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SPECIFICATIONS: Boat Name: Desert Star Manufacturer: PDQ Yachts Inc. Designer: Alan Slater Model: PDQ 36 Classic Year: 1996 Location: Annapolis, MD Length: 36' 5” Beam: 18'3" Draft: 2'10" Mast Hgt. Off Water 47' Mast Hgt. Off Deck 42' Total Weight: ~11000lbs (Full Gear and crew) Engine/s: 2 x Yamaha 9.9 HP 4 Stroke Fuel Tank Capacity: 55 gal Water Tank Capacity: 85 gal Holding Tank Capacity: 15gal Cabins: 2 Heads: 1 Stall Shower 1 Workroom 1 Tender: AVON R.I.B. 9'3" Total Sail Area: 600 SF

Desert Star is a 1996 PDQ 36 owned by Bonnie and Eric. She is moored in Annapolis, MD. She is the culmination
of many years of sailing for Eric and many years of outdoor recreation for Bonnie. We hope to sail many, many
miles together on her, exploring and experiencing lots of new places.

One of Eric’s favorite aspects of Desert Star is her workroom. With a workbench, clamps, and lots of storage, we can make repairs and carry out projects while underway. She also has quite an electrical system with dual 20amp 120VAC service to separated panels, a fully loadable 120VAC/20Amp Inverter, 2KW Genset, 6 Amp (12VDC) Wind generator and dual 3 Amp (12VDC) Solar Panels.

Some of Desert Star’s additional features are; Three anchors, large fenders, radar, Chartplotter/GPS, DC powered
refrigerator, large galley, stall shower, large storage areas, queen sized berths, new Doyle Stackpack, and large
asymmetrical spinnaker.

She sails like any large catamaran, stable, fast, easy to handle. She points fairly well. Her hulls are symmetrical and
have no above or below water shape changes or obstructions that can cause turbulence and reduce speed.
Although not a performance catamaran, she can point to within 35 degrees of apparent wind and maintain speeds
faster than our old Hunter 31 could. With apparent wind at 60 to 75 degrees (about 90 degrees true) she gets up and
runs! We have seen speed on August days of 8.8 knots in 19 knots of apparent wind. We cant wait to see some
autumn days with high winds.

HISTORY OF HULL 49

2002 2008

Hull number 49 of only 97 ever made was originally purchased from PDQ in Canada in 1996 and named Dementia.
The owners took her to Florida and made many trips to the Caribbean and up the east coast. Five years later she was
sold to another Florida couple and renamed Amarula. They added air conditioning and a upgraded many of her
systems. In 2002 she was sold to a lawyer from Philadelphia and renamed Tooyoots. He lived on her in Florida
fulltime until 2006 but apparently did not sail her far. He had her brought up to Chesapeake Bay in the summer of
2007 for reworking. She was put up for sale in Annapolis and sat on the end of a T-head pier for quite a few months.
In the late fall, she was purchased by a couple from New Mexico who planned to move her south to Florida after some
refits. They renamed her Desert Star. They did a few upgrades and put in new engines. We posted an inquiry on the
PDQ forum in July looking for a PDQ 36, after seeing one in Solomon’s on a July 4^th sail. We did not expect to find
anything quickly, and were in no rush. The owners of Desert Star told us she was a bit small for them and their
visiting grown children and families. We purchased her directly from them. Thank goodness for emergency reserve
money!!!

It took a lot of cleaning and a few moderate projects, but she is now sitting peacefully on her mooring ball, fully self
contained and is our ultimate water front condo.

CATAMARAN SPEED

So how fast is she? Well, we have had her peak at 13.5 kts (GPS speed) in about 45 kts of apparent wind, and run sustained
at 10.3 kts (GPS Speed) in the same wind. Below is the data and polar diagram that shows it sure is possible to do 17 kts
in optimal conditions. BUT we were not able to get her faster than 13.5 kts. On the day we did 13.5 kts, we had her out in
winds over 55 kts apparent, and blew out both the main (w/ single reef) and jenny (50% furled) in a storm. The boat
performed very well. The seas were up to 8 feet and gusts somewhere near 60 kts. It was a wild ride, especially when
close hauled on the return – that’s when the sails went. But below decks, only the salt and pepper shakers fell over.

Although we hope never to be caught in such winds again, we now know what our PDQ 36 can do. Some key points as we review the

events that day were:

The strain on the rigging and sails on at catamaran are just as huge as the experts say they are.

Older sails with a bit of sun damage are not as strong as they could be.

Sudden large gusts hitting a catamaran are not as quickly recognizable by the crew, as in a mono-hull.

The low superstructure of the PDQ 36 is wonderful when close hauled in high winds. Keep that in mind when you
think you might like better visibility from the cabin.

The foredeck can take a huge beating when close hauled and everything there should be well secured.

The light foredeck weight of PDQ and Antares designs are there for a reason.

There is a lot more force on an anchor or mooring ball from a catamaran than a mono-hull.

Gale force winds are not for the faint-hearted, even on the Chesapeake Bay.

Do put high strains on any more of your vessel than you can afford to repair.

A breaking wave between the hulls can drag a PDQ 36 sideways like it’s a small hobbie cat.

Just because the weather services say winds in the high 20’s with gusts to the low 30s does not mean you can’t end
up with a couple hours of double that.

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