Decide between 35.5 and 37 Legend

[killdevildave]

Hi all,

Just moved to a canalfront cottage on the Outer Banks. I come from a small boat racing background (Hobies, Lightnings, windsurfers) and we're looking for our first shoal draft cruiser that will be used for weekending on the Albemarle-Pamlico-Chesapeake, and some weekly beer can racing. Considering a 37 Legend (88) and 35.5 (90). The 40.5 is definitely more boat than we want and the 35.5 feels a bit small but has some nice features. It's our first cruiser so it's all just perception but I know I'm not gonna be happy unless the boat can hold it's own around a course (PHRF numbers be damned, but you won't see any 6' fin keels in our side of the sound anyway). I've read-searched lots of posts here and they've been very helpful so far.

Question is whether the 35.5 could come close to matching performance of the 37 given similar upgrades (folding prop, tweeked sails, retuned and/or tunable rig, performance boom vang, other?)??? What say the experts?

Thanks,
Dave

 

[Pops]

Welcome to the Outer Banks. I'm guessing that you are in Collington Harbor. A HUGE consideration is draft. The channel out of Collington hasn't been dredged in a while, although they keep promising it will be soon. Once into the sound, most people head out to the closest mark "2kh" affectionately known as R2. Heading west from there the sailing area really opens up with great depths. It is a great area.

 

[killdevildave]

I'm guessing that you are in Collington Harbor.

Thanks Prankster. Yep, we're in Collington (just off the main harbor). You too? Not too concerned with 4'9", though with the occasional prolonged northeast blow I figure a lot of boats are challenged getting past the inlet. Perhaps a plus for the 4'6" draft of the 35.5, though the owner of the San Jaun 34 (5'3") in the neighborhood, Bryan, says it's all managable.

 

[Pops]

I live in Nags Head, but my boat is in the harbor. My H27 draws 4'6" and I have occasionally bumped in the entrance when not paying attention. Every year several stray to the North of the entrance and get to spend some quality time waiting for a tow off.

 

[Les]

Dave, Talk about being between the devil and a hard place, you just picked two boats that are fast. I had a 35.5 for five years and a 380 (same hull as 37) and both boats were fast. I raced the 35.5 and won more then my fair share of trophies including boat of the year in local competition. It is a fun boat to sail. However the 37 is also a fast boat.

Both boats are B&R rigged so don't try putting on a 150 genoa. I did and we went slower but a light weight drifter might be something you will want. We raced with both a spinnaker and an asymmetrical chute depending upon the weather.

I guess if I had to bet the farm I'd go with the 35.5. If you do go that way, call Hunter and ask if they have any more tapes of the 35.5 racing in some sort of a special cup. Match racing. Amazing movies.

Les

 

[Alan]

Les

Both the 35.5 and the earlier 37 were traditionally rigged sloops not B&R. None of the Legend series boats had B&R rigs. The distinction is that the B&R has diagonals on its mast whereas the 35.5 and 37 do not. Your 38 certainly does have a B&R rig on it.
As for the 155 genoa, I have three on my 35.5. We have a heavy weight kevlar triradial, a medium triradial and a light kevlar triradial as well as a blade kevlar 100 for the bigger weather. The 100 requires a set of inboard tracks and cars that are mounted on the coach roof inboard of the shrouds.
I have a trophy case full of silver and crystal from all the racing we've done. I can assure you that we would have had none of them if we didn't carry 155 overlapping genoas. Our light 155 is probably the most versatile and used the most.
We also have 2 asym kites that we fly off a retractable sprit and a half dozen symmetricals.

As for your choice to purchase, I am partial to the 35.5 but the 37 is a wonderful choice also. Let us know which you choose.

