Design and Construction
The American naval architect Robert H. Perry drew the Cheoy Lee 35 in the late 1970s. It is a solid-fiberglass monohull with a fin keel and iron ballast.
The boat measures 34 feet 10 inches overall, with a 27-foot-1-inch waterline, an 11-foot-2-inch beam, and a draft of 5 feet 4 inches. That draft allows access to most marinas.
Its displacement-length ratio of 322 places the design in the “heavy cruisers” category. A 36-percent ballast ratio and a length-to-beam ratio of 3.12 give it a moderately narrow, seakindly footprint for its era.
Rig and Sail Plan
The Cheoy Lee 35 has a masthead rig and was offered in both sloop and ketch configurations. The sloop carries 565 square feet of sail, while the ketch increases that figure to 605 square feet.
Using an ISO 8666 reference sail, the sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 15.3. With a 135-percent genoa, it rises to 18.5. Its sail plan exceeds two-thirds of peer designs, making the boat slightly overrigged for its size.
Standing- and running-rigging dimensions are thoroughly documented, from a 105-foot mainsail halyard to a 34.8-foot genoa sheet, underscoring a conventional masthead setup with ample control-line specification. ### Performance Profile
The Cheoy Lee 35’s performance numbers suggest a steady, reassuring cruiser rather than a featherweight racer. Its capsize screening value is 1.84, and its Motion Comfort Ratio is 30.1. The theoretical hull speed for a displacement hull of this waterline length is 7.0 knots.
An immersion rate of about 1,052 pounds per inch means the boat settles predictably under load. Its wetted surface is roughly 333 square feet, consistent with a solid-glass, fin-keel hull in this class.
Verdict
The Cheoy Lee 35 is Robert Perry’s heavy-cruiser thinking in compact form. It combines solid-fiberglass construction, a fin keel with iron ballast, and a slightly overrigged masthead sail plan that favors stability and offshore manners over outright light-air acceleration.
Its low production run keeps it off the common brokerage radar, but the specifications describe a coherent, conservatively engineered small cruiser.
Pros
- Robert H. Perry design with a documented late-1970s pedigree
- Heavy-cruiser displacement-length ratio of 322 and a 36-percent ballast ratio, contributing to reassuring motion
- Choice of sloop or ketch rigs, with generous and well-documented sail area
- A 5-foot-4-inch draft, shallow enough for access to most marinas
Cons
- Fewer than 100 built, limiting fleet support and parts commonality
- No accommodation data published by authoritative sources
- Slightly overrigged relative to 66 percent of peers, implying heavier helm loads
