bristol 35 sailboat review

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• Sailboat Guide

Bristol 35 is a 34 ′ 7 ″ / 10.6 m monohull sailboat designed by John G. Alden and Clifford Swaine and built by Bristol Yachts between 1966 and 1978.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Alden design #1000. Clifford Swain, who drew the lines for this yacht, was chief designer for the Alden firm at this time. Available with standard or dinette interior (shown here). (Thanks to ‘Snurrbart’, for providing updated information.) Keel/CB version: BU: 3.75’; BD: 9.0’ Also available as a yawl. I: 38.66’ J: 13.55’ P: 33.92’ E: 15.60’ PY:17.00’ EY: 6.75’ Total SA: 584 sq.ft.

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BRISTOL 35.5 Detailed Review

If you are a boat enthusiast looking to get more information on specs, built, make, etc. of different boats, then here is a complete review of BRISTOL 35.5. Built by Bristol Yachts and designed by Dieter Empacher, the boat was first built in 1978. It has a hull type of Fin with rudder on skeg and LOA is 10.82. Its sail area/displacement ratio 15.89. Its auxiliary power tank, manufactured by Yanmar, runs on Diesel.

BRISTOL 35.5 has retained its value as a result of superior building, a solid reputation, and a devoted owner base. Read on to find out more about BRISTOL 35.5 and decide if it is a fit for your boating needs.

Boat Information

Boat specifications, sail boat calculation, rig and sail specs, auxillary power tank, accomodations, contributions, who designed the bristol 35.5.

BRISTOL 35.5 was designed by Dieter Empacher.

Who builds BRISTOL 35.5?

BRISTOL 35.5 is built by Bristol Yachts.

When was BRISTOL 35.5 first built?

BRISTOL 35.5 was first built in 1978.

How long is BRISTOL 35.5?

BRISTOL 35.5 is 8.38 m in length.

What is mast height on BRISTOL 35.5?

BRISTOL 35.5 has a mast height of 12.42 m.

Member Boats at HarborMoor

Published on July 29th, 2020 | by Editor

Affordable Cruising Sailboats

Published on July 29th, 2020 by Editor -->

Practical Sailor reviews nine used boats over 35 feet and under $75,000.

In a search for a budget cruiser, Practical Sailor examined a field of used sailboats costing less than $75K and built between 1978 and 1984. We narrowed the field to boats with sufficient accommodations for four people and a draft of less than 6 feet. One way to approach a used-boat search is to look for sailboats with informed, active owners associations and high resale values.

Practical Sailor’s quest for recession-proof cruisers led us to the Allied Princess 36, Bristol 35.5C, Endeavour 37, S2 11.0, Freedom 36, ODay 37, Niagara 35, C&C Landfall 38, and the Tartan 37. The report takes a more in-depth look at the Tartan, C&C Landfall, and Niagara.

Let’s say you’re looking to buy a boat for summer cruising along the coastal U.S. or on the Great Lakes, one that, when the time is right, is also capable of taking you safely and efficiently to Baja or the Bahamas, and perhaps even island-hopping from Miami to the West Indies. Like most of us, your budget is limited, so a new boat is out of the question. Let’s set more specifics:

• Passes a thorough survey by a respected surveyor and has been upgraded to meet current equipment and safety standards. (These are old boats, after all, prone to all sorts of potentially serious problems.) • Fun to sail inshore (which means not too heavy and not too big). • Sufficient accommodations and stowage to cruise four people for two weeks. • Popular model (active owners support group for help and camaraderie) with decent resale value • Under $75,000. • Monohull (multihulls violate the price cap, anyway). • Draft of less than 6 feet (for the islands, mon).

In the February 2008 issue, we examined 30-footers from the 1970s , which is just above the minimum length for the Big Three: standing headroom, enclosed head, and inboard engine. Too small, however, to satisfy our new criteria.

So we need to jump up in size. As we culled through the possibilities, we found a fairly narrow range of boat lengths and vintages that satisfy the criteria. Of course, there always are exceptions, but basically it is this: 35- to 38-footers built between 1978 and 1984. Bigger or newer boats that meet our criteria cost more than $75,000.

Our list of nine models all were built by reputable companies in the U.S. or Canada, with underwater configurations ranging from full keels with attached rudders to fin keels and spade rudders. Displacements are mostly moderate.

So we present notes on six of the finalists with additional details of our three favorites: click here .

