The ‘civilised’ Sigma 382
Rupert Holmes reports on one of the best British-built performance cruisers of the 1980s
One of my favourite designs from the 1980s is the Sigma 362. When they were still relatively new boats I was lucky enough to skipper one for thousands of miles, exploring many ports between the Solent and Ushant.
The 362 is based on the Sigma 36, a David Thomas-designed racer/cruiser from 1980. In its day the 36 was thought of as a powerful boat that could be difficult to handle in strong winds, but much of this reputation was the result of gung-ho race crews pressing too hard when the breeze picked up. The stretchy Dacron sails of the era didn’t help either – they deformed into deeper, more powerful shapes in gusts, accentuating heel but without driving the boat any faster. Certainly, by today’s standards the 36 is a fairly moderate and easily tamed design.
So the Sigma 362 has always been the civilised version by a big margin, right from its inception in 1983. The high volume hull shape, for its day, enabled the interior to be reconfigured to a modern layout that easily matched the innovative French designs, such as Beneteau’s slightly later First 345, that rapidly gained popularity in the mid 1980s.
Our test boat is the wing-keel version and has been owned by long-standing PBO subscriber Claire Dresser for four years. She bought Lady Penrose after her parent’s Oyster 46 (Penrose III) was sold after several decades of ownership.
Claire uses the boat for both cruising and racing, including single-handed sailing, and typically makes several Channel crossings each year.
I spent four days on board Lady Penrose last year, putting both the boat and Claire through their paces on a Yachtmaster prep course (she passed the subsequent exam with flying colours).
I asked her what appealed most about the 362?
“Honestly, the first thing was she’s a pretty boat,” Claire said. “She has lovely lines and I wanted a boat that has a more classic look. The other boats I looked at in this price range all had something not quite right – either the look, downstairs layout or rig/sail plan.
“The other thing was Sigmas have a terrific reputation for being a good, solid, safe boat. I looked at loads of 38s but they were all pretty wrecked and too big, I felt, for me single-handed. I looked at 33s but they are too small in terms of accommodation. There weren’t any 36s on the market at the time, but I looked at a friend’s and didn’t like the layout of that either. And then almost in a serendipitous moment my broker alerted me to a 362 and I took Dad down to Brixham to take a look – it was love at first sight!”
This example was one of the more expensive boats of its size and era on the market at the time, but had recently been re-engined, reupholstered, had new standing rigging and a recent quality mainsail. The instruments were reasonably up to date and it had AIS. It also had a recently installed Eberspächer, new hot water system and a very clever inverter which means Claire can use a hair dryer even when not on mains power. In addition, the hull had been Coppercoated.
The boat was also fitted with a brand new Harken mainsail luff car system. This is extremely impressive kit – even with the wind aft you can flake the halyard, sheet the sail in hard and then simply let the halyard go. The sail will fall into the lazy bag in a couple of seconds. With so much money having recently been spent on the boat it was clear she was easily worth the extra outlay.
Since then Claire has replaced the running rigging, removed the mast winches and brought all the halyards back to the cockpit, running through upgraded clutches. She has also converted one of the coachroof winches to electric. A key motivating factor for this was to avoid problems when tired after sailing single-handed on longer passages.
She also replaced the autopilot system with a Raymarine Evo unit and added a remote control. The full cockpit enclosure was new this winter – it was expensive, but makes a huge difference when cruising in borderline weather giving an extra cabin when in harbour.
Below decks
This was never intended to be a boat that would be built down to a price. There’s a high standard of fit out below decks, including plenty of stowage in well thought-out lockers. Neat touches include the big stainless steel grab rails each side of the companionway. The steps are wide, shaped to be safe when the boat is well heeled and at an easy incline. Grab handles on both sides fall easily to hand.
