Review of Rustler 36

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

The boat is equipped with 3 cabins, 7 berths, a galley, 200.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

The Rustler 36 is equipped with 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.

Full keel

The Rustler 36 is equipped with a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

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.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.67 - 1.77 meter (5.48 - 5.78 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Rustler 36 may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar 3GM diesel engine at 27 hp (20 kW). Calculated max speed is about 4.9 knots

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

The fuel tank has a capacity of 125.0 liters (33 US gallons, 27 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Rustler 36 is 1.72, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - 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 6.9 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 Rustler 36 is about 181 kg/cm, alternatively 1015 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 181 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1015 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Rustler 36 is 36.3.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Rustler 36 is 3.21.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Rustler 36 is 45%.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Rustler 36 is 402 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 30m² (322 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 is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

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

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Rustler 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.