Portman 36

The Portman 36 is an American sailboat that was first built in 1978.

Development and production
The silent partner in Auroraglas purchased the rights to the center-cockpit Coronado 35/Columbia 36 design from Columbia Yachts and the tooling was modified to become the aft-cockpit Portman 36. Other modifications included relocating the ports from the hull to a newly designed coach house and designing a new hull-to-deck joint.

The design was built by Auroraglas and later by Watkins Yachts in Clearwater, Florida, United States after the acquisition of Watkins and its merger with Auroraglas. A total of 19 boats were produced, with Auroraglas only building one or two of them, before production moved to Watkins.

The design was developed into the Watkins 36 and the Watkins 36C in 1981

Design
The Portman 36 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, a raked stem, a raised transom, a skeg-mounted spade-type/transom-hung rudder controlled by a wheel and a fixed fin keel. It displaces 16000 lb and carries 6000 lb of ballast.

The boat has a draft of 4.50 ft with the standard keel fitted.

The boat is fitted with a diesel engine of 40 hp for docking and maneuvering. The fuel tank holds 60 u.s.gal.

The design has a hull speed of 7.26 kn.

Operational history
The boat is supported by an active class club, the Watkins Owners.