The Watkins 36, also known as the W36 and W36AC, is an Americansailboat that was designed by William H. Tripp Jr and the Watkins brothers, first built in 1981. The Watkins 36 is a development of the Portman 36 and was developed into the center cockpit Watkins 36C.
Development
The silent partner in Auroraglas purchased the rights to the center-cockpit Tripp-designed Coronado 35 and Columbia 36 designs from Columbia Yachts and the tooling was modified to become the aft-cockpit Portman 36. That design was produced by Auroraglas and then Watkins Yachts, in Clearwater, Florida, United States after the companies were merged. The Portman 36 was then modified by Watkins to become the aft-cockpit Watkins 36 and finally developed into the center-cockpit Watkins 36C.
Production
The Watkins 36 was produced from 1981 to 1983. During its production run the Watkins 36 became the flagship of the company product line and its features were incorporated in the newer and smaller boat designs that followed it, including the opening ports, Bomar hatches, through bolted flanged hull joints and the sloping cabin top.
Design
The Watkins 36 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with teak wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem, a raised transom, a skeg-mounted rudder controlled by a wheel and a fixed fin keel. It displaces and carries of ballast. The design's hull is molded in a single piece using polyester resin and fiberglass woven roving, as well as multidirectional chopped strand fibers. The keel is integral to the hull and the ballast is internal to the keel. The deck and the cockpit and also moulded in pone piece, also using polyester resin and fiberglass woven roving with MCSF. Plywood coring is employed for the cabin top, deck, seat and the cockpit sole for stiffness. The hull-to-deck joint is flanged, glued and then screwed into place. There is an aluminum toe rail, stainless steel through-bolted into place, bonding the toe rail, deck and the hull. An anchor well is located at the bow with a hawspipe leading the anchor chain into the "V" berth locker. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel fitted. The boat is fitted with a British Perkins Enginesdiesel engine of for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of. Later boats delivered had. The boat was factory delivered with many equipment items as standard, including a pressurized water system, a shower, ten opening ports and two hatches, a folding dining table in the main cabin and provisions for shore power. The design layout has a bow "V" berth and an owner's stateroom aft. The galley is located aft, in the passageway to the owner's state room and is fitted with a double sink, a 12volt refrigerator and a three-burner propane-fired stove with an oven. The head is aft and accessible from stateroom and the main cabin. The main cabin has of headroom and is finished with hand-rubbed teak trim, with the bulkheads and cabinetry made from teak veneer on plywood. The early boats delivered had a carpeted main cabin sole, with later deliveries with a teak and holly veneer sole over plywood. The companionway stairs tip up, providing access to the engine.
