Review of Sun Dance 36

Both the hull and the deck is made of hand laid fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of hand laid fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The hull is a double hull which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.
The deck is a double deck which improves the indoor climate.

The interior is like most other boats made of teak.
The boat is equipped with 4 cabins, 8 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

The boat has more than one rig.

One option is a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated.

Sun Dance 36 can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.03 - 2.13 meter (6.66 - 6.96 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta engine at 28.0 hp (20 kW), which gives a max speed about 6.0 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenence than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank which is made of stainless steel has a capacity of 150.0 liters (39 US gallons, 32 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Sun Dance 36 is 2.13, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.4 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Sun Dance 36 is about 234 kg/cm, alternatively 1311 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 234 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1311 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Sun Dance 36 is 21.4.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 21% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly below average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Sun Dance 36 is 2.84.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 86% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more spacy hull design.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Sun Dance 36 is 33%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 15% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Sun Dance 36 is 207 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

69% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)
Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind:
- Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15
- Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20
- Racers have ratios above 20
- High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24
Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 16.82

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 40m² (430 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Sun Dance 36 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.