BoatsHughes 35

Hughes 35

Masthead Sloop · Fin With Rudder On Skeg · First built 1977

A Sparkman & Stephens masthead sloop derived from design #2166, featuring a fin keel and skeg-mounted rudder

Designed by Sparkman & Stephens.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Ballast
Hull type
Fin With Rudder On Skeg

See her sail

The Hughes 35, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

Footage from Lady K Sailing

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

LivelySea-kindly

Her heavy displacement on a narrow beam gives 29 — a moderate, middle-of-the-road motion.

Comfort ratio 29
CoastalBluewater

1.81 — just under the 2.0 offshore line; her beam is modest for her weight.

Capsize screening 1.81
LightHeavy

305 — heavy for her waterline, built to carry stores and ride steadily.

Displacement / length 305
EasygoingPowered-up

15.4 — moderate power for her weight; steady, all-round performance.

Sail area / displacement 15.4
TenderStiff

45% of her weight is ballast — stiff, standing up well to her sails.

Ballast 45%

A capable cruiser that sits just inside the offshore line — coastal work with real passages in her.

What the fleet has seen

The Hughes 35, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Hughes 35 is a Sparkman, Stephens-designed masthead sloop with a fin keel and skeg-hung rudder, built by Hughes Boat Works Ltd. from 1977 onward. It is a variation of S&S design #2166, previously known as the North Star 1500 and built by North Star Yachts. The boat measures 10.8 meters LOA, with a 3.1-meter beam, 1.8-meter draft, and displaces 5443 kg.

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

The channels sailing this model, and where they were last seen.

Lady K SailingLady K Sailing provides data-driven insights into the used sailboat market, maintenance best practices, and vessel management through the crowd-sourced database Vesselbook.

Seen 39 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Hughes 35 on video

You NEED to Keep Your Boat Receipts. Here’s WhyDigitizing maintenance records and equipment receipts in Vesselbook creates a verifiable history that increases boat resale value.Lady K SailingAre Catamarans a Waste of Money? | Hot Take TuesdayLady K compares the utility of performance catamarans like Outremer against large, amenity-heavy cruising multihulls.Lady K SailingThe Boating Industry Is About to Change!Lady K and Nate launch Vesselbook, a free crowd-sourced database rating marine businesses by HIN-linked boat records.Lady K SailingTrue Crime Sailing - A Cruising Wife Vanishes in the BahamasLynette Hooker vanished from the Sea of Abaco on April 4, 2026; the U.S. Coast Guard investigation remains open.Lady K SailingHe Solo Sails a 39 Footer!A solo sailor refits a 2007 Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 39, replacing keel bolts and upgrading electrical systems.Lady K SailingCheap Sailboats: The Dream, The Deal, and The DisasterDeck core rot and loose keel bolts are the two deal-killers in sub-$15,000 sailboats.Lady K SailingWhy You Should Start a YouTube Channel NowA 50,000-subscriber sailing channel typically generates $5,000 monthly through a split of ad revenue and Patreon support.Lady K SailingWhy Would Anyone Want a Trimaran?The Dragonfly 36 costs $200,000 more than a Beneteau 40 but draws only 2 feet with the board up.Lady K SailingWhy Are Whales Sinking Sailboats?Orca attacks on sailboat rudders near Spain and Portugal have sunk multiple vessels since 2020.Lady K SailingWhy Most People Quit Living on a SailboatLiving on a boat requires accepting increased logistical effort and constant weather awareness in exchange for freedom.Lady K SailingFree Sailboat Living The Only Way It Actually WorksFive systems — anchoring, geography, solar, rain catchment, and private docks — make free liveaboard sailing work.Lady K SailingA $5,000 Sailboat Can Cost You $40,000 - Ep 371 - Lady K SailingA $5,000 sailboat's real cost breakdown: rigging, sails, engine, and deck repairs totaling $40,000.Lady K Sailing

What they go for

Market signal

Where the fleet has seen this model for sale, and the asking prices that came with it.

1seen sold
1channel weighed buying one
US$35,000Median asking

From the fleet's own footage — our observed signal, not broker listings.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions
Weights
Ballast / displacement
45.0%
Rig & sail area
Rig
Masthead Sloop
Ratios
SA / displacement
15.4
Displacement / length
304.8
Comfort ratio
28.7
Capsize screening
1.81
Hull speed
6.8 kn
Pounds / inch immersion
960
Hull
Hull type
Fin with rudder on skeg
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 1977
Designer
Sparkman, Stephens
Builder
Hughes Boat Works Ltd

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Westerly Yachts Ltd. Oceanquest 3510.81 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthAn Ed Dubois-designed cruiser sharing its proven hull with the Seahawk and Falcon, available in center or aft cockpit layouts
Deck Painting, Drainage, and That Engine Panel Cover1:32from Sailing Zephyr IV
S2 Yachts 35C10.72 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA short-lived 1986-1987 masthead sloop with a shallow 1.3-metre draft and a balanced 43% ballast ratio
Best Sailboat For Solo Sailing {Budget Liveaboard Cruiser} [Capable & Affordable 35' $ailboat]from Adventureman Dan
Herreshoff Manufacturing Newport 2910.84 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 1914 Nathanael Herreshoff design featuring a fin keel and gaff-rigged sloop sail plan for classic performance
Building Orca - Episode 13: Transom Planking0:30from Tips from a Shipwright
Contessa 3510.82 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA Doug Peterson-designed IOR One Ton racer that claimed the 1974 International One Ton Cup with her prototype Gumboots
BOAT TOUR - Erik Aanderaa's solo sailing MACHINE!0:49from Alluring Arctic
Hunter Marine 3610.95 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA masthead sloop with a 44% ballast ratio, designed for stable coastal cruising during a short early-eighties production run
#47 Investments to improve our life aboard!0:52from Sail Vessel Khalifa
Freedom Yachts 35 (Pedrick)10.79 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 1993 performance cruiser with a deep 1.98-metre draft and a spade rudder for responsive handling
This Boat Costs ALL of my Budget, But She's Ready to Go NOW! Freedom 35 Cat Ketch | Wildling Sailing0:46from Wildling Sailing

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Hughes 31A stretched and widened evolution of the North Star 1000, originally offered as a kit-built masthead sloopHughes 40A masthead ketch with a shallow 1.42m draft and heavy displacement, built to Sparkman & Stephens design #2134Hughes 38-2A T-shaped cockpit update to the Hughes 38-1, later marketed as the North Star 38Hughes 26A Sparkman & Stephens quarter-tonner designed for competitive racing and later adapted for cruisingHughes 38-3A Sparkman & Stephens masthead sloop featuring a revised deck layout with a longer coachroof and a skeg-mounted rudderHughes 38-1A Sparkman & Stephens design #1903 masthead sloop with hulls shared with the Hinckley 38

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Hughes 35, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Hughes 35

The newsletter

New boats, new stories. Every week, everywhere.

One email from the fleet — boats newly added, videos newly analysed. No noise.

Report an issue