Cascade 36
Description
The Cascade 36 is a legendary classic bluewater cruiser designed by Robert A. Smith and built by Cascade Yachts (Yacht Constructors Inc.) in Portland, Oregon, starting in 1967. With over 150 hulls produced, it's renowned for its incredibly tough, hand-laid solid fiberglass construction (no core in the hull), earning a "bulletproof" reputation—stories abound of Cascades surviving drops, highway trailer accidents, mudslides, and even bullet tests with minimal damage. Many were sold as hull/deck kits for owner completion, leading to highly personalized interiors but varying quality. This narrow-beam, fin-keel (or deep fin) sloop/cutter excels as a seaworthy passagemaker—proven by multiple circumnavigations (e.g., Jim and Molly Moore's "Swan" detailed in their book By Way of the Wind, and others like "Comitan" by 80-year-old Josh Taylor), Pacific Cup wins (e.g., "Rain Drop"), and Hawaii/Alaska passages. It's stable, stiff, with excellent righting capability and motion comfort (Comfort Ratio ~33.5, better than 85% of similar boats), making it ideal for offshore or extended coastal cruising rather than light-air racing.
Construction Details
| Designer | Robert A. Smith |
|---|---|
| Builder | Cascade Yachts (Yacht Constructors Inc.) |
| Length | 35.500 ft |
| LOA | 35.560 ft |
| LWL | 28.870 ft |
| Beam | 10.000 ft |
| Displacement | 12500 lb |
| Ballast | 4433 lb |
| Max Draft | 5.600 ft |
| Year Built | 1967 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 43 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 16.75 ft |
| p | 37.58 ft |
| e | 15.75 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 ft | 16.75 ft | 37.58 ft | 15.75 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Cascade 36 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 37.58 ft - (11454 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 15.75 ft - (4801 mm) |
| Leech | * 39.96 ft - (12180 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 40.24 ft - (12265 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | * 304.07 ft² |
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Cascade 36 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 36.92 ft - (11253 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 23.04 ft - (7023 mm) |
| Leech | * 30.99 ft - (9446 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 114.99 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 19.26 ft - (5870 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | * 355.56 ft² |
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Cascade 36 - GENOA
| Luff | 41.25 ft - (12573 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 18.2 ft - (5547 mm) |
| Leech | 37 ft - (11278 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 97.43 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 16.32 ft - (4974 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4.95 ° |
| Area | * 336.7 ft² |
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Cascade 36 - GENOA
| Luff | * 43.84 ft - (13362 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 27.79 ft - (8470 mm) |
| Leech | * 40.67 ft - (12396 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150.03 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 25.13 ft - (7660 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 3.99 ° |
| Area | * 550.86 ft² |
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Cascade 36 - DRIFTER
| Luff | * 43.84 ft - (13362 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 29.09 ft - (8867 mm) |
| Leech | * 38.5 ft - (11735 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 149.97 % |
| Length Perp | * 25.12 ft - (7657 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 8.99 ° |
| Area | * 550.68 ft² |
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Cascade 36 - ASYMMETRICAL
| Luff | * 43.84 ft - (13362 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 27.64 ft - (8425 mm) |
| Leech | * 40.33 ft - (12293 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 165 % |
| Area | * 909 ft² |
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Cascade 36 - STORMJIB
| Luff | * 25.38 ft - (7736 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 13.17 ft - (4014 mm) |
| Leech | * 19.64 ft - (5986 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 60 % |
| Length Perp | * 10.05 ft - (3063 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 18.96 ° |
| Area | * 127.57 ft² |
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Cascade 36 - STORMTRYSAIL
| Luff | * 15.74 ft - (4798 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 14.48 ft - (4414 mm) |
| Leech | * 13.12 ft - (3999 mm) |
| Length Perp | * 13.12 ft - (3999 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * -25 ° |
| Area | * 89 ft² |
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Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.