Two weeks ago, at the Connecticut Spring Boat Show in Essex, we came across a brand new to North America that seemed to fit in as though it had been created specifically for the New England Downeast audience. But, in fact, it is a British design and built by the famous bespoke builder in the West of England Cockwells Marine.
Here’s our first look. The handsome 35-footer has a truly traditional, built-by-hand feel with a bright varnished transom, varnished rails all around, two varnished tables in the cockpit and you can even have the entire cabin finished in varnished teak.
The boat at the show had the cabin painted white and with a blue hull, gifted with a springy sheer, it looked seriously yacht-like, even for a 35-footer.
The 35 has a simple, functional layout with twin L-shaped settees in the cockpit with a stern door between them for access to the large swim platform aft.
The salon has the U-shaped dinette to port, the in-line galley to starboard and the helm seat forward. The actual helm is on the starboard side while the co-pilot’s bench is to port with an old-fashioned chart table. The steps to the cabins is between them. Note, there is a door next to the helm for easy access to the side decks when docking or going forward to drop the hook.
As a semi-custom cruiser, the Duchy 35 can have two configurations, and these too can be modified. In the two-cabin version, the galley is in the salon while in the one-cabin plan the galley is moved to cabin and the head supplied with a shower stall.
The Duchy 35 is represented in the US by Wellington Yacht Partners in Portsmouth Rhode Island and makes a sweet new addition to the Downeast fleet of cruisers.
