Records identify 128 hulls from the production run, while another estimate puts the total at roughly 200. The Fuji remains a recognizable traditional cruiser on both sides of the Pacific.
Design and Construction
The Fuji 35 is a full-keel, heavy-displacement ocean cruiser. It displaces 16,302 pounds, carries 5,500 pounds of ballast, and has a beam of just 10 feet. Those proportions give it a long, sleek, narrow profile rather than a beamy one.
The solid hull is built from hand-laid fiberglass and insulated with polyurethane. The long keel has a slightly cutaway forward end, which improves maneuverability in close quarters without giving up the directional stability of a traditional full keel.
The deck is solid fiberglass. All fittings are bronze or stainless steel, and the coach-roof grabrails are teak. Some boats left the yard with wooden masts and booms; others carried white-painted aluminum spars. Period reviews praised the craftsmanship inside and out, particularly the high-quality teak joinery that gives the boat its classic, elegant character.
Rig, Sailing, and Handling
Fuji offered the 35 as a standard ketch or an optional cutter. The ketch carries a smaller mainmast, a mizzenmast in the cockpit, and a staysail. Instead of relying on one taller mast, it offers more sail combinations and greater trimming flexibility. The cutter uses a single mast, simplifying handling and reducing windage.
Some boats were fitted with a self-tending staysail, which owners report makes short-handed sailing far less demanding. All lines lead aft for practical deck work, and the helm is responsive.
Owners say the boat tracks flawlessly in heavy air and commendably when the breeze slackens. Test sailors found it stable and stiff, with excellent righting capability if capsized, and judged it best suited as a heavy bluewater cruiser. They also considered it heavy and underpowered under sail, so it isn’t a light-air sprinter.
The original engines drove the boat at about seven knots under power.
Cockpit and Accommodations
The cockpit is roomy enough for six and has a teak sole, varnished coamings, and lockers beneath the benches and helm seat. A bridgedeck helps keep seas out of the companionway. Owners also value the dry, well-coamed cockpit, though the ketch’s mizzenmast and pedestal wheel take up useful space.
Below, the interior is finished in warm, varnished teak. A forward V-berth sleeps two, the saloon settees accommodate three more, and a starboard aft quarter berth brings total sleeping capacity to six. Saloon headroom is a generous 6 feet 3 inches.
At the foot of the companionway, the galley lies to port and includes a stainless steel sink, an icebox, and a gimbaled kerosene stove with an oven. A pullout navigation station sits opposite. Farther forward, a hanging locker and the head occupy the port and starboard sides.
The freshwater system holds 60 gallons beneath the cabin sole, with another 26 gallons in a port-side tank under the V-berth. Wastewater capacity is 30 gallons.
Machinery, Refits, and Ownership
Most boats were delivered with a 36-horsepower Perkins 4107 diesel. A smaller number were delivered with Westerbeke engines, and many owners have since repowered with a Yanmar.
Owners value the Fuji 35 for its straightforward maintenance and repair, as well as its ability to handle rough seas and strong winds.
Known Issues
The main documented vulnerability is the deck. Water can enter and delaminate the Fuji 35’s deck structure, so this area deserves careful attention during a survey.
Otherwise, the solid hull and bronze-or-stainless fitting specification have aged as built.
The Verdict
The Fuji 35 is a genuinely traditional Alden cruiser, and it behaves like one: narrow, heavy, steady, and seaworthy. Its teak-rich accommodations have also worn well.
It isn’t a light-air sprinter, and the deck’s tendency toward water intrusion demands a careful survey. For a small crew looking for offshore character in a 35-foot package, however, it remains a considered choice.
Pros
- Traditional Alden lines with a clear schooner influence
- Solid, hand-laid fiberglass hull
- High-quality teak interior
- Flawless tracking and stiff behavior in heavy weather
- Choice of a flexible ketch rig or a simpler cutter arrangement
Cons
- Susceptible to water intrusion and deck delamination
- Heavy and underpowered under sail, according to testers
- Mizzenmast and pedestal wheel reduce cockpit space
