Corinthian 35

The Corinthian 35 was a class of racing yachts introduced during the 1937 Fastnet race.

Background

In 1936 it was suggested that there should be one size of yacht eligible for all the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club's races. Prior to 1936, some races had been open only to the large class from above 35 ft (11 m) in water line and some only to those of 25 ft (7.6 m) and up to 35 ft (11 m). The obvious size was the 35 ft (11 m), and so the Royal Ocean Racing Club's group of "thirty- fives" came into being, the Fastnet limit being lowered to include boats of exactly this length of 35 feet (11 m) in water line.

In 1935, there had been three 35' boats in the Fastnet race:

• the Macnab, built at Lymington;
• the Thalassa
• the Isis, built in France

The race organizers believed that the interest in the race would be increased if a number of boats of the same size and speed competed, and so in 1936 plans were made to expand the "thirty-five" group.

The new boats

The Royal Corinthian Yacht Club commissioned Major Malden Heckstall-Smith and Mr. William McMeek to design the new 35' yachts. The resulting design was of outstanding interest: a full bow sections and a very sharp turn to her garboards, and a transom stern and outside rudder raked to no less than 45°. They combined an inexpensive form of stern with a racing hull, and by virtue of the transom stern they would also benefit slightly in the way of rating. The first two boats of this new "Corinthian 35" design were the Phryna and the Joyrena, both built in 1937.

In 1937, four more 35s were built:

• Evenlode built by Fife
• Maid of Malham by Giles
• Ortac, by Giles
• Windfall, ?

In 1938 and 1939, two more were built:

• Golden Dragon (1938) by Rouse, Hong Kong
• Mary Bower (1939), by Clark

In 1950, one more was built:

• Yeoman (1950) by Camper and Nicholsons

Racing history

The new 35' class appeared in the Fastnet races as follows:

In 1947 Phryna placed second in Class II.