Nautilus 36
Description
Overview The Nautilus 36 is a classic pilothouse motor Sailer designed by Canadian naval architect Henry Adriaanse and built between 1977 and 1981 by Niagara Nautic Inc. (later in partnership with Aztec Yachts) in Canada. Only about 40 of these vessels were produced, making it a rare find today. It's renowned for its sturdy construction, excellent visibility from the enclosed pilothouse, and versatility as both a sailboat and a powered cruiser, ideal for colder climates, coastal cruising, or extended voyages like the Bahamas, Caribbean, or even transatlantic crossings via Bermuda and the Azores. The design emphasizes comfort, stability, and ease of handling, with a fiberglass hull and a layout that provides ample space for liveaboard use—sleeping up to 6 in two cabins, including a queen berth. This boat is particularly praised for its pilothouse setup, which offers a warm, dry helm station with a center-opening windshield and an inside steering chair. It's built on a fin keel with a spade rudder (some shoal-draft versions available), and while it's stable with good righting capability, some owners note potential concerns with its top-heavy pilothouse design and balsa-cored deck (common in boats of this era, requiring inspection for moisture issues). The engine is typically a reliable inboard diesel, like a Perkins, and many examples have been updated with modern rigging and electronics.
Construction Details
| Designer | Henry Adriaanse |
|---|---|
| Builder | Niagara Nautic Inc. |
| Length | 36.000 ft |
| LOA | 36.750 ft |
| LWL | 28.000 ft |
| Beam | 11.500 ft |
| Displacement | 14500 lb |
| Max Draft | 6.330 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 45 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 15 ft |
| p | 39.50 ft |
| e | 14.50 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 ft | 15 ft | 39.50 ft | 14.50 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 39.5 ft - (12040 mm) |
| Foot | * 14.5 ft - (4420 mm) |
| Leech | * 41.43 ft - (12628 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 41.6 ft - (12680 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | 286.06 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 37.95 ft - (11567 mm) |
| Foot | * 20.01 ft - (6099 mm) |
| Leech | * 32.73 ft - (9976 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 17.25 ft - (5258 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | 327.37 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 45.06 ft - (13734 mm) |
| Foot | * 24.34 ft - (7419 mm) |
| Leech | * 42.26 ft - (12881 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 22.5 ft - (6858 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4 ° |
| Area | 506.89 ft² |
| Sail Type | SPINNAKER |
|---|---|
| Stays | * 45.06 ft - (13734 mm) |
| MidGirth | * 27 ft - (8230 mm) |
| Foot | * 27 ft - (8230 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | 1034.13 ft² |
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.