Tags: Boat Review , Practical Sailor

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Review of Bristol 35.5

Basic specs..

The Bristol 35.5 has been built with more than one type of keel. One option is a finn keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a long keel. Another option is a centerboard keel. A centerboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

The boat can enter even shallow marinas as the draft is just about 1.16 - 1.26 meter (3.81 - 4.11 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

The boat is typically equipped with an engine.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.0 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Bristol 35.5 is about 185 kg/cm, alternatively 1038 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 185 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1038 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is a Ballast Ratio?

Maintenance

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 35m 2 (376 ft 2 ). Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Bristol 35.5 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

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People’s Choice of Best Cruising Sailboats

• By Cruising World Staff
• Updated: September 20, 2013

shannon-38hps1.jpg

Albin Ballard Albin Vega Alden Dolphin Allied Princess Baba 35 Baba 40 Baltic 37 Beneteau Oceanis 34 Beneteau Oceanis 58 Block Island 40 Bowman 47 Bristol 32 Bristol 35.5 Bristol Channel Cutter C&C 27 C&C 30 MI I Cabo Rico 38 Cal 31 Camper and Nicholson 32 Cape Dory Catalina 27 Catalina 50 Celestial 48 Challenger 40 Cherubini 44 Dickerson 41 Dufour 1800 Endeavour 42 Fastpassage 39 Fuji 45 Halberg Rassy 64 Hans Christian 33 Hans Christian 38 Hardin 44 Voyager Hardin 45 Hunter 37 Hunter 41AC Hunter Passage 42 Hylas 44 Irwin 52 Islander 38C J24 J35 Little Harbor 51 Morgan 32 Morgan 34 MK II Morgan 382 Northwest 38 Rhodes 41 S2 9.2C Sadler 29 San Juan 24 Santa Cruz 50 Santa Cruz 70 Seafarer Meridian Seaward 32 Shannon 38 Shannon 43 Snark Sunflower Sundeer 60 Sundeer 64 Swan 51 Tartan 37c Union 36 Westerly Centaur Westsail 42

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• Sailboat Reviews

Bristol 39/40

The looks of these twins are strictly traditional, but so is the interior room modern 33-footers have more..

The Bristol 39 and Bristol 40 are basically the same boat, even though the specifications state that the Bristol 40 is nearly a foot longer than the Bristol 39. According to the builder, the hull sections aft were made slightly fuller on the Bristol 40, and the stemhead fitting was altered. After very careful scaling of plans, we can say with reasonable confidence that from one end of the hull to the other, excluding the bow pulpit and the anchor roller, the Bristol 39 and Bristol 40 are about 39′ 8″ long. Whether you call it a 39-footer or a 40-footer is up to you.

But this is not a 40′ boat in the modern sense. Yes, if you take a tape measure to the boat, you’ll read almost 40′. But if you go below, you’ll swear you stepped onto a 33′ boat—at least if you’re used to looking at the 33-footers built today.

With a waterline length of 27′ 6″ and a beam of 10′ 9″, The Bristol 40’s proportions are about as typical as you can get of cruising/racing sailboats built between about 1930, when the CCA (Cruising Club of America) rule was conceived, and 1970, when it was replaced by the International Offshore Rule (IOR). For those 40 years, about 30% of the average boat’s length was in overhangs. Today, you find the waterline length and beam of the Bristol 40 on boats less than 35′ long.

About 150 Bristol 40s were built. This does not include the relatively small number of boats in the Bristol 39 series.

The 39 was one of the first models built by Bristol Yachts, entering production in 1966. Beginning with 1972 models, the boat was rechristened the Bristol 40. The last Bristol 40 was built in 1986.

If you like traditional yachts, you’ll find the Bristol 40 appealing. The boat has the long overhangs, lovely sheerline, low freeboard, narrow cabin trunk undistorted hull shape, and narrow beam we associate with the beautiful yachts of the past. If you didn’t know she was a Ted Hood design, you might mistake her for a boat by Olin Stephens, John Alden, or Phil Rhodes. The trade-off for these traditional good looks is a boat with a small interior compared to today’s 40- footers.

Sailing Performance “Fast” is a very relative term when you’re talking about sailboats. The Bristol 40 is not fast relative to more modern 40-footers, but her performance is similar to that of other boats of her length built under the CCA rule, when boats were heavier and shorter on the waterline than they are today. The boat is close in speed, for example, to the Hinckley Bermuda 40 yawls with the original low aspect ratio rig. It is about 30 seconds per mile slower, however, than the Cal 40—a boat of the same length on deck, but with a longer waterline, less wetted surface and slightly less displacement.