The two double cabin layout was up to the minute in its day. It’s a huge step forward in terms of comfort and convenience compared to older designs
‘She’s a pretty boat with lovely lines and a classic look – it was love at first sight!’
and still works very well both in harbour and at sea. The key working areas – galley, heads and chart table – are at the foot of the companionway and the saloon settees double as excellent sea berths. These are parallel with the centreline, which aids comfort at sea.
An overhead hatch in the saloon, plus a clear sliding hatch at the companionway helps let a lot of natural light in, so it feels bright, despite the relatively small coachroof windows and darker woodwork.
There’s less floor space in the saloon than many more recent boats, but this is mostly because the settees aren’t pushed right out to the sides of the hull. That in turn gives really impressive stowage both in shelves above the bunks, behind the backrests and underneath the seats themselves. The saloon also has a substantial, traditional folding table with wine bottle storage. Overall, there’s plenty of space to move around in harbour, without vast expanses of space that could be problematic at sea.
A really good galley has twin sinks, lots of storage including a bank of drawers, plus a built in fridge and even, unusually for its era, a built in waste bin. Fixed work top space is more than adequate and can be extended further with a pull-out section of counter over the cooker.
Opposite this a really good navigation station is a reminder of the performance ethos of this boat when it was new and efficient passage making required planning and plotting on paper charts. In today’s world it also provides space to use as a mobile office, without impinging on the main saloon table.
The heads compartment is well laid out and comes with a shower. There’s also a locker for wet foul-weather gear accessed through the aft bulkhead, which helps keep sodden gear out of the rest of the interior.
To my mind, despite its triangular shape, the forecabin is by far the best of the sleeping cabins. There’s good standing space at the head of the bunk, even without removing the infill that converts the bunks to a double, although headroom here starts to become marginal for taller people.
This cabin offers excellent stowage, with shelves on the side of the hull and space for a capacious locker if required over the foot of the bed. There’s also a big hanging locker to starboard and even a small vanity sink, plus further stowage, to port.
The aft cabin is also of a good size, with a generous, almost rectangular double berth. There’s decent stowage here too, with a hanging locker to port, plus lockers to the sides of the bunk and above the foot space. A large shelf above the engine is ideal for small items such as keys, wallets and phones, not to mention a morning cup of tea and a book. On the downside, the only natural light and ventilation here is from opening ports to the cockpit and coachroof side.
The only interior modification Clare has found to be necessary so far is removable netting to keep items stowed on the deep shelves above the saloon settees in place at sea.
In some respects the hull shape doesn’t give as much space as on later designs, but you certainly get easily as much overall space, and especially stowage volume, as on 32-33 footers designed 15 years later. The advantage with the Sigma is you also get the performance heritage, with a fast, well mannered hull shape and great handling characteristics.
On deck
The cockpit is significantly modified compared to the Sigma 36, creating a more comfortable cruising layout, with seating in the forward part. This area is sufficiently narrow to be able to brace yourself securely when the boat is heeled, but has enough width to accommodate a small folding table mounted on the binnacle.
Wheel steering was standard on the 362, with a relatively small wheel that’s easy to step around. However, many 36s had tiller steering and I’d be tempted to change to a
‘A really good navigation station is a reminder of the performance ethos of this boat’
tiller for simplicity and to give more cockpit space in harbour. Claire says this is currently on her list of improvements.
The mainsheet traveller runs across the aft end of the bridge deck, while most halyards and other controls are led back to coachroof mounted winches. Primary winches are sturdy Lewmar 46 self-tailers.
Commendably wide side decks make going forward easy and the aluminium slotted toerail gives better security than the moulded equivalents of many later boats. It’s also very handy for attaching spinnaker blocks, barberhaulers and fenders.
A big cockpit locker to starboard has space for most cruising paraphernalia including dinghy, spare sails and so on. The humped helmsman’s seat has gas lockers with space of a 4.5kg Calor bottle underneath on each side, plus dedicated liferaft stowage in the centre. Mooring cleats appear substantial and right forward is an impressively deep and capacious chain locker with plenty of space for an electric windlass.
