Design and Intended Use
This is a performance multihull rather than a cruising platform. The 35-foot class length belies a 46-foot overall hull, with a 20.67-foot beam and a 35.5-foot waterline that supports a hull speed of just under eight knots. The boat was expressly designed for Swiss lake sailing, where steady breeze is often light and a responsive, easily driven hull matters more than offshore range. Sebastien Schmidt's approach delivered a monster of a boat that does not need foils to be exciting and give high performance, as Multihulls World found. The one-design format keeps the fleet close, emphasizing crew skill over equipment arms races.
Weight and Sail Plan
The numbers tell the story of a stripped racing machine. Ready-to-sail weight is just 1,200 kg, and maximum crew weight is capped at 456 kg, a tight envelope that forces disciplined loading. Downwind sail area reaches 212 m², an enormous cloth load for the displacement and a clear indication of how the boat is meant to be driven. With a fractional sloop rig and daggerboards, the Decision 35 is built to accelerate rather than to carry provisions. The class does not pretend to be a voyager; it is a lake racer with a massive sail-to-weight ratio.
Racing Life and Behavior
The one-design class has been actively racing since at least 2005, when the Decision 35 “Alinghi” helmed by two-time America's Cup winner Ernesto Bertarelli held a front-running position on the circuit. By 2017 the circuit ran eight events with eight particularly sharp teams, a sign of a small but committed fleet. On the water the boat demands respect: in winds ranging from 5 to 20 knots, the race committee has insisted on one reef being taken in, showing that even in modest air the power is enough to require depowering.
Construction and Configuration
Decision SA built the hulls and deck in solid fiberglass, with a catamaran hull type and spade rudders paired to daggerboard keels. The 10.08-foot maximum draft of the boards places the boat firmly in lake and inshore territory rather than shallow cruising grounds.
The Verdict
The Decision 35 is a focused one-design catamaran that delivers foiling-class excitement without the foils, at a weight and sail area that reward fit, attentive crews. It is a specialist lake racer, not a general-purpose cruiser, and its value lies entirely in the tightness of the class and the thrill of its acceleration.
Pros
- Exceptional power-to-weight as a 1,200 kg racer with 212 m² downwind
- High performance without foils, per Multihulls World
- Active one-design racing since 2005 with a defined circuit
Cons
- Strictly a light-air lake racer, not suited to offshore or cruising use
- Crew weight limited to 456 kg, restricting onboard capacity
- Requires reefing even in 5–20 knot breeze, demanding active handling
