Design Brief & Intent
The core mission of the Cherokee 35 was to deliver a safe, fast, and habitable offshore cruising platform. In the early 1970s, the cruising catamaran market was bifurcated. On one side stood heavy, volume-centric cruising designs like those from Prout and Catalac, which prioritized maximum interior headroom and domestic comforts at the expense of sailing speed and windward efficiency. On the other side were light, narrow racing multihulls that were fast but easily overloaded and prone to capsize. The Cherokee 35 was engineered to occupy the middle ground. By keeping the hulls relatively slender with a length-to-beam ratio of roughly 7.8:1, Macalpine-Downie ensured the boat could slip through the water with minimal drag, while the 16.5-foot overall beam offered the stability and deck space needed for blue-water passages.
The interior of the Cherokee 35 showcases a bridge deck saloon philosophy that was highly innovative for the era. Rather than enclosing the entire platform in a towering, high-windage cabin house, the design utilizes a lower-profile coachroof to keep the center of gravity low and windage manageable. Inside, this translates to a bright, central saloon with panoramic visibility, while the galley, sleeping quarters, and navigation stations are set down in the hulls. Built with traditional British joinery, the bulkheads and interior fittings rely heavily on high-quality marine plywood and solid timber trim, creating a warm, shipshape aesthetic that avoids the sterile, all-plastic feel of contemporary production catamarans.
Variations & Configurations
While the overall mold remained consistent, the Cherokee 35 was produced with several key mechanical and layout variations over its production run. The standard interior arrangement features a three-cabin layout, typically configured with two double cabins aft, a single cabin or workspace forward, a down-galley in the starboard hull, and a large head and utility area in the port hull. Because many Sailcraft hulls were sold in varying stages of completion or customized by their original owners, variations in joinery finish and cabin configuration are common on the brokerage market.
Underneath, the Cherokee 35 features twin fixed bilge keels rather than the daggerboards found on the Iroquois series. These low-aspect twin keels draw just 3.5 feet, protecting the rudders and propellers while allowing the vessel to dry out completely flat on tidal moorings or sandy beaches.
The boat's propulsion options represent the greatest area of variation. The factory originally designed the boat around a single, centrally mounted diesel engine—frequently a Mercedes OM636—coupled to a dual-hydraulic pump system. This system piped pressurized hydraulic fluid to independent hydraulic motors and prop shafts in each hull, providing twin-screw maneuverability from a single, reliable powerhead. Some later models or owner-modified hulls departed from this complex hydraulic arrangement, utilizing instead a single outboard on a central cockpit sled or twin small conventional diesels with sail-drives mounted in the stern of each hull.
Sailing Performance & Handling
With a displacement of 11,100 pounds and a Displacement-to-Length ratio of 166.34, the Cherokee 35 is classified as a light-displacement cruising catamaran. This light weight, combined with a generous masthead sloop rig yielding a Sail Area-to-Displacement ratio of 19.77, makes the Cherokee 35 a highly responsive and gratifying boat to sail. Unlike modern, heavy "condo-cats" that require a stiff breeze to break single-digit speeds, the Cherokee 35 accelerates rapidly in light air and routinely maintains cruising speeds of 8 to 10 knots under full working sails in moderate conditions.
The boat's twin fixed bilge keels provide respectable lateral resistance. While they do not allow the Cherokee 35 to point as high into the wind as a daggerboard-equipped boat, they dramatically simplify tacking and reduce the risk of structural damage during a grounding. At the helm, the feedback is light and direct, owing to the skeg-hung rudders.
The Comfort ratio of 12.74 indicates the characteristic quick, high-frequency motion of early, light-displacement catamarans. Without the heavy ballast of a monohull, the Cherokee 35 responds to waves with rapid, jerky accelerations rather than slow rolls, though it remains completely upright. Upwind in a chop, the relatively low bridgedeck clearance can lead to pronounced slamming against the underside of the nacelle, which can be both noisy and tiring for the crew. Off the wind, however, the boat shines, tracking smoothly down waves without the rolling behavior that plagues monohulls of similar length. The Capsize Screening ratio of 2.96 indicates a high margin of static stability, though standard multihull safety protocols—namely reefing early in gusty conditions—remain essential to safe operation.
Known Issues & Triage
Prospective buyers must approach the Cherokee 35 with an understanding of its age and the structural conventions of 1970s British boatbuilding. Several high-signal areas require rigorous inspection:
- Balsa Core Decay: While the hulls below the waterline are solid GRP, the deck, coachroof, and bridgedeck structure utilize a balsa-core sandwich. Decades of exposure often lead to water intrusion around stanchions, handrails, hatch frames, and the mast step. Triage involves mapping the deck with a moisture meter and a sounding hammer to locate soft, delaminated areas. Repairing these sections requires removing the upper fiberglass skin, excavating rotten balsa, and replacing it with epoxy-bonded closed-cell foam or fresh balsa before glassing the skin back in place.