In both keel and centerboard versions, the Bristol 40 is a fairly tippy boat, as you would expect from her narrow beam, shoal draft, and modest amount of ballast. Like “fast,” however, “tippy” is a relative term.

Most narrow boats have relatively low initial stability, even if their ultimate stability is good. For example, the McCurdy and Rhodes 62-footer Arcadia, built in 1972, is about 2′ narrower than a new IOR 60- footer would be, and has a righting moment about 15% lower than that of the new boat, even though Arcadia is significantly heavier.

Yet Arcadia’s range of positive stability is about 143°, while the typical “modern” racer/cruiser loses positive stability at 120° or less.

Unfortunately, being narrow and tippy doesn’t guarantee a good range of ultimate stability. The keel version of the Bristol 40 loses positive righting moment at about 120°—the absolute minimum we would consider for a serious offshore cruiser. The centerboard version’s range of stability is less—about 110° for the only boat rated under the International Measurement System (IMS).

It is not unusual for centerboarders to have very low positive stability. The Hinckley Bermuda 40— the classic keel-centerboarder—typically loses stability at an even lower angle than the centerboard Bristol 40, yet few people would consider the boat unsuitable for passage making.

Owners report that the Bristol 40 is very sensitive to the amount of sail carried. We’d suggest a modern headsail reefing/furling system for shorthanded cruising to reduce the number of headsail changes required. Like most CCA boats, the Bristol 40 is a good reaching boat, lacking the rounding-up tendency of many modern boats with full sterns. The trade-off is that the boat tends to squat when running downwind, digging a hole that’s hard to climb out of. A Bristol 40 with a full keel won the 1983 Marion- Bermuda Race, an event that consisted largely of four days of close reaching in light to moderate breezes.

Because the boat is narrow, there is no need to move the genoa track inboard of the toerail. The only real disadvantage of toerail-mounted genoa track is that you may have to relead the sheet to clear stanchions when changing headsails or reducing sail area with a headsail furler, unless there are turning blocks at the aft end of the genoa track.The two most common mainsheet arrangements on the boat are a short traveler spanning the cockpit immediately in front of the steering wheel, or a longer traveler over the coachroof in front of the companionway. The short traveler in the cockpit doesn’t really offer much mainsail control, but it is a convenient location for the sheet.

The rig is a basic masthead sloop or yawl, using an untapered, keel-stepped anodized mast with single spreaders and double lower shrouds: basically foolproof. The lower shroud chainplates do not line up exactly with the pull of the shrouds, which will tend to fatigue the chainplates over time, as well as increasing the likelihood of leaks due to an unfair pulling angle.

Since this is a boat that was in production for the better part of 20 years, it’s difficult to generalize about the sailing gear you’ll find. On the Bristol 40s we’ve looked at, the stock winches tend to be one or two sizes smaller than we’d put on the boat today. You’re unlikely to find self-tailers on older models.

A lot of Bristol 40s were built as yawls. While the yawl rig is pretty and looks very traditional, the mizzen is generally only useful to help balance the helm, as a convenient place to mount a radar  antenna, and to serve as a support for a mizzen staysail on the rare occasion that it pays to carry one. The mizzen makes the boat more tippy and increases windage—disadvantages for upwind sailing.

Engine Before 1970, Bristol 39s came with either Atomic 4 or Graymarine gas engines. Later model 39s and Bristol 40s were powered either by the Atomic 4 or by a variety of diesels, including the Westerbeke 4-91, Westerbeke 4-107 and 4-108, Perkins 4-108, or Volvo MD2B and MD3B engines. That should be enough variety to satisfy everyone.

The Westerbeke and Perkins 4-108s are essentially the same engine, and in our opinion would be the best engine for the boat, although they’re more power than it needs. Diesel engine installations in the Bristol 40 are not without problems. There is little room between the shaft coupling and the stuffing box—so little, in fact, that several owners surveyed reported that it is almost impossible to reach the stuffing box for adjustment or repacking.

In all models, the fuel tank is located under the cockpit sole, above the engine. Fuel capacity is about 30 gallons. Early diesel-powered models have black iron fuel tanks, and at least one owner surveyed reported having to replace a rusted-out tank after a years. Later models have aluminum fuel tanks, which are less likely to corrode. Range under power with the Perkins 4-108 and 30 gallons of fuel will be about 180 miles.

