Southern Cross 35 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used Southern Cross 35 means weighing a small, distinctive cohort of Thomas Gillmer–designed cruisers built by C. E. Ryder Corp. from 1978 onward, with fewer than 100 completed and a portion delivered as buyer-finished "Gilmer 35" shells lacking the factory Navtec rod rigging. These are heavy, offshore-minded 35-foot canoes-stern cutters with a modern fin-and-skeg underbody, and the used Southern Cross 35s that appear typically do so in the United States.
Layouts on the Used Market
The as-built interior is consistent across factory boats: a U-shaped galley to starboard, full-size chart table to port with a large wet locker ahead of it, twin saloon settees around a sole-mounted table, and a forward cabin with a V-berth long enough for a 6-foot 2-inch owner plus drawers, a hanging locker, and plywood shelves. The head with handheld shower sits forward to port. Gilmer 35 hulls finished by their buyers may vary in joinery and systems, but the core volume and white-oak-with-teak interior character remain the reference point. Molded-plastic water tanks sit under the settees, and the deep bilge follows the wineglass sections down to a fiberglass fuel tank.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used fleet, lithium batteries and a bimini are commonly fitted additions rather than original equipment, useful signals that a particular boat has been brought up to date for cruising. The original sail plan on factory hulls used Navtec rod rigging with a high-aspect cutter rig; Gilmer 35 boats will not have that system. Period-correct details such as the two-bladed or three-bladed propeller and the later narrowed skeg are worth noting but are not upgrade categories in themselves. The original engine is a 30-horsepower Universal or Yanmar.
What to Inspect
Documented problem areas are narrow but specific. The plywood dorade boxes may deteriorate with age, so check for softness or rot at those vents. The mast may corrode where it rests on the stainless-steel mast step after several years, and a practical remedy is cutting a few inches off the mast and raising the step on an epoxy-glass pad. Confirm which propeller configuration a given hull carries — early feathering props that caused vibration were swapped for fixed three-bladed units, and later hulls reverted to two-bladed with a thinner skeg — since the three-bladed version sheds nearly a knot of sailing speed.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Typical brokerage availability is concentrated in the United States. Because production was under 100 and the model closed out Ryder's series before the company closed in 1990, patience is part of the search.
- Verify factory SC 35 versus Gilmer 35 (Navtec rig absent on the latter)
- Inspect plywood dorade boxes and mast-step corrosion closely
- Note propeller history and its effect on sailing speed
- Expect lithium batteries and bimini as common, not original, fittings
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Southern Cross 35. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25 | 1 | $ 32,000 | — |
| May 26 | 1 | $ 49,000 | +53.1% |
Where they're listed
Southern Cross 35 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 2.
Country view
2 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 40,500 | 2 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dufour 35 | 35.25' | $ 30,000 | 27 | 6 |
| Tradewind 35 | 35.01' | $ 60,650 | 22 | 5 |
| Hinterhoeller Niagara 35 | 35' | $ 25,000 | 15 | 5 |
| CS 33 | 32.67' | $ 21,764 | 13 | 4 |
| Nicholson Nicholson 35 | 35.25' | $ 41,371 | 10 | 3 |
| Southern Cross 35You are here | — | $ 40,500 | 2 | 1 |