Overview
The C&C Landfall 35 came out of C&C Yachts’ push into cruising-oriented designs in the late 1970s, a shift company president George Cuthbertson pursued alongside the firm’s racing pedigree. Robert Ball drew this 35-footer for the yacht charter trade as much as for private cruising couples, a raised near-vertical transom and skeg-mounted spade rudder giving it a distinctly late-1970s profile.
Design and Construction
At 13,000 lb displacement with a 42 percent ballast ratio, the boat is a moderate-displacement cruiser built in fiberglass with extensive balsa coring. The standard fin keel draws 4.83 ft; a deeper 6.0 ft option was also offered. The masthead sloop rig carries 517 sq ft of working sail, driven originally by a 27 hp Yanmar diesel. Two interior arrangements were built: one with a conventional V-berth forward, the other with a V-shaped couch and dinette table that converts to a berth.
Under Sail
No named ocean passage is on file yet, consistent with its original design brief: built primarily for charter use and coastal or couple’s cruising rather than offshore passage-making. Surveyor Kurtis Samples tested a Landfall 35 in February in 20 to 25 knots with gusts to 30, five-foot swells and white caps, and concluded the boat was a pleasure to sail.
Buyers Notes
As a charter-market boat from the late 1970s and early 1980s, individual hulls may show more wear from heavy commercial use than a comparable private-owner boat of the same age; confirm charter history where possible. Balsa coring throughout the hull and deck makes moisture intrusion the primary survey concern on any used example.
