Duchy 35: British Seakeeping Comes to New England

The breeze came hard across the Connecticut River, snapping burgees and rattling halyards along the docks at Safe Harbor Essex Island Marina, where the annual Connecticut Spring Boat Show was in full swing. Visitors walked the docks with hot coffee in hand at this small but convivial local event while the scent of salt marsh drifted upriver from Long Island Sound. It was the kind of intimate New England gathering where boaters swap cruising tips and reconnect with friends—making it an unlikely but fitting backdrop for a European builder to unveil a new model to the American market.

The Duchy 35 looked at home in the blustery conditions. For good reason. This semicustom cruiser with an all-weather pedigree was built by Cockwells Modern & Classic Boatbuilding in Falmouth, England, a coastal town in Cornwall shaped by the kind of changeable boating weather New Englanders know well.

Dave Cockwell, the company founder, was in the salon, which was bright and pleasant even with the windows and doors closed to keep out the wind. Cockwell grew up in Bristol, England, the son of a boating fanatic who gifted him his first vessel at the age of 6. Cockwell has been tinkering with boats ever since. He built the Duchy 35 after a customer expressed interest in his Duchy 27 but wanted a larger boat with more living space and two cabins.

“What appeals to people about the Duchy is that it looks like a proper boat,” Cockwell said. “But it’s not old-fashioned. It’s contemporary and stylish in a traditional way.”

The abundance of wood inside and out gives the 35 that traditional, built-by-hand appeal and supports the company’s reputation for high-quality construction. But other features make it contemporary, including a Starlink system, a Seakeeper option and EmpirBus digital switching at the helm, where there’s also a joystick for easier maneuvering.

Propulsion options include a pair of 270-hp Nanni T4 diesels with shaft drives that produce a top speed of 28 knots and a cruise speed of 20 knots. The Duchy 35 is also available with twin 350-hp Yanmar V-8s that offer a top end near 31 knots and a cruising speed of 25 knots, for a range of 275 nautical miles. The boat can be built with a single Yanmar, as well.

 The 35 rides a hull designed by Andrew Wolstenholme, an associate member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects, who has produced a variety of designs ranging from award-winning production powerboats to classic launches and traditional sailboats. “It’s a semidisplacement hull with a keel,” said Cockwell. “And she’s a very good sea boat. Where we’re from, it’s always running 3 to 4 feet. The water is rarely flat. This boat is built for those conditions.” 

This semicustom design can be ordered a couple of ways. The boat in Essex was the twin-cabin version, which places the galley in the salon along the starboard side. It’s a layout that will likely appeal to many cruising families in the U.S. who like the idea of a food-prep station close to the cockpit. A single-cabin version places the galley on the accommodations level, creating a more open and social salon with extra seating. The single-cabin version also includes a wet head.

The two-cabin boat in Essex was recently purchased by a local boater who wanted the extra stateroom for his children. That second stateroom, placed amidships, is sized well for two young passengers. The owner’s stateroom forward is a nice space for a couple, with a wide berth, plenty of stowage and standing headroom.

Ted Hood Jr. was also aboard