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 10.8-meter masthead sloop designed by Sparkman & Stephens, 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 Hughes 35 has a fin keel with a rudder on a skeg, a beam of 3.1 meters, a draft of 1.8 meters, and displaces 5443 kg. Aboard *Lady K Sailing*, the Hughes 35 is described as an IOR-rated boat featuring a tumblehome hull and a sail drive.5:14 The channel notes that a Hughes 35 and a Hughes 38 were purchased new in the late 1970s by friends at the Windsor Yacht Club, who raced them together for over two decades.0:58

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 sailboat selection, maintenance, and market analysis to help cruisers make informed decisions for their liveaboard journeys.

Seen 58 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Hughes 35 on video

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What broke, what changed

Gear aboard, as the crews told it

Moments from individual boats of this model that the fleet has filmed — one crew, one piece of kit, one day on the water. Not a review of the class, and not a count of anything.

  • ComparedSunbrellaweighed against Class 40

    The speaker noted that Class 40 boats lack Sunbrella awnings found on typical cruising boats.

    aboard Lady K Sailingseen April 20248:02

  • WorkingMonitor windvane

    Garrett relied on the wind vane for steering during his solo Pacific crossing.

    aboard Lady K Sailingseen January 20254:22

  • WorkingStarlink

    Cole used Starlink for communication and entertainment during her voyage.

    aboard Lady K Sailingseen April 20246:36

  • WorkingVictron

    The Victron monitor confirmed sufficient battery capacity during inverter testing.

    aboard Lady K Sailingseen October 202310:40

  • WorkingNavionics

    The crew uses Navionics to identify tide markers for strategic passage planning.

    aboard Lady K Sailingseen November 20181:13

Each line is one crew's account of their own boat. Another Hughes 35 may be fitted out entirely differently.

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$22,000Median 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.

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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
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Hunter Marine 35 Legend10.84 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA fractional sloop featuring a distinct blister coach roof and an optional shoal-draft wing keel for versatile cruising
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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
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Hunter Marine 35.5 Legend10.84 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA fractional sloop with a shallow-draft wing keel, designed as an updated evolution of the Legend 35
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Caliber Yachts 35 LRC10.90 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 1.37-metre draught cutter with a 46% ballast ratio, engineered for shoal-water access and offshore self-sufficiency
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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

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