Willard 36 Pilot House

AC power is provided by a Xantrex inverter as well as a portable 2400 watt generator.

A Naiad hydraulic vane roll control system provides excellent stability when underway.

Steering is hydraulic from a wheel in the pilot house to an enclosed gear system on the rudder shaft.

The Willard 36 is a motor yacht but equipped with an aluminium mast forward that will carry a main and foresail, useful as steady sails or back up propulsion system that can provide adequate speed, at least down wind. The mast will fold back against the pilot house to provide better bridge clearance and can also be used to launch and recover the dingy and outboard from the forward deck.
Rigging 2011, Mainsail (slab reefing), Headsail 2011

12 volt battery, 6 batteries charged by: engine, shore power Portable 2400 watt generator

The Willard 36 Pilothouse is based on the "Vega" double ended, round bilge hull design by William Garden. Willard built 39 of these hulls between 1961 and 1970 at its shop in Costa Mesa, California. Six of those hulls were built as this Pilothouse model to a design by Blaine Seeley. One of these was lost (hit a reef and sank in the Bahamas) leaving five still operating. This one is hull number five of the pilothouse series built near the end of production in 1969. This design has become almost legendary as a long distance cruiser and this particular example has logged a comfortable trip to Hawaii and back in 1987. The trip to Hawaii, in October, took 18 days at six knots and a fuel consumption of 330 gallons over a distance of 2300 nm (0.9 gph). The owner who made that trip (at age 65) was so pleased with his boat he wrote a long letter to Willard praising it. The hull is well laid up fiberglass with a plywood and fiberglass deck house. Decks are fiberglass over wood core. A mast forward can carry a main and fore sail used for added stability or as back up propulsion down wind. The low drag hull can cruise at six to six and a half knots and only one gallon per hour fuel consumption. At that speed, range is over 1,500 miles.

This is a boat designed for long distance cruising and it was highlighted by Robert Beebe in his book "Voyaging Under Power (1st ed.) on page 71. They are compact in size at 36 feet yet they offer four cabins, a separate, full height shower compartment and bunks for seven.

The fuel, water and holding tank capacity listed here is as reported by the owner and has not be independently verified by the listing agent.

The Willard brochure from 1969 describes the 36 Pilothouse model as follows: "The VEGA Trawler is probably the roomiest 36 footer afloat with a total of four separate inside cabins plus head and full sized shower. This allows private cruising accommodations for two couples and an additional large berth in the large wheelhouse. The owner's stateroom amidships doubles as an entertainment lounge with spacious living area, fireplace, desk and bookshelf. And the lounge seats are both actually double berth size. The primary consideration being offshore cruising, an enclosed wheelhouse is provided to give all weather protection and full visibility."

Entrance to the boat is through a gate in the starboard side of the cockpit which is fully enclosed with canvas and Isenglas. A companionway door leads forward to the full width aft cabin which is the galley and dining area featuring large windows on both sides and aft. A ladder forward leads up to the pilothouse which features a large bunk aft of the steering station and a door to the forward deck on the starboard side. The pilot house has large windows on all sides including good visibility aft. The elevated side deck on the starboard side of the pilothouse allows access to the aft deck above the aft cabin or forward to the large forward deck.

Forward from the aft cabin down stairs to starboard is the large, full width master stateroom with a large double berth to port and a smaller double berth to starboard. A desk is built in at the aft starboard corner of the stateroom and a hanging locker aft to port. A stainless steel diesel heating stove forward center provides cabin heat. Engine access is through a removable engine box aft in the main stateroom as well as hatches in the floor of the aft/galley cabin.

Forward from the main cabin are a shower compartment to port and head compartment to starboard. Continuing forward is the bow cabin with two single bunks to port and a stair leading aft and up through a dog house hatch onto the main deck.

The current owner has recently completed a major reconstruction of the aft cabin including all new deck overhead (the upper aft deck behind the pilot house), and the cabin walls. Most of the wood structure was replaced, the exterior fiberglassed and painted with Awlgrip. The interior of the aft cabin galley and dining area is currently left unfinished in bare plywood showing the excellent quality of the new work. Normally this area would be finished with a wall covering or paint.

3 burner propane Stove