inexpensive, if it's old/never been looked at since the boat was built.

In terms of which sized boat, smaller is a good bit easier to handle, as well as cheaper to maintain.And both you & your other half need to be comfortable handling all of the tasks onboard solo.Not that such will be an everyday thing, but on watches, if someone’s sick, etc. then that characteristic in a boat goes from being nice to have, to mandatory.
Plus, if you haven’t done a good bit of shorthanded crewing, some of the tasks on a 40’er can be both a lot of work, & intimidating as well.Its sails aren’t what you’d call small, nor will be the ground tackle, & several other pieces of equipment & tasks.

Another source of information on the boats, besides running searches here, & the C&C Forums, is over on Sailing Anarchy Forums.And when you’re putting in search criteria, do it for all of the boats; R, XL, & Plus. As, generally, since they're all based on the same hull, they'll handle similarly.

Also, check out Beth Leonard & Evans Starzinger’s website www.bethandevans.com which is packed with info, links, & lists of advisable gear to have onboard.And with the latter it’ll be a bit easier to do cost comparisons of the 2 boat sizes.
Plus there’s a lot of free, great info at the San Francisco Singlehanded Sailing Society http://sfbaysss.org/main/In addition to other sites for solo sailors.

Hopefully I’ve fielded some of the questions which you have, plus put a few to you which perhaps you hadn’t yet come up with.And by all means, keep learning (skills & about the boats), and good luck with your choice, as well as your cruise.


PS: The 37/40 should handle heavy weather fine, given that one of it's primary variants is designed as an offshore racing boat. And that C&C's have a long heritage of designing & building such boats.
There's a lot of racing which goes on in, & or starts from the Canadian Maritimes, where the weather is not what you'd call gentle.
Also, there are lots of reviews of the boats online, for free, in many of the prominent sailing magazines, written by well qualified folks like (NA) Robert Perry.