1985 Contest 36S

Contest is a high quality Dutch Yard, on par with other high end northern European yards like Halberg Rassy. They now specialize in semi-custom yachts from 42 to 85'. In the 70's they were the most successful European yacht in the US with over 500 sold. The Contest 36 was the first Contest model to offer essentially a tall rig option with the fractional mast, offering a SA/D ratio of 17. As such, the Contest 36 was the first Contest model to be rewarding to sail in light air or race, with much better light air performance than her competitors like Hallberg Rassy. As a result, she was a very successful model in the US. I sold 15 36's in the US in the mid and later 80's/. Our family has worked with the Contest yard since the 1960's. The Practical Sailor noted our attention to customer service in their review. Of course, the Contest 36 was designed and built as an offshore capable yacht, and many Contest 36's have completed ocean passages. Several years ago we sold a 36 to one couple who have sailed her extensively from New England to the West Coast and partly across the Pacific, (SV Oyster) which makes for fascinating reading on Instagram.

The woodwork below is stunning with 6'5" of headroom, tons of lockers and storage space and an amazingly spacious interior, especially the galley, main salon, and a 6' wide by 6' long owners stateroom aft. Due to the many layers of 2 component varnish, and careful maintenance, the woodwork still looks about as good in Shiva as the day she left the yard. She never had teak decks. This Contest 36 is still owner by the original owner, which we sold to him in 1985. An architect with a large woodworking shop for many years, she has many thoughtful and very well executed upgrades. This is a fin keel versions of the Contest 36, and as such offers significantly better performance with a reasonable draft of 6'3" An early sister ship named Slapshot won OffSoundings in the 1983-84. Shiva, with the listing agent on board as a watch Captain, competed in and completed the 1991 Marion Bermuda yacht race, beating many larger and supposedly faster yachts. The owner took her back and forth to the Caribbean for several seasons.

All good things must come to an end. After 40 excellent years the owner is no longer up to sailing her, and she is offered for sale. If you would like to see a spacious and extremely well built yacht in excellent shape, Shiva is a must see. She is capable of any adventure you have in mind, from easy daysailing to offshore passages. We sanded and painted the bottom of Shiva in Nov 2025, launched her and sailed her back to Norwalk. The original Volvo MD 17C diesel (a famously reliable motor) started and ran, but smoked quite heavily and will need to be rebuilt or repowered. The electronics, most of which are original, also need replacement along w the batteries. The interior and overall condition are stunning.