The gasoline engines used in early models swing a small prop. Unfortunately, when the switch was made to bigger diesels—the Perkins 4-108 displaces 108 cubic inches, the Atomic 4 only 65 cubic inches— the propeller aperture was not enlarged, limiting prop size. We measured the height to be 16 1/2″, which means you can really only swing about a 15″ prop and still maintain adequate tip clearance. The result is that you end up turning an oversquare prop (more pitch than diameter), which is not the most efficient way to utilize the engine in a sailboat.

Our prop choice would be a three-bladed feathering Maxprop for the best combination of performance under both sail and power. The Maxprop would also slightly improve handling in reverse, which is rated as poor by most owners. A tiny fixed prop tucked in an aperture in the deadwood and rudder is a bad combination for handling in reverse. Powering ahead, the boat handles just fine.

There is no sound insulation in the engine compartment. Access to the front of the engine is fair, requiring removal of the front of the engine box which doubles as the companionway ladder.

Construction Bristol Yachts has gone through a lot of changes over the years. The prime mover behind Bristol was Clint Pearson, one of the pioneering Pearson brothers— the other, Everett, now runs Tillotson-Pearson.

The boats built by Bristol today are a far cry from those of 15 years ago. Current Bristols are targeted toward the middle to upper end of the production and semi-custom markets, with very good finish detail and systems. Originally, Bristols were aimed at the mass market, and were finished and equipped accordingly.

Since the Bristol 40 was built over a period of 20 years, there were a number of minor changes during the production run, but the last boats are essentially the same as the first ones.

The Bristol 40 is not a particularly lightly built boat, but she is certainly not heavy for her overall length, even by modern standards. The boat is substantially lighter than most long-keel CCA 40-footers. The Hinckley Bermuda 40, for example, displaces about 20,000 pounds in normal trim. The Cal 40, considered a real lightweight in 1966, weighs about 16,000 pounds in IMS measurement trim; the average Bristol 40, right at 17,000 pounds in the same configuration.

By way of comparison, the Little Harbor 38 that won the 1986 Newport-Bermuda Race tips the scales at a hefty 25,000 pounds, and the newer Bristol 38.8 has a designed displacement of just over 19,000 pounds.

None of the Bristol 40 owners we surveyed report any major structural flaws. They do, however, complain of annoyances such as leaking ports, deck hardware, and hull/deck joints. These are generally assembly and quality control problems, and most can be solved by the owner, albeit with a fair amount of labor. A leaking hull/deck joint may be more of a problem, but this type of leak should show up during a careful examination of the boat. Discoloration and water streaks inside lockers and on bulkheads, rust and drips on through-fastenings, and mysterious puddles of water may indicate leaks in the joint.

From a cruiser’s point of view, a nice feature of the Bristol 40 is its water capacity: 130 gallons in two fiberglass water tanks.

Any sailboat hull older that about eight years is getting on toward being a candidate for painting. While the gelcoat in the Bristol 40s we examined still looks reasonable, most of the colored hulls—pastels were popular in the 70s—are badly faded. The colored gelcoat used was not colorfast.

We also noted numerous gelcoat flaws on decks cracks around stanchion bases, some voids at sharp corner transitions. During the survey, the surveyor should carefully sound the entire deck for voids. If you’re going to go to the trouble and expense of painting, you might as well catch all the problems at the same time.

Deck non-skid is a molded-in basket weave pattern, and we have found it to be less effective than more aggressive non-skid designs.

The cockpit is huge, with seats almost 7′ long. The well is narrow enough that you can brace your feet against the opposite seat—a good feature on any boat, but especially important on a tippy boat. The big cockpit is a mixed blessing. It gives plenty of space for daysailing or in-port parties, but it is also vulnerable to filling in extremely heavy offshore conditions.

In our opinion, the cockpit scuppers are too small. Each of the two scuppers is about the size of a bathtub drain. Since there is no bridgedeck—just a raised companionway sill—it is particularly important that the cockpit drain quickly. This is a pretty reasonable retrofit job. For offshore sailing, the bottom dropboard should be caulked and permanently secured in place.

There is a reasonable amount of exterior teak trim on the boat, including toerails, cabin eyebrow trim, handrails, and cockpit coamings. A Bristol 40 with a freshly-Awlgripped hull and varnished teak trim would look handsome, indeed.

