35 Nordhavn Coastal Pilot

Source: Capt. Vince Daniello, Power & Motoryacht Magazine

The Nordhavn 35 is a sturdy cruiser with live-aboard accommodations. She’s designed for long range cruising and can handle rough seas and high winds.

Key Features

The Nordhavn 35 delivers a solid ride thanks to her 13’ 2” beam. The aft cockpit has plenty of room for a couple of chairs for al fresco dining and is well protected from the weather. There are railings around the entire boat which make walking around safe for the entire crew. There’s a built in stern platform for easy boarding from a dingy, or the water. The salon features an L-shaped dinette which seats four, and easily converts into a double berth when needed. The galley is a few steps down and is complete with AC/DC refrigerator and freezer, stainless steel propane stove, three-burner cooktop, and good storage space. The forward cabin is spacious and features a double berth and a head.

Many boaters desire the capability of an occasional ocean voyage, but intend mostly short passages and coastal cruising. Realizing that their renowned offshore voyagers were not ideal for this role, Nordhavn has introduced a new class of cruising boat with the 35 Coastal Pilot. While capable of a 2000 mile crossing at displacement speed, the Coastal Pilot has been given a flatter stern and more horsepower, allowing a top speed around 15 knots to make the most of valuable recreation time.

Most of the blue-water features of her offshore cousins are incorporated into the Coastal Pilot. Numerous hatches and doors designed for ocean service let fresh air in but keep the waves out. Plentiful handrails and fiddle-rails on shelves and counters keep people and gear from bouncing about in a sea; while wide side decks with bulwarks, stout railings, and robust hardware ensure safety offshore. Forward-raked pilothouse windows and recessed running lights eliminate glare on nighttime passages.

Other features are particularly suited to her coastal role; such as her large covered cockpit and aft dutch-door for fresh air on pleasant days. Cruisers who anchor frequently will appreciate the windlass with provisions for two anchors, and the stainless steel stem plate to protect the bow. The mast and boom serve to launch up to an eleven-and-one-half-foot tender, and can be easily lowered and stowed on the foredeck. The resulting twelve-and-one-half-foot clearance is well suited to inland waters such as Lake Champlain or the canals of Europe.

Designing the boat as the ultimate cruiser for one couple, Nordhavn settled on 35 feet to provide a generous stateroom and roomy accommodations, yet allow the boat to be handled easily by two. Her compact size, shallow draft, and bow thruster permit ports of call not accessible to her bigger siblings. In fact, the boat is just small enough to be easily transported by truck. Imagine cruising Bermuda or the Coast of Maine, then setting out for Alaska a few weeks later.

Accommodations feature a master suite with queen bed, abundant drawers and lockers, and a comfortable head with a proper stall shower. The galley is below-decks and amidship to reduce motion for the chef, but a pass-through up to the salon allows for easy food service and conversation. The galley includes all of the conveniences of home including an optional washer/dryer.

The main cabin comprises a dining table for four on the port side, the steering station to starboard, and a lounge aft of the helm with a fold-down navigation table. The dining table lowers to form a double bed for occasional guests. Large opening windows and hatches abound, and two dorade vents in the master suite allow fresh air in even while the boat is unattended. Plentiful storage is provided throughout the boat including two large chart drawers in the salon. Drawers are constructed with dovetails for longevity, and all drawers and doors have pushbutton sea-latches. Quality hardware and eight coats of varnish supply a yacht finish to her workboat-like lines.

The engine room is accessed through a heavy-duty sound deadening door in the galley or a large removable hatch in the main cabin sole. The space is well lighted and arranged for comfortable access to the engine and generator. Fuel tanks outboard on either side incorporate sight glasses; and dual Racor™ filters can be services without stopping the engine. Most ships systems including the toilet pump, bilge pumps, underwater through-hull-fittings, and fresh water system are in the engineroom and accessible for easy maintenance. Even the main electrical panel at the helm is hinged with latches for quick, easy access to the back.

The fifty-square-foot cockpit is covered, and surrounded by high bulwarks. Three boarding gates with doors, a transom platform and swim ladder provide access from the water, a dinghy, or the dock. Watertight locking hatches in the cockpit sole reveal a huge lighted lazarette and a propane locker, with additional lockers inside the transom bulwarks.

An added benefit to the Coastal Pilot’s semi-displacement hull is increased efficiency at upper displacement speeds. At 8.2 miles per hour she sipped 1.9 gallons of fuel per hour for a range of 2278 miles or 4.29 miles per gallon. At 8.6 miles per hour, her theoretical hull speed, she traveled 2.87 miles per gallon of diesel for a range of 1522 miles. When a full displacement boat reaches its hull speed it becomes very inefficient. As the Nordhavn 35 increased through semi-displacement speeds fuel consumption increased proportionately to 11.6 miles per hour, making .8 miles per gallon. At higher speeds the boat started to plane, providing a maximum speed of 17.3 miles per hour and covering .92 miles per gallon.

The 35 Coastal Pilot tracked well and turned smartly while the heavily insulated engineroom kept the salon quiet. The large propeller and rudder, full forefoot, and bow thruster allowed easy maneuvering at the dock, even in a 20 knot crosswind.

In today’s world of instant messaging and cellular e-mail, many long for the relaxed pace and easy motion of a displacement cruiser, and dream of exotic ports in distant lands; but reality often means quick trips up the coast between business meetings. If your fast-paced lifestyle does not allow for the ocean-capable passagemaker you desire, explore the best of both worlds with the Nordhavn 35 Coastal Pilot.

Nordhavn 35 Coastal Pilot Test Result Highlights

• Top speed for the Nordhavn 35 Coastal Pilot is 17.3 mph (27.8 kph), burning 18.8 gallons per hour (gph) or 71.16 liters per hour (lph).

• Best cruise for the Nordhavn 35 Coastal Pilot is 9.9 MPH (15.9 kph), and the boat gets 1.57 miles per gallon (mpg) or 0.67 kilometers per liter (kpl), giving the boat a cruising range of 834 miles (1342.19 kilometers).

• Tested power is 1 x 370-hp Yanmar diesel engine.

Nordhavn 35 Coastal Pilot