Hardy commodore 35

David2452

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 Jun 2001
Messages
3,955
Location
London & Fambridge
Visit site
Anybody got one / had one / know a bit about them? SWMBO has a hankering but I’m not convinced, I don’t like the fact that the aft cabin bed is not island for a start, are they all like that? Also I hear engine room access requires dismantling of the saloon.
 
Haven't owned one but looked at several (I like them) and they (Hardy) keep their demonstrators in our marina. The 50 is absolutley sublime!!

Very good sea boats - Raymarine have just taken delivery of a 42 as thier new test boat to replace thier previous 36. I was chatting with the skipper and he spoke very highly of the 36 (and even more highly of the 42).

They are well built quality boats that will take you anywhere. I have not seen one with a centre berth in the aft cabin and I can't really comment on getting at the engines save to say that when I looked at a 36 I don't recall having ay real problem, certainly not for routine checks.

My personal view is that the interiors are seamanlike and functional and could be a little better in some respects (the centre berth is an example) but overeall well found cruisers that will get you through almost anything. the fact that the RNLI have taken a couple of 42's as their training boats speaks volumes for me.
 
Hi David

Yep - got one. 36 actually not 35. 2005 model with twin Perkins Sabres - love it. I can bore for Britain about them but probably worth a phone call - PM me with your details.
In summary - go anywhere at 12-14 knots, no slamming but a fair amount of rolling as you would expect with a round bilge. Very heavy build - Raymarine used one as their test boat (just upgraded to 42) and the RNLI use a modified 42 for training purposes. Mega cumfy - lots of sitting in and sitting out space with a seating area over the aft cabin. Engine access - well - routine seachest and Racor checks no problem - Access hatch near the galley. Oil and coolant check - yes, like all aft cabin boats you need to open the saloon floor - basically put the loose furniture onto the settee, roll up the carpet - takes about 15mins to check oil, coolant and gearbox levels. Engine room is fully lit and well laid out but definitely a bit tight. I tend to do checks just before leaving the boat after a trip so I can get on my way when I come back next time. After sales support unbelievably good - they will talk to you at length about any aspect and help as much as they can whatever the age of the boat.

Cheers
Stuart
 
Thanks both, have decided to investigate a little further and possibly have a look at a couple on brokerage, still not happy about not having an island berth but might well be a sacrifice I am prepared to make, we’ll see.
 
One of the key things that swung it for SWMBO was the huge aft cabin. En suite shower room. Room for 2 people to walk around easily, twin dressing tables with vanity mirrors. The lack of the island berth is the way they achieved this so indeed it might turn out to be a decent trade off
 
[ QUOTE ]
twin dressing tables with vanity mirrors.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sure you didn't but a Broom by mistake. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Now then!!

That was for SWMBO. I've got a set of spanners in one of them - don't think she's noticed yet.

Boys toys include massive bar cleats, triple bow roller, full sized chart table, KAD suspension seating for the inner helm, full instrumentation on the flybridge, Hydronic heating, second fridge which apparently some people use for booze - can't believe that though
 
I warm more and more, I now think short of me telling SWMBO that they are a pig at sea or they have rubbish engines which would be a complete lie it is my destiny, will the dressing table take a full size socket set?
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
You jest but underneath each vanity mirror is a drop forward drawer affair (bit hard to describe) and the full size tool kit does indeed live there.

Handling - well she has very large twin rudders and a keel so she can be turned at full speed, full lock with no sideways slipping. Hydraulic steering as you would expect and I find it easier to steer her with the autopilot and just tweak the course buttons to adjust - the computer steers straighter than I can. She does sit a bit nose up - these heavy SD boats tends to squat down under power rather than lift the nose. She has trim tabs and they help a bit but as my planing hull pal says "blimely she leaves a big hole in the water". For casual day trips we tend to go displacement speed at 8 knots and blast back to get the turbo working. Hardy do overclaim on the speed - I reckon 18-19 absolutely flat out and optimum cruising speed with the Perkins is about 2100 revs which is about 12 k. Our mix of that cruising speed plus some displacement stuff gets us about 1.4 mpg. Hardy claim 1mpg at their cruising speed which is about 14k and 2300 rpm
 
One more thing - just noticed you are East Coast. I am sure you have spotted that Hardy are Norwich based so I would go and talk to them. They broker pretty much every used boat that comes on the market and are more than happy to let you have a spin in a new one even if you are just thinking about a second hand example. The next boat they build will have Steyer engines and be all electric (as in no gas) so that should be interesting
 
Top