On the port and starboard quarters, there are large chocks for dock lines. While these look substantial, they are only screwed to the toerails, and can easily tear out. Chocks can be very heavily loaded during panic dockings, and should always be through-bolted, as should all deck hardware.

Through hull fittings are not recessed flush, but can easily be faired in to reduce drag in very light air. The Constellation-style rudder is set slightly above the aft edge of the keel, so that the boat will ground out on the keel rather than the rudder.

Instead of a bolt-on external keel, the Bristol 40 has a molded keel cavity filled with 6,500 pounds of lead. One owner we surveyed had added 1,500 pounds of lead pigs in the bilge to improve stability.

Interior Bristol has always made extensive use of built-up interiors of plywood and solid wood, rather than fiberglass molded components trimmed out in solid wood. The company has also made extensive use of mahogany rather than teak in interior construction.

If you’re used to the dull brown of teak, the brighter reddish-brown of the mahogany interior of the Bristol may or may not appeal to you. Mahogany must be varnished: it is not suited to an oil finish in a marine environment. If you let the varnish wear off, the wood will turn grey, particularly after exposure to water.

At the same time, mahogany is lighter and brighter than teak, and can make an all-wood interior slightly less gloomy. If all else fails, you can always paint out the mahogany bulkheads and leave the mahogany trim varnished. Teak plywood is much harder to paint out, since its waxy surface doesn’t hold paint very well.

The built-up interior allowed a number of interior options in the Bristol 39 and 40. As originally drawn, the boat had a wide-open offshore racing interior, with a sail locker forward, the head in the area normally reserved for a forward sleeping cabin, and symmetrical pilot berths, settees, and quarterberths in the main cabin. While it provides six sea berths, this interior has little appeal for a cruising family. Most boats were built with one of several more conventional interior layouts.

One advantage of long-ended boats is that the Vberths don’t have to be jammed into the bow. Instead, you get berths that are wide enough at the foot for normal-sized people. The forward cabin of the Bristol 40 is quite roomy, with two berths and various lockers and drawers. An insert turns the V-berths into a reasonable double berth.

The head compartment is aft of the forward cabin, on the port side. It is a big, roomy head, with rather remarkable storage, including 10 small drawers and three lockers. All boats came with hot and cold pressure water, and have a hand-held shower attached to the head sink fixture.

Opposite the head are the usual hanging lockers.

Several different main cabin layouts were offered, with an arrangement to please just about every fairly conventional taste. On the port side, you’ll find either a settee berth with storage outboard, a Ushaped dinette, or a narrow pull-out settee with a pilot berth outboard. On the starboard side, you’ll usually find a settee with a folding pipe berth above, although some boats were built with a conventional pilot berth outboard of the starboard settee.

On boats without a dinette, the main cabin table folds up against the port forward bulkhead—a reasonable solution in a narrow boat.

Main cabin storage space is quite good, with a number of drawers and lockers. The actual storage arrangement varies with each interior layout.

Ventilation in the main cabin, as well as in the entire boat, is so-so. There is an opening port in the head, and a cowl vent overhead. There is another cowl vent on the other side of the cabin trunk opposite the head, providing some air to the forward cabin and main cabin in foul weather. Over the forward cabin is a large fiberglass hatch.

A fiberglass hatch over the main cabin was optional. The main cabin ports do not open. Ventilation would be greatly improved by adding Dorade boxes just in front of the dodger breakwater at the aft end of the main cabin. If you also put a reversible aluminum-framed hatch directly over the middle of the main cabin, and added a small dodger to it for heavy weather protection, you’d go from lousy ventilation to good airflow in one fell swoop.

We’re not keen on the fiberglass hatches used in production boats in the 1970s. They distort easily, and never seem to seal completely.

Headroom is about 6′ 4″ on centerline aft, decreasing to about 6′ in the forward cabin.

In all interior layouts other than the original ocean racing one, the galley is at the aft end of the main cabin. There are two aft galley arrangements. One is spacious but not particularly efficient, the other is tight. On boats equipped with a quarterberth and nav station on the port side, the galley is jammed into the starboard aft corner, and is small for a 40-footer. On boats without a nav station, stove and sink are on the port side, with a large icebox opposite to starboard. The top of the icebox is then used as a navigation table. Neither galley layout is as good as the Ushaped galley used on more modern boats such as the Bristol 38.8.

