JEANNEAU LEADER 36
BUILT 2015 PRICE £245,000
Jeanneau covered all the bases when it launched the Leader 36 in 2015, offering it in both open cockpit format or with the hardtop that you see here for about £5,000 more, a practical alternative for owners in northern climes.
INTERIOR Just like Beneteau, Jeanneau came up with something rather different from the standard pattern interior layout, but on this boat it concentrated on the forward part of the accommodation. So back aft is the customary twin berth mid cabin (with a settee that can be pressed into action as an occasional third berth). But in the bow there appears to be no separate forward cabin, just an open plan layout with a small galley opposite the heads and a dinette that runs across the boat with a double bed in the forepeak. But cunningly, a pocket door rolls out of nowhere to partition off the bed and settee, making for a separate owner’s cabin when privacy is needed.
EXTERIOR The chaise longue next to the helm is there to create headroom in the mid cabin lobby, but there is a forward facing seat as well. Further aft, a generous dinette with a folding table sits opposite the wet bar and has a backrest that flips forward to increase the size of the sunpad behind it. The hardtop has an electric sliding roof and the powered engine hatch is huge, giving great access to both motors.
PERFORMANCE Twin Volvo Penta D4-300 engines, like the Beneteau GT40, but on this smaller, lighter boat, top speed with these engines is lifted to 36 knots giving a high 20 knot cruise.
SEAKEEPING Michael Peters designed the hull, and a typically great job he made of it. Agile, quick witted, very grippy and “a real hoot to chuck around”, reported our resident boy racer when Jeanneau let him loose in one off Cannes.
But it proves capable of steamrollering a challenging chop too, “no slams, squeaks or groans from the helm, just a confident absorption of all in its path, interspersed with soft, controlled landings if the boat did get a little air.”
LENGTH 37ft 7in (11.5m) BEAM 10ft 10in (3.6m) DRAUGHT 2ft 5in (0.7m) DISPLACEMENT 6.5 tonnes FUEL CAPACITY 550 litres
ENGINES Twin Volvo Penta D4-300 300hp diesel engine
FOR SALE Salterns Brokerage www.salternsbrokerage.co.uk