 

[Ed Schenck]

Draft, draft, and draft. Today we were stuck three times! With only a 4' 6" draft I am so glad my keel does not have a wing. We would be out there still instead of comfortably in the Myrtle Beach YC. I understand the problem, wanting to go fast to the mark requires a fin keel. There is so much skinny water on both coasts. We are headed for the Tampa area where you can go out three miles and still only have ten feet of water. What to do? Both boats are so similar and sail the same way. I would opt for the 37 just for the space. But I have a smaller racing centerboarder, my big boat is for cruising. I love the Legends, you can't go wrong.

 

[Les]

Alan, et al. Sorry I'm not buying either boat--Dave is doing the looking. I had the 35.5 and a 380. And you are correct, the 35.5 did not have a true B&R rig, even had a split backstay if I remember correctly. And you may be correct about using different genoas on your 35.5. Perhaps we just got a poorly designed sail. I do think your use of a light weight sail is smart. It is what we needed--what I call a drifter. But our 150 really didn't help us much.

But to the people on this thread, my 35.5 had a bulb wing keel and once I learned not to point with the rest of the fleet but to foot off, we drove them crazy by quite often beating them to the windward mark. Someone also wrote on this list that the bulb wing keels were slow downwind. Not our boat. That was our fastest point of sail. I had a lot of fun on that boat.

I'm going to have to get my pictures out on the 35.5. I always thought we had diagonals. Damn, memory is not that good anymore.

 

[killdevildave]

Sounds like either boat will be plenty fast with some eventual upgrading and training. Probably gonna try and go for the 37 we've been eyeing. Hope we can make a deal.

Speaking of struggling to windward with a shoal draft vessel. I can point higher at blazing speed with my powered up 6" heeled draft kiteboard than just about any other sailing toy-vessel I've been on. Not much cargo room but an amazing feeling.

There is a clean 1985 Irwin 34' Citation centerboarder (4'0" draft) right in my neighborhood that could be had for bout 1/2 to 2/3rds the price of either Legend. A perfectly adequate get you from A to B coastal vessel. A tiny part of me says take it and be happy. Another part says I'll just be wishin I got somethin bigger-faster-sleeker the whole time. Does anybody else go through this mental anquish when buying a boat??

 

[discovery1]

Hi there, had both boats and raced the dog out of them, the 37 or 37.5 are the best racing boats hunter ever made, the 35.5 is very close, I can help twikeing the 37.5 as i did just about everything you can inc removing the stainless back stay and replacing it with vectran.

 

[Alan]

YES!!

:danceid the same to mine and brought the Vectran forward through clutches to the primary winches to control backstay tension. At the masthead I added a flicker to keep the backstay clear of the roach of the main. Also added a jumper strut above the hounds to control headstay sag.
All of these were mighty improvements but nothing came close to the gains that the 6' custom fin keel got me.

 

[jim haynie III]

Reply Decide 35.5 & 37 Legend

I have a 1988 37 Legend which is exactly what you are looking at. It does NOT have B&R rig. Keel is winged and specs say it is 4'9" draft, but when you actually have it fully loaded and fuel and water you really have about 5'2" to consider so that is a draw back for your area. (I have sailed there often on other boats, but mine is in middle Chesapeake Bay). The big ADVANTAGE of the 37 over the 35 is that its traveller is down at the base of the main companionway in easy reach for a singlehander. On the 35 it is atop the companionway hatch and a long way to stretch. I chose my 37 for many many reasons, having tested out many models by many manufacturers. this is the one and only PERFECT boat for my needs, and it is probably the fastest thing that ever came out of Hunter's mill. But it is not perfect for all uses. I have sailed around Hatteras, circumnavigated the DelMarVa penensula, endured numerous storms including a knockdown (See SAIL Magazine, January 2008, page 32), and had lots of fun. Incidentally, the knockdown in a suddent hail-rich microburst did not break ANYTHIING, so you can't tell me Hunters are not tough boats--but i still would not set out for austrailia via the cape without some major improvements. This boat is roomy, fast, responsive, and easy to sail single handed, those were my needs and she does well. Hope you enjoy yours. wjh