Design and Construction
Robert H. Perry, the American naval architect, drew the Cheoy Lee 35 in the late seventies, and the hull is a solid fiberglass monohull with a fin keel carrying an iron ballast. The boat's length overall is 34 feet 10 inches, with a 27-foot-1-inch waterline, an 11-foot-2-inch beam, and a draft of 5 feet 4 inches that lets it slip into most marinas. At a displacement-length ratio of 322, the design falls into the "heavy cruisers" category, paired with a 36-percent ballast ratio and a length-to-beam ratio of 3.12 that gives it a moderately narrow, seakindly footprint for the era.
Rig and Sail Plan
The Cheoy Lee 35 is built with a masthead rig and was offered in both sloop and ketch configurations. The sloop carries 565 square feet of sail area, while the ketch expands that to 605 square feet. With an ISO 8666 reference sail, the sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 15.3, rising to 18.5 with a 135-percent genoa, and its sail plan exceeds two-thirds of peer designs, marking it as 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 paint the picture of a steady, reassuring cruiser rather than a featherweight racer. Its capsize screening value is 1.84 and the Motion Comfort Ratio is 30.1, while the theoretical hull speed for a displacement hull of this length is 7.0 knots. The immersion rate of about 1,052 pounds per inch means the boat settles predictably under load, and the wetted surface of roughly 333 square feet is consistent with a solid-glass fin-keel hull in this class.
The Verdict
The Cheoy Lee 35 is a Robert Perry heavy-cruiser expression in compact form: 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 specs show a coherent, conservatively engineered small cruiser.
Pros
- Robert H. Perry design with documented late-seventies pedigree
- Heavy-cruiser displacement-length ratio (322) with 36% ballast ratio for reassuring motion
- Sloop or ketch rig options with generous documented sail area
- Shallow-enough 5-foot-4-inch draft for most marina access
Cons
- Under 100 built, limiting fleet support and parts commonality
- No published accommodation data from authority sources
- Slightly overrigged relative to 66% of peers, implying heavier helm loads