You’ll have to make a choice on the galley layout. A nav station is very desirable if the boat is used for more than daysailing. Yet the starboard galley you get on boats with nav stations is quite small, and doesn’t have much storage for foodstuffs or utensils.

Even on boats with the port nav station, the  electrical panel is located on the starboard side, above the galley and next to the companionway, in a fiberglass box that’s a molded part of the cabin liner. We’d want to give better protection to the panel by building a frame with an opening clear acrylic cover.

Despite the narrowness of the Bristol 40 compared to newer boats, the interior is reasonably laid out and not cramped. Headroom is good, and you can easily make improvements in ventilation. The interior doesn’t seem as spacious as a lot of boats due to the fairly narrow, tall cabin trunk. Newer designs have more freeboard, allowing a lower cabin trunk and increasing the feel of interior space.

Conclusions Like the better-known Bermuda 40, the Bristol 40 is an exceptionally pretty boat, and those good looks are one factor that kept the boat in production for such a long time. But the Bermuda 40 has been carefully refined, and its reputation nurtured by a group of nearly-fanatical owners who are willing to pay rather remarkably high prices for a design that is now 30 years old.

The Bristol 40, on the other hand, lacks that reputation and following. A few Bristol 40s were built for die-hards even after the boat was superseded in 1983 by the faster, roomier, stiffer Bristol 38.8—a design that is a distinctly more modern Hood cruiser/racer.

Because of her large cockpit, small cockpit drains, slightly vulnerable companionway, and fairly low initial stability, this boat wouldn’t be a good choice for extended offshore cruising, although Bristol 40s have certainly done their share of it. For cruising in the Chesapeake, Bahamas, or Gulf of Mexico, the keel-centerboard version would be a reasonable choice, and even the deep keel model draws substantially less than most 40-footers.

A late-model, sloop-rigged boat with Perkins or Westerbeke diesel would be our first choice. Since relatively few changes were made in the boat during the years of production, however, you might also find a good older boat on which a lot of attention has been lavished.

If you like traditional looks, and you cruise in shoal coastal waters without extremely heavy winds a lot of the time, the Bristol 40 should appeal to you. You’re a natural candidate for the boat if the looks of the Bermuda 40 catch your eye, but you don’t have the pocketbook to indulge yourself in Hinckley quality.

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Bristol - Bluewater Capable???

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Looking to pick up a boat for upcoming "retirement" (term used loosely). Would like to get a boat in the 32'-37' range, capable of being handled by crew of 2 and one in a pinch. Looking at coastal shake-out cruises over the new few years with some multiple week trips south. Ultimately, will be taking on more offshore sails. Many boat manufacturers "claim" offshore capability. Have looked at Alberg 37, Allied Princess 36, and S2 11. Each has nice open layout but obviously there is a difference in bluewater capability. Question - are Bristol's built to handle these goals? If so, what models within the length constraints would you recommend? Thanx in advance for any advice you can provide - directed at Bristol's or others. Keith  

A good place to start would be "The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat" by John Vigor. The essence of the book is that there are boats such as the Valiant 40 specifically designed for bluewater sailing, but that any boat can be made offshore capable with modifications. Also sailing skills in my view are 75% and the boat is 25%. I sail an S2 11.0A on the Chespapeake and would take it offshore with some modiciations such as storm shutters.  

Recently returned to the US from a three year trip from south carolina to trinidad and back via bahamas, DR, PR, windwards and leewards aboard my Bristol 32. It was a very safe and economical way to cruise and live aboard. I spent much less time and money than other folks on larger boats, but experienced the same harbors, sunsets, thrills and chills. Would go again in a minute on a bristol. Feel free to contact me for any info- [email protected]  

Thanx for the steer on the book, longwaterline. I've reviewed Vigor's "20 small boats" and was looking for a boat a little larger than those boats, thus my original question. And I agree with you on the sailing/boat distribution; I've watched a number of people that are idiotic with their approach to even coastal cruising let alone a crossing of any substance. I will look into that book to further my offshore boat knowledge. I'm looking at a boat to spend the next 3-5 years getting comfortable with and physically prepared for serious sailing. Then, the next stop is smaller SE coastal crossings (Caribbean - I grew up on west coast) before an eventual Atlantic crossing. Those are the long term goals and having spent much time around boats, it takes me something more than a few months to get comfortable with the way one moves and her little idiosyncrasies. As a result, I'd rather invest the time/$$ up front and learn the boat and the Atlantic at the same time. Ken - I appreciate the information. I like what you did and will likely be there on a smaller scale in about 3 years. I'm just looking to reduce the time between that step and my next step (as mentioned above). I will likely touch base with you in a month or so. Good health to each of you and have a SAFE and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Keith  