- Mast Beam Corrosion: Compression loads from the masthead rig are transferred to the hulls via a structural bridge beam. In the Cherokee 35, this beam is a mild-steel triangular box structure glassed into the bridgedeck. If rainwater or saltwater leaks down the mast collar or through the deck glands, water can pool against this steel beam. A structural surveyor must visually inspect this beam for heavy rust scaling, structural sagging, or separation from the fiberglass hull structures.
- Hydraulic Drive Deterioration: The single-engine hydraulic propulsion system, while ingenious, is a high-maintenance assembly. The high-pressure hydraulic lines degrade over time, leading to oil leaks, environmental hazards, and loss of thrust. Furthermore, finding replacement parts for the proprietary hydraulic pumps and motors is increasingly difficult. If the system is original, a full pressure test and seal replacement are necessary, though many owners choose to bypass this entirely by replacing the system with standard outboards or independent diesel engines.
- Bridgedeck Flex and Pounding Damage: Due to the low clearance of the bridgedeck nacelle, decades of pounding in heavy seas can stress the primary structural bulkheads. Inspectors should closely check the hull-to-deck joints and the main transverse bulkheads for structural bonding failure, fiberglass tearing, or stress cracking in the gelcoat.
Modernization & Upgrades
Many Cherokee 35 catamarans currently sailing have undergone or are undergoing extensive owner refits. Because the hulls are robustly built, they serve as an excellent canvas for modern cruising upgrades:
- Propulsion Retrofits: The most common major modernization project is the elimination of the old hydraulic drive system. Owners frequently remove the heavy central diesel engine and install twin high-thrust, long-shaft outboards on custom-built transom brackets. This reduces the vessel's overall weight, eliminates through-hull drag, and simplifies maintenance. Other owners have successfully retrofitted twin small, lightweight diesels with sail-drives directly into the stern compartments of each hull, or converted to modern electric pod drives powered by a central generator.
- Lithium and Solar Power Systems: The wide, flat cabin trunk of the Cherokee 35 provides an ideal surface for mounting rigid solar panels. Modern refits often include installing large solar arrays coupled to lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) house battery banks. This enables owners to run high-draw DC systems, such as 12V refrigeration, watermakers, and induction cooktops, completely eliminating the need for LPG gas on board.
- Transom Extensions: Some veteran owners have structurally extended the hulls by adding four to five feet of sweeping transom steps (sugar scoops). This modification not only makes boarding from a dinghy or swimming far easier, but it also increases the waterline length, improves buoyancy in the sterns, reduces hobby-horsing, and increases top-end hull speed.
The Verdict
The Cherokee 35 is an exceptional "retro" cruising catamaran that punches well above its weight in terms of seaworthiness, sailing performance, and value. Designed by one of the masters of early multihull design and built during an era of solid fiberglass hulls, it offers budget-conscious cruisers a legitimate blue-water capable platform that can be acquired for a fraction of the cost of a modern production catamaran. While its interior volume is tighter than modern "condo-cats" and its low bridgedeck clearance makes for a noisy ride in a head sea, its nimble handling, shallow draft, and ability to dry out flat make it a highly practical coastal and offshore cruiser. For buyers willing to tackle the structural and mechanical restoration of an aging GRP classic, the Cherokee 35 represents a timeless, capable investment in ocean-going freedom.
Pros
- Excellent sailing performance and light-air responsiveness compared to other cruising catamarans of its era.
- Shallow draft and beachability allow for easy exploration of shallow coastal waters and drying out on tidal flats.
- The 16.5-foot beam allows the vessel to fit into standard, more affordable monohull slip spaces.
- Solid fiberglass hull construction below the waterline offers high structural integrity and peace of mind.
- A classic, low-windage design that preserves an active "sailor's feel" at the helm.
Cons
- Low bridgedeck clearance leads to significant slamming and pounding when sailing directly into a chop.
- Aged balsa-core decks and cabin roofs are highly susceptible to water intrusion and core rot.
- The proprietary factory single-engine hydraulic drive system is complex, prone to wear, and difficult to source parts for.
- The mild-steel mast compression beam glassed into the bridgedeck requires diligent checking for rust and structural failure.
- Interior volume and headroom in the hulls are tighter than modern, wide-beam cruising catamarans.
