Nordhavn 35

Nordhavn 35 --> would like to hear from all that knows this vessel, and thoughts about 35-38 ft sized vessels for coastal cruising, great-loop, great lakes. Pro's/Con's, risk/benefits, would/wouldn't do?

There were really two versions of this boat, with the first N (not sure where it crossed over) hulls being slower:

Nordhavn 35

You may want to join the Nordhavn Dreamers group where there are many Nordie experienced people:

https://groups.io/g/NordhavnDreamers

If you want a small Nordie, the 40 would be a better choice if you can swing it:

Welcome to Nordhavn.com - Power Thats Oceans Apart

Best of luck!

JustBob
M/V Mahalo - Blog

The Nordhavn 35 was conceived as a semi-displacement coastal cruiser that could go 15kts on a Yanmar 370 hp engine. For reasons of weight, hull design and not enough power, it didn't do that.

It was later redesigned, prop tunnel? But it still didn't go 15 kts.

But as a tough, 7-8 kt displacement speed cruiser it is a nice boat. My neighbor had one and I liked it a lot, except for its Fisher Panda generator and that may have been a dealer decision.

David

A coastal cruiser built on passage making pedigree. Almost overbuilt for its purpose.

There are reasons it was a dismal failure for them. It lacks what Nordhavn buyers are looking for but it also lacks what none Nordhavn type buyers are looking for. Instead of meeting the needs of both groups, it really doesn't meet anyone's needs all that well.

BandB said:

There are reasons it was a dismal failure for them. It lacks what Nordhavn buyers are looking for but it also lacks what none Nordhavn type buyers are looking for. Instead of meeting the needs of both groups, it really doesn't meet anyone's needs all that well.

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It makes you wonder how their new 59 will fare.

Conrad said:

It makes you wonder how their new 59 will fare.

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Insightful. Although I give them kudos for trying something different.

I liked it. Certainly a failure as designed (lack of speed) but I bet all delusions of passagemaking grandeur aside, It probably is used the same as most 40's..

Conrad said:

It makes you wonder how their new 59 will fare.

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To my knowledge, it's not really fared much so far. Them seem to be building a lot of one offs.

Hordhvn also made a 48 I think. Something about more room in the engine room?
Mine was a 46. It was determined to be a constructive loss after falling off the jacks. The boat was bought, hole patched maybe re-powered and sailed for 3 more years. Somewhere I read it is up for sale again and the broker makes it clear the boat was reborn.
It was either the 35 or maybe a 40 that made the trip to Bermuda, in the company of a couple larger Norhavns. I read how they refueled from a larger Nordhavn via transferring fuel by garden hose. The object as to prove the smaller boat was seaworthy and reliable enough to make the trip.

Conrad said:

It makes you wonder how their new 59 will fare.

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The biggest problem with the 35 (IMHO) was that it was a small boat inside. It was built like a passage maker, but who would want to do a passage on such a small layout?

For 1/2 the cost, the Mainship 350/390 would suit 98-99%% of the market with more space.

Shrew said:

The biggest problem with the 35 (IMHO) was that it was a small boat inside. It was built like a passage maker, but who would want to do a passage on such a small layout?

For 1/2 the cost, the Mainship 350/390 would suit 98-99%% of the market with more space.

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Passage maker on the inside and coastal cruiser on the outside. Not a concept I'd expect to be well received.

It was the Nordhavn 40 in company with bigger Nordys that made the Bermuda crossing. The 35 couldn't possibly make that trip, not from a fuel standpoint or a passagemaker capability standpoint. The 35 was purely a coastal cruiser.

Not sure I would agree that the cabin space was compromised to make it a Nordy. The main salon was quite nice for a 35'er, maybe not as roomy as the Mainship 34T though. The forward cabin was very nice as well. It also has a nice squat down engine room (not stand up but it sure beats a lot of them).

Early 2000 models are selling for the upper $200Ks. That is more than double the price of Mainships of the same era.

David

I have no experience but I'm cutting and pasting a question answereed by member N4061 who has had several boats including a N35. Everything below is quoted from others:
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Originally Posted by South of Heaven
OP: I noticed you had the N35 as one of your previous boats. How did you like it (in a quick nut shell, sorry for getting off the thread topic)?



Great question, we purchased the second to last N35 built with only 800hrs on the Yanmare. From an appearance perspective the boat looked great except for some serious stress cracks in the aft deck which were determined cosmetic but didn't look nice. The exterior styling of the boat in our opinion is awesome and still a favorite on mine. The downside of this model is interior room (very small), poor performance (the boat design never met its intended specifications), engine noise levels were very high (not what we expected for a Nordy) and an unfinished engine room (accessibility was good). We ran into numerous mechanics issues including a overheated stuffing box which after one year we couldn't dial in. Boats were built in the Taiwan yard and had good interior finish. Overall my opinion is that there are other boats available in this LOA which offer more for the dollar.

djmarchand said:

It was the Nordhavn 40 in company with bigger Nordys that made the Bermuda crossing. The 35 couldn't possibly make that trip, not from a fuel standpoint or a passagemaker capability standpoint. The 35 was purely a coastal cruiser.

Not sure I would agree that the cabin space was compromised to make it a Nordy. The main salon was quite nice for a 35'er, maybe not as roomy as the Mainship 34T though. The forward cabin was very nice as well. It also has a nice squat down engine room (not stand up but it sure beats a lot of them).

Early 2000 models are selling for the upper $200Ks. That is more than double the price of Mainships of the same era.

David

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The 40, while much more seaworthy than the 35, was undersized for that trip as well.

Didn't they circumnavigate the globe in a 40 ?

BandB said:

Passage maker on the inside and coastal cruiser on the outside. Not a concept I'd expect to be well received.

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But interestingly, they built a fair number of them (30-40 IIRC), they don't come up for sale very often, and when they do they go fast. So they apparently hit some segment correctly.

And on the 59CP, 2 are in owners hands with enthusiastic feedback. That's doing better than I expected.

djmarchand said:

It was the Nordhavn 40 in company with bigger Nordys that made the Bermuda crossing. The 35 couldn't possibly make that trip, not from a fuel standpoint or a passagemaker capability standpoint. The 35 was purely a coastal cruiser.

Not sure I would agree that the cabin space was compromised to make it a Nordy. The main salon was quite nice for a 35'er, maybe not as roomy as the Mainship 34T though. The forward cabin was very nice as well. It also has a nice squat down engine room (not stand up but it sure beats a lot of them).

Early 2000 models are selling for the upper $200Ks. That is more than double the price of Mainships of the same era.

David

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Even the 46 had a squat down engine room. My AT34 has a much nicer squat down engine room. The access hatches allow one to stand up to turn around. I dont miss the engine room of the Nordhavn one bit.

The 35 seemed like a great idea. Its should have been a good way for Nordhavn to gererate future sales for their bigger boats. Their marketing research probably showed that most of the buyers of their boats were moving up from a 35 foot coastal boat. The people who would buy an upscale, well built 35 are their perfect target demographic.

I bet their were some very lively discussions between marketing and engineering while they were designing it!!!