Ed, I would be happy to share my thoughts on the Landfall 35 as we just bought ours at the start of the season. As you've likely found out, there are not many currently on the market and most are located on the US East Coast or the Great Lakes. When we started to shop for a replacement for our C&C 25, the Landfall 35 seemed to check all the boxes of what we were looking for in a mid size cruiser. We wanted a draft below 5' due to the location of our mooring, standing headroom up to 6', diesel power, stability and a good sea motion in the short chop of Buzzards Bay, pressure hot and cold water, and enough storage and room for a family of 4 to cruise for up to a week. There are two distinct layouts of the Landfall 35 and ours is the more "traditional" with a standard V Berth, Head to starboard, main salon settees and dining table, U-shaped galley starboard, quarter berth to port. The "Couples Cruiser" was the other layout, and you can see the difference in the sales brochures listed on Stu's website. The boat is very roomy down below and the cockpit can easily hold 6-7 adults for entertaining once the sails have been lowered. Some of the pluses we've found are: 1. Good layout for single handing or a couple. Sail controls are all within reach of the helmsman and with lazy jacks or other mainsail control system, sails can be handled without leaving the cockpit 2. Quality woodwork and joinery. Doors and cabinets still operate smoothly even after 33 years. Hardware is sturdy. All of the Landfall 35s were built in Rhode Island. 3. Dual anchor roller/stem fitting. When you need two anchors deployed, each has its own roller. On the down side, the stem fitting has closed chocks for dock lines and mooring lines, located adjacent to the anchor roller. Not only does this limit the size of your mooring lines, since a soft eye must pass through the chock, but if you keep the boat on a mooring, be cautious that mooring lines won't chafe on the anchor. 4. Nice roomy cockpit with large drains. 5. Very light and responsive steering without needing an overly large wheel. This translates to more space in the cockpit. 6. Huge starboard lazarette for sail (or small child) storage. We currently store a small Honda generator, spinnaker, spare sheets, stern grill, washdown hose, several buckets with sponges, emergency tiller and a bunch of spares in the locker and there's still a ton more room.. 7. While not a racing boat, it seems to be responsive to minor sail adjustments and can sail to hull speed and beyond in 10-15kts of breeze.
There are trade-offs, and these are the downsides we've found: 1. Engine access is tough. Servicing the Yanmar 3HM is made more difficult by the use of a V-Drive transmission that places the engine backwards in the hull. As such, the fuel system, filters, belts, and the like must be reached through an access panel alongside the quarter berth or through the sail locker in the cockpit. I've yet to attempt an oil change on my own, but fear that may be challenging at best since even the dipstick is difficult to reach and impossible to see. 2. Traveler just forward of the pedestal cuts the cockpit in half. This isn't as big a deal as one would think though. Sure, it means that the mainsheet is ALWAYS somewhat in the way and going off the breeze, the mainsheet tends to get in the way of trimming the Jib or A-Sail. At anchor, we simply move the traveler car to one side of the cockpit so we can use our Edson Luncheon table that attaches to the pedestal guard. 3. No chart storage area beneath the Nav Station. Every larger boat I've sailed on had a Nav Station where charts and charting tools could be stored below the surface of the chart table. There's ample storage drawers for small items, but not for charts. 4. The entire deck drains through two scuppers, one on either side of the boat located aft of midships. If anything on deck washes aft (seagull droppings, sand, seaweed from mooring lines or anchor), the debris goes into the scupper, which can easily clog as it is not directly routed down to a through hull. If we took water over the bow of the boat, it would take some time for the entire deck to drain through two 1" hoses, and even longer if those drains were partially clogged with debris. Most C&C Yachts had slotted toe rails that allow the deck to drain easily. The raised teak toe rails on the LF 35 also don't allow for a Barber Hauler or snatch blocks to be attached at the rail without doing so at a stanchion base (not my favorite place for a load bearing block). 5. Fair upwind performance. The long, shallow keel isn't great for sailing close to the wind, especially in light air. Perhaps with a 150 genoa, but not with our 135 which seems to be the standard jib for the boat. 6. Bad prop walk to port in reverse. The boat has a mind of its own until you get enough momentum for the rudder to take effect, but the first several yards pulling out of a slip or away from a dock can be panicky at best. Of course, the "experts" tell you to put the wheel hard over to starboard to keep the boat moving straight in reverse. However, once the rudder "bites", finding a sweet spot with steering and throttle to keep the boat moving straight or to maneuver around a piling takes plenty of practice. Feel free to contact me off line if you'd like to discuss the boat. Best regards, Chuck Gilchrest S/V Half Magic 1983 Landfall 35 Padanaram, MA [email protected] -----Original Message----- From: CnC-List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Edward del Val via CnC-List Sent: Monday, August 22, 2016 8:30 PM To: [email protected] Cc: Edward del Val <[email protected]> Subject: Stus-List C&C Landfall 35 Inquiry Hi. Just joined the list as someone who is considering purchasing a C&C Landfall 35 in the next year or so. While I've done a bit of research on this boat and have sailed on some C&Cs in my past, I've never sailed on the Landfall nor have I physically hopped aboard one. Does anyone know someone with a Landfall 35 in the Portland, OR area or up in Seattle? It would be great to come check out the design so that my wife and I can decide if this boat will meet our needs. Thanks! Ed Edward James del Val Composition Instructor English Department Mt. Hood Community College 503-491-7512 _______________________________________________ This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All Contributions are greatly appreciated! _______________________________________________ This list is supported by the generous donations of our members. If you like what we do, please help us pay for our costs by donating. All Contributions are greatly appreciated!
