Cal 35 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used Cal 35 means weighing a 1979-vintage Lapworth-Jensen cruiser-racer that almost 100 boats were built in the early 1980s, with a Mark I and revised Mark II interior. She is an American fiberglass boat from Cal Yachts, now out of production, and the documented issues are specific enough that a careful survey can screen them without rejecting the model outright.
Layouts on the Used Market
Two interior generations reach the brokerage market. The Mark I places the head with shower on the port side at the bottom of the companionway steps, galley aft, and sleeping accommodation forward. The Mark II revises this with the head forward on the starboard side just aft of the bow V-berth, a port-side galley with a three-burner alcohol-fired stove and oven, a quarter berth aft, two settee berths in the saloon, and a substantial platform double in the forepeak; an aft double berth to starboard was optional. Both share a drop-leaf saloon table that replaced a mast-mounted original, six opening ports plus an overhead hatch, and a dorade vent over the head.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market an EPIRB is commonly fitted, while air conditioning, hot water, dinghy davits, autopilot, and chartplotter are often seen. Solar, inverter, spinnaker or asymmetric spinnaker, freezer, bimini, dodger,the swim platform, and radar are less commonly seen and usually reflect owner upgrades rather than standard spec. The boat herself carries a Universal 32-hp diesel, masthead sloop rig with aluminium spars, two-speed genoa winches, two halyard winches, and a boom vang with 4:1 advantage as baseline equipment.
What to Inspect
Documented known issues should drive the survey. The standard forepeak hatch leaks, and the icebox icebox is large but not well-insulated. One owner reported major water ingress from the anchor locker drains and the cutless bearing strut mounting, so those paths deserve a hose test major water due to the design of her anchor locker drains. Later hulls built in Tampa after 1982 drew owner reports of blistering and other problems, making build location and date material to hull condition boats built later in Tampa had blistering. The original mainsheet arrangement used two travelers and was judged over-complicated, and several owners relocated the pedestal four inches forward with a 36-inch wheel replacing the 28-inch standard — check whether that refit was done. No owner reported deck leaks despite the plywood-cored top, so the hull-to-deck joint is comparatively safe.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The used Cal 35 typically appears in the United States and Mexico. A short buyer checklist: confirm Mark I versus Mark II layout for your plans; test anchor-locker drains and cutless-bearing strut for ingress; inspect the forepeak hatch and any Tampa post-1982 hull for blistering; verify icebox insulation and mainsheet-traveler simplicity; and note the wheel/pedestal refit as a common improvement.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Cal 35. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 4 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 25 | 1 | $ 21,900 | — |
| Sep 25 | 1 | $ 21,900 | 0.0% |
| Apr 26 | 4 | $ 21,900 | 0.0% |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $ 25,000 | +14.2% |
Where they're listed
Cal 35 listings appear across 2 countries. United States has the most listings with 4 (80.0%), followed by Mexico.
Country view
5 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 21,900 | 4 | 0 | 80.0% |
| Mexico | $ 39,900 | 1 | 1 | 20.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beneteau First 35 | 35.17' | $ 55,659 | 51 | 19 |
| J-Boats J/35 | 35.5' | $ 22,250 | 22 | 4 |
| CAL 31 | 31.5' | $ 10,500 | 18 | 9 |
| CAL 33 | 32.67' | $ 24,900 | 13 | 11 |
| CAL 35You are here | — | $ 21,900 | 6 | 2 |
| Baltic 35 | 34.83' | $ 66,715 | 3 | 1 |