Jeanneau Sun Fast 36

A Philippe Briand cruiser-racer Jeanneau no longer builds, for sailors who want good passage speeds and a warm wooden interior they can live with in any weather.

Philippe Briand drew the Sun Fast 36 as a cruiser-racer, and the idea was that one boat could do both jobs: easy days at anchor and properly enjoyable sailing. Jeanneau has since stopped building her, so this is a boat you'd be buying with some history behind her.

Her speed comes from the hull. The waterline is long for a boat of this size, and that's what keeps the averages up over a passage. On paper she's 11.31 m overall, 11.11 m on the hull, with a 2 m draught, so she wants a bit of water under her.

Jeanneau didn't sign her off straight from the drawing board. She sailed more than 500 nautical miles of testing first, and Philippe Poupon, then technical adviser to the yard, did some of that sailing himself.

Down below it's Makore and Maobi wood, with leather offered as an option. They're materials that have held up well on boats for years, and they give the saloon a traditional feel. The layout was planned for living aboard whatever the weather, and there's nonslip flooring and a grating at the cabin entrance for when things get lively.

She's rated for 8 people, with tanks for 90 l of fuel and 280 l of fresh water.