A shorter masthead rig, with reduced sail area, replaced the 36’s lofty fractional arrangement. Draught was also reduced from 1.96m (6ft 5in) to 1.86m (6ft 1in) for the standard keel, and 1.55m (5ft 1in) for the shoal draught fin. A winged keel option was also offered, with draught of only 1.50m (4ft 11in), coupled with an extremely large end plate.
These changes clearly reduce the 362’s speed potential compared to the original design, especially with the wing keel, but only by around an average of a two or three per cent compared to the original 36, so not enough to be a concern for most cruising sailors. In any case, the 362 is still a quick boat for her size by cruising standards and has impeccable manners. The bigger end plate of wing keel boats, like Lady Penrose, also helps to dampen motion, giving the feel of a larger or heavier boat.
Under sail
For boat tests I usually have to make an assessment of the boat from a short sail, so I’m in a privileged position with the 362, having experienced the boat in everything from light airs to gusts in the mid 30s while mid Channel.
Lady Penrose has a very nice fully battened mainsail, which sets beautifully, though the furling genoa is a little older and has a less efficient shape. For this season Claire is adding a non-overlapping jib that will improve both performance and the boat’s handling characteristics in stronger winds. The inventory also includes both asymmetric and symmetric spinnakers, plus storm sails.
In light airs the boat slips along very easily, thanks to an easily driven shape with a relatively short static waterline length. As the breeze builds the waterline
extends, giving the 362 excellent speed potential in stronger breezes. The overhangs also promise a more comfortable motion at sea, although the narrower transom than today’s designs make the 362 more prone to rolling downwind. Nevertheless, it’s still in a very different category in this respect to earlier designs such as the Contessa 32.
The boat will also surf more easily than all but a handful of its contemporaries, with the big spade rudder offering good control at higher speeds. Claire’s record over the ground to date is an impressive 14.4 knots.
Steering a Sigma is always a delight and the 362 is no exception. The helm feels light and responsive, with weight in the steering increasing only when the boat is pushed to the limit. Equally, the helm position is well configured and comfortable, whether you’re sitting on the humped seat, leaning against the windward coaming, or sitting to leeward for the best view of the luff of the headsail.
Tacking angles of course vary greatly with the age and cut of sails, and in the case of the Sigma 362 also with the keel option. Claire reckons with the old genoa Lady Penrose would generally tack through around 100°, but that figure is now close to 90°. Speeds when close hauled vary from 5 to 7 knots, depending on wind strength.
One factor compared to today’s designs is that the hull has less form stability than that of newer boats and there’s no bulb on the bottom of the conventional fin keel versions of the 362. This means more frequent reefing and unreefing than with today’s designs, but the boat can easily be set up to do so efficiently.
Under power
Most 362s have been re-engined, many with the three cylinder Beta 30 unit fitted to Lady Penrose, which is married to a two-blade folding propeller. This combination provides ample power thanks to the boat’s easily driven hull form, is economical to run and minimises drag under sail.
In common with many performance cruisers, the 362 is predictable and handles well under power, although wing keel versions have a larger turning circle thanks to the longer chord length of their keels. The large rudder helps with responsiveness when steering astern, although it’s important to take account of the relatively strong prop walk. Engine access is good, whether from the front, the side or the back, within the aft cabin.
Verdict
Few designs of its era combined performance and great handling characteristics with comfortable, well planned accommodation as effectively as the Sigma 362. The result is a desirable fast passage maker, with an interior that has stood the test of time very well.
It’s no surprise then that this is a sought-after boat, and that many examples are well looked after, with equipment regularly updated by enthusiastic long-term owners. There are certainly cheaper boats of this size and vintage available, but that was also true in the 1980s – as mentioned earlier, this is not a boat that was built down to a price. Even in today’s competitive second-hand market there are many reasons why decent 362s achieve good prices.