Design and Construction
The 35.5 is built from solid fiberglass laminated in two hull halves joined on the centerline, a technique that gives Bristol a fine hull-to-deck joint unique in its era. The deck is a balsa-cored composite fastened to an inward hull flange with through-bolts and a teak toerail, creating what Practical Sailor called a watertight joint and a rigid structural beam at the rail. Bristol made deliberate use of traditional wooden structural members — full and partial bulkheads bonded to the hull with fiberglass and resin — rather than relying on interior liners. Secondary bonding is almost always flawless, and significant structural problems are rare on hulls that have now been afloat for decades. Topflight components throughout — Schaefer hardware, Lewmar winches, Edson steering, Bomar hatches — reinforce the impression of a boat built to a higher standard than its displacement-class peers. All joinery in the main and forward cabins is wood-sheathed, with a teak sole and hand-laid ash inlay screwed, glued, and bunged. Interior wood could be ordered in mahogany, cherry, or teak, giving the fleet considerable variation in character.
Rig and Sailing Character
The fin-keel version draws five feet nine inches; the centerboard variant comes up to three feet nine with board raised — the practical choice for coastal and shoal-water sailing. Both share the same moderate sail area-to-displacement ratio and a displacement-to-length ratio that is hefty by modern standards at 322. That number understates the boat's pace. She points well and is considerably faster than most boats of this displacement in light air, and her IOR rating of 25.38 places the centerboard version ahead of respected contemporaries including the C&C 35, Tartan 37, and Morgan 38. Polar data from the USYRU shows the 35.5C reaching five-and-a-half knots in six knots of true wind, and turning up slightly more than eight knots broad reaching in twenty. The IMS data shows the centerboard version to be faster than the keel version across the wind range, owing partly to its additional five hundred pounds of ballast. The boat's ballast-to-displacement ratio of 43 percent on the fin model yields a calculated static stability of 115 — respectable for a centerboarder of this era.
Accommodations
Hood paid close attention to livability, and the interior reflects it. The forward V-berth is large enough for two adults and not pushed so far forward that feet tangle in a cramped apex. The dedicated head is large enough to turn around in and shower standing erect for anyone up to six-two. Pull-out extension berths serve the main cabin; a large quarter berth handles an extra crewmember. The galley runs aft to starboard and offers more counter space than many larger boats, with a genuinely large ice chest noted for its insulation. A fold-down saloon table rigs in roughly five seconds. Joinery options at the time of ordering were considerable, and the result is a boat in which the build quality is immediately apparent to anyone stepping below.
Known Issues
Practical Sailor's readers who owned the 35.5C reported two recurring concerns worth knowing before purchase. First, the two-cylinder Yanmar 2QM20H originally fitted in some boats struggles to reach hull speed and should be avoided; the three-cylinder Universal diesel or Westerbeke are far preferable. Second, early production predates a factory modification to the centerboard mechanism, so early boats without the modified centerboard warrant extra scrutiny. More broadly, the centerboard cable runs through a fully enclosed stainless steel system making three turns below the floorboards — elegant in theory, but difficult to fix if it were to cause trouble. Boards have also been observed with a few inches of lateral play and up to three degrees of twist within the trunk; failures other than broken pennants are rare, but the loose fit is worth monitoring. Engine access is universally acknowledged as mediocre at best, requiring removal of drawers and the companionway step panel to reach the front of the engine. The full-length cockpit seats force the helmsman to climb up and over to reach the wheel rather than sliding aft — a minor but persistent ergonomic annoyance.
Refit Considerations
Long-term owners have found the 35.5 both durable and accommodating of upgrades. Hood himself sailed one with a furling headsail on the headstay and a Doyle Stackpack on the main — the boat moves well in any air with that arrangement, and it remains a sound choice for refitting a working rig. Sail selection matters: the 35.5C achieves optimum polar performance with a single 120% or 130% jib on furling gear; headsails larger than that overpower the hull and undermine the light-air advantage the design otherwise delivers. Owners considering a working jib on a second stay for heavy-weather redundancy should note that the cockpit and deck hardware as built does not easily accommodate sheet tracks for a smaller storm sail without additional installation. For those restoring early boats to original specification, original plans from the Hood office have reportedly been preserved by Ted Fontaine, who can supply PDF drawings for boats from Hood's drawing board.
The Verdict
The Bristol 35.5 is exactly what it set out to be: a conservatively designed, genuinely well-built cruising sloop that offers smooth steady performance without asking its owner to accept poor craftsmanship or cramped quarters as the price of seaworthiness. Hood's pedigree in centerboard cruisers produced a hull that punches above its waterline length in light air, and Bristol's workforce produced an interior that holds up to decades of comparison with far newer boats. Dwight Webb, who had owned a string of boats before his 35.5C, called it simply the best boat he'd ever owned — the kind of unsolicited endorsement that tends to follow a boat through its entire secondhand life.
Pros
- Ted Hood centerboard design delivers genuine light-air speed from a moderate hull
- Solid fiberglass construction with traditional wood structural members; secondary bonding rarely fails
- Interior fit and finish reflects skilled individual craftsmanship; teak sole, real joinery
- Competitive IOR/IMS numbers against much-respected contemporaries
- Balsa-cored deck with through-bolted teak toerail; notably tight hull-to-deck joint
- Centerboard version opens up shoal-draft cruising without sacrificing offshore ballast ratios
Cons
- Two-cylinder Yanmar 2QM20H is underpowered; engine selection at purchase matters
- Early pre-modification centerboards require inspection; enclosed cable system is hard to service
- Engine access is poor — requires dismantling companionway steps for routine maintenance
- Full-length cockpit seats prevent sliding aft to the wheel; helmsman ergonomics are awkward
- No wet locker aft despite the boat's cruising ambitions
- Headsail selection is narrow: oversized jibs overpower the rig and blunt performance gains
