Impala 36
Cantiere Navale 71 · Doug Peterson · 1974
Updated
The Impala 36 is a 10.87 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Doug Peterson and built by Cantiere Navale 71, first launched in 1974. It races in Class C.
Length
10.87 m
35′ 8″
Beam
3.25 m
Draft
1.91 m
Displacement
5.9 t
Sail area
76 m²
On the podium
Where a Impala 36 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
0%
of 10 starts by 4 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 10 starts by 4 boats between 2019 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Impala 36 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2026- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2025
- Campionato Invernale West Liguria2024
- 151 Miglia - Trofeo Cetilar2024
- Campionato Invernale West Liguria2023
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
—
Not enough data yet: 3 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: 7 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Impala 36 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
X-35 (7 meetings), Comet 45 (5 meetings), Grand Soleil 40 (Paperini) (5 meetings), First 35 (Farr) (4 meetings), First 44.7 (6 meetings), Solaris 48 (4 meetings), First 30 (Kouyoumdjian) (5 meetings), Comet 38 (Vallicelli) (3 meetings), First 34.7 (4 meetings), T 34 (4 meetings), J/112 (4 meetings), Swan 45 (4 meetings), Solaris 44 (4 meetings), Comet 41 (3 meetings), Baltic 50 (3 meetings), Solaris 50 (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 43 (Maletto) (4 meetings), Pierrot 9.16 (4 meetings), Elan 310 (4 meetings), Dufour 34 (3 meetings), IMX 40 (4 meetings), Elan 31 (Humphreys) (4 meetings), Swan 42 (2 meetings), J/122 (2 meetings), Bonin 31 (2 meetings), Ro 330 (2 meetings), Grand Soleil 47 (3 meetings), Bolt 37 (3 meetings), X-41 (3 meetings), Este 31 (3 meetings), Elan 340 (2 meetings), First 40 (3 meetings), Ziggurat 916 (3 meetings), Grand Soleil 39 (Maletto) (2 meetings), Elan 410 (2 meetings), Cookson 50 (1 meeting), Swan 80 (1 meeting), X-50 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Impala 36 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.87
38°
Beam reach
7.66
90°
Broad reach
8.35
135°
Downwind VMG
7.41
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
This is a light-air boat. Early-season racing and morning breezes play to its strengths; once it pipes up the fleet comes back to it.
Where it gains
Its best ground is to windward in light air, where it does more than its size and sail area promise. It holds that advantage on the run as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short cracked off when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Impala 36
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.32 | 4.42 | 4.80 | 4.87 |
| 52° | 5.04 | 6.38 | 6.78 | 6.87 |
| 60° | 5.29 | 6.55 | 6.94 | 7.06 |
| 75° | 5.46 | 6.69 | 7.11 | 7.37 |
| 90° | 5.37 | 6.70 | 7.19 | 7.66 |
| 110° | 5.27 | 6.83 | 7.42 | 7.90 |
| 120° | 5.12 | 6.79 | 7.47 | 8.23 |
| 135° | 4.64 | 6.52 | 7.32 | 8.35 |
| 150° | 3.98 | 5.96 | 7.01 | 8.00 |
| Run VMG | 3.44 | 5.18 | 6.40 | 7.41 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 540 kg.
Rigging
Impala 36 rig and sail dimensions
A Impala 36 carries 12.96 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.54 m boom, a forestay 14.32 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 4 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 79 to 101 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.