Hunter 35.5 Legend Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Hunter built the 35.5 Legend using its established method: solid laminate fiberglass hulls with an internal fiberglass grid system, while the deck is balsa cored with plywood reinforcing where deck fittings are attached. The deck and hull meet on an outward turning flange, with an aluminum toe rail bolted through the flange using stainless steel fasteners. This is a straightforward, conventional structure for its era, and the grid system gives the chainplates secure purchase — they sit well inboard with single deck entry points secured to that grid. The winged bulb keel draws only 4 feet 6 inches, and every 35.5 left the factory with that profile after the fin-keel option of the earlier 35 was dropped.

Rig and Handling

The fractional sloop rig carries a reported 569 square feet of sail area, and the tested 1993 example wore a 7/8 Isomat double-spreader mast with traditional wire rigging and a backstay. A split backstay allows easy tensioning of the forestay, while a solid vang supports the boom. From the factory the boat was equipped with the Dutchman flaking system on a fully battened main, and all halyards run internal in the mast, exiting through turning blocks at the base. Sail control lines lead aft to the cockpit through deck organizers beneath a removable fiberglass pan, with 4-gang line stoppers either side of the companionway feeding a pair of Andersen 40ST winches. The Harken furling drum sits below deck in the deep anchor locker. Under power, a 3-cylinder 27-horsepower Yanmar 3GM diesel sits tucked under the cockpit floor and turns a MaxiProp, through which prop walk in reverse is virtually non-existent. Owners report that the shallow-draft rudder can be at the edge of control when heeled excessively.

Accommodations

Below, the 35.5 Legend shows a low bridge deck that does not obstruct companionway passage and 6 feet 3 inches of headroom under an oiled teak interior. The cabin sole is teak and holly plywood fastened to the fiberglass grid. The v-berth forward is closed off by a double door arrangement, while the saloon centers on a table contoured to the settees and wrapped around the mast support. The L-shaped galley to port carries a deep double sink near the centerline in a J-shaped configuration, with a gimbaled two-burner Hillerange natural gas stove and oven and a substantial, well-insulated top-loading refrigerator beside it. The head compartment is to starboard of the companionway, with a small navigation table forward of it. The aft cabin, through a solid door aft of the galley, holds an athwartship berth of substantial size. Compared with the earlier 35, the 35.5 gained a larger dinette, larger head, and smaller navigation station, and its quarter-berth cabin offers more room to move about with a huge 7-by-5-foot athwartship berth rather than the fore-and-aft arrangement.

Known Issues

Two structural and systems weaknesses follow these boats. The factory aluminum holding tank, quoted at 14 gallons, is prone to internal corrosion, and the thin-gauge version used across the 35 and 35.5 line carries a practical life expectancy of around ten years. The balsa-cored deck is a second trouble spot: water penetration into the core is a documented potential, and on the 35.5 model the path where the jib furling lines run through the foredeck is a common and persistent source of that ingress.

The Verdict

The Hunter 35.5 Legend is a thoughtfully laid-out coastal cruiser whose shallow draft, deep T-shaped cockpit, and athwartship aft berth make it a practical owner's boat. The rig is easy to manage short-handed thanks to Dutchman flaking and cockpit-led controls, and the MaxiProp all but removes reverse prop walk. The aluminum holding tank and cored-deck penetration points are the two ownership watch items, but neither is unusual for the generation.

Pros