Writing in Yachting Monthly, veteran tester James Jermain rated the 35S as “the best cruising yacht of her times,” a verdict based on a blend of seakeeping, handling, and liveaboard accommodation that held up both at sea and at anchor.
Design and Construction
Zaal gave the 35S a powerful hull with relatively full sections compared with many modern racer-cruisers. Its moderate displacement-to-length ratio of 249 provides reasonable cruising speed without chasing the ultralight end of the market.
The structure itself is solidly built and very well finished in the period-review sense. The hull and deck are laminated from chopped strand mat, cloth, and woven roving over end-grain balsa cores. Conyplex assembled the hull and deck as a unit before building the interior—the reverse of usual practice.
The hull-to-deck joint is through-bolted and glassed over with at least seven layers of cloth. It is raised clear of a teak rubrail and stainless strip, which protects the seam. Hardwood stringers and floors are fiberglassed to the hull for rigidity, and every boat left the yard with a Lloyd’s certificate confirming that it had been built under the agency’s rules.
The propeller shaft exits through a solid log rather than a strut. This adds some wetted surface but earned praise for its strength. A full skeg carries the rudder, a sensible cruising arrangement provided the skeg is well tied to the hull.
Rig, Keel, and Handling
The 35S has a conventional masthead sloop rig with double spreaders and a high-aspect mainsail, and it can carry large genoas when conditions call for them. The test boat had a fully battened mainsail with a Dutchman flaking system and a Profurl furling headsail.
Under mainsail and a #2 furling genoa, the boat proved well balanced. Hard on the wind, the crew could leave the Whitlock wheel unattended with little tendency for the boat to round up, and she tacked through roughly 85 degrees. In 12 to 15 knots on a reach, she made about seven knots; beating in calm bay water, she made about six. Yachting Monthly credited her with exemplary heavy-weather handling while also finding a reasonable turn of speed in lighter air.
Buyers could choose a fin or winged keel. The wing version was tank-tested at the Marin Institute in the Netherlands and reduced draft by 1 foot 4 inches compared with the standard fin.
Cockpit and Accommodation
The molded cockpit coaming continues the cabin line aft and provides excellent back support, though its appearance may be an acquired taste.
Below, the 35S has an all-wood, built-up interior rather than molded fiberglass pans. Marine-grade plywood furniture is fiberglassed to the hull, providing access and warmth. The saloon includes a 6 foot 6 inch settee to port and an L-shaped settee to starboard. With their standard lee-cloths, both make good sea berths. Headroom decreases from 6 foot 3 inches aft to 6 foot 1-1/2 inches forward.
The forward cabin is large but low, with 6 foot 7 inch V-berths, shelves on both sides, and only 5 foot 11 inches of headroom. A double stateroom beneath the cockpit has a separate access door for each occupant.
The navigation station is large enough to spread a once-folded chart, and Yachting Monthly singled out the huge chart table. The head is aft to port beneath the bridge deck, with direct access from the aftercabin.
The galley is small, with little preparation space, and the builder acknowledged that the icebox is small by U.S. standards. Dutch tiles around the galley add a period styling note, although the hull inside many lockers was only spray-painted.
Known Issues
The wet locker aft of the head is difficult to reach, limiting its usefulness for dripping gear. Restricted galley counter space and the small icebox are recurring complaints, while the forward cabin’s 5 foot 11 inch headroom may discourage taller sailors from spending much time there.
Finish inside the stowage compartments also falls short of the crafted joinery elsewhere, with spray-painted hull surfaces inside many lockers.
Machinery and Ownership
Original auxiliary power came from a 28-hp Volvo diesel. It was well insulated and fitted with a flexible drive coupling to reduce vibration. The test boat’s three-bladed propeller sacrificed a little sailing performance in return for manageable handling when backing out of slips.
The skeg-hung rudder and solid-log propeller shaft are robust cruising details worth preserving, and the Lloyd’s certificate provides a useful baseline for a survey. With only 42 boats built, the 35S is a scarce find. At any transfer of ownership, careful attention to the teak rubrail joint and skeg attachment is warranted.
The Verdict
The Contest 35S is a thoughtfully engineered small cruiser from a builder accustomed to Lloyd’s-certified construction. It combines a powerful hull, a well-balanced rig, and a warm wooden interior. The boat handles heavy weather with aplomb and remains manageable short-handed, although the galley and forward-cabin headroom reflect European priorities of the 1980s rather than American liveaboard expectations.
Pros
- Solid, Lloyd’s-certified construction with a through-bolted and glassed hull-to-deck joint
- Well-balanced, easily steered rig with strong performance in light and heavy air
- Full-skeg rudder and solid-log propeller shaft for cruising robustness
- Warm, built-up plywood interior with good sea berths and a private aft stateroom
Cons
- Small galley with limited counter space and a small icebox
- Forward-cabin headroom of only 5 foot 11 inches
- Difficult-to-access wet locker aft of the head
- Spray-painted hull surfaces inside many lockers