Give the Bristol 35.5 a look Keith, I cruised a Bristol 35.5 from SF, down the west coast of Mexico and on to the South Pacific returning via Hawaii. IMHO, it is very blue water capable. My wife and I are currently preparing a Bristol 32 for a trip to the Marshall Islands via Hawaii (hope to depart summer 08). Good luck in your search. Regards, Ken  

Thanx for the information, Ken. We'll definitely add Bristol to the short list of boats were considering. Keith  

FWIW, you might consider the CS 36T, a bit more on the performance side than other suggestions. I have been the happy owner of one, which the PO and his wife took on a five year cruise which included several offshore trips from New England to/from Latin America. Here's a sample Sailboats - 1986 36' ft Canadian Sailcraft 36T - Racer/Cruiser, Cruiser (Sail), Racer - Hingham, MA, 02043 - UsedBoats.com  

Friends of mine owned a Bristol 27 which made two circumnavigations. A very strong boat. Smaller than you want obviously, but I was very impressed with the boat.  

Blue water Bristols I think any Bristol from the 27 up is certainly capable for blue water. There have certainly been enough boats proving that. More important than the boat, is your preparation and skill in handling problems as they arise. The benefits of owning a Bristol is that typically, problems may arise less than on less competent boats. Hope this helps. Dr. S. Bristol 32  

I have owned a Bristol 29 for 4 years, and think very highly of the boat. Bristol boats are strong, tight boats. I would have no qualms taking my boat across the ocean, provided I invested in the necessary refit. BTW, mine is for sale! Its too small for your needs, I know. But any other folks looking for a beautifully redone boat, let me know.  

We've sailed our B29.9 from Galveston to Vera Cruz, Galveston to Isla Mujeres (trips of about 650 miles each way), and crossed the Gulf from West to East in all sorts of weather and she holds up very well - we have been weather so bad that we were worried for ourselves, but never worried for the boat.  

Bardo's Bristol 29 for sale Hey Bardo I read that your bristol 29 is for sale. Has it already been sold? If not, can you please send me a detailed list of specs and as many photos of the boat as you have? Thanks. Justin daveyjustin(at)gmail.com  

We have made several offshore trips on our 35.5, but no ocean crossings. I respect the comment that offshore is 75-25 with the boat being less important. However, I worry that my 35.5 cockpit would be very slow to drain in heavy weather and that I cannot close the through hulls for those drains. Also, the anchor well takes on a lot of water, which, with my Hyspeed 510 windlass, drains into the bilge through the hause pipe . Could these be modified? Perhaps. That said, I have been sailing my 35.5 for ten years and more than 15,000 miles. I have 100% faith that she is a better boat than I am a sailor.  

Yes, I have heavy duty seacocks on all my thru hulls. The problem I mentioned has to do with the 35.5 design. The cockpit drains through the engine compartment and the hull, so you cannot close the seacocks when offshore. Otherwise the cockpit would not drain at all. This, I think, is a design flaw. When offshore, I close all the seacocks and only open them when necessary to drain the sinks or flush the head. The next time I have the boat hauled I will try your suggestion for greasing the barrel. Thanks.  

Why would one close the cockpit drains?  

we own two boats, an Apache 37 by Chriscraft and a Bristol 40, both blue water but one has to go. By the way the Bristol won twice the Maine - Bermuda race: blue water or what? And the older Albergs were very seaworthy.  

Bardo's Bristol 29 for sale? Does anyone know if Bardo still has his Bristol for sale? I tried sending him a personal message but as a new member to this group I need to have five postings.  

Summercamp said: Does anyone know if Bardo still has his Bristol for sale? I tried sending him a personal message but as a new member to this group I need to have five postings. Click to expand...

The Bristol is a fine sea going boat. Before we bought the boat our Bristol 40 Yawl had been across the Atlantic & back, over to American samoa & this year will circumnavigate Vancouver Island. The 40 has very large cockpit drains at the aft end & smaller drains to take care of rain water at the forward end.  

I have owned a Bristol 24 and presently have a Bristol 30 (1972). I have nothing but good things to say about them.  

The boatyards in RI definitely make and made some good stuff. Here's a new Bristol Built boat that just made the crossing: EastBayRI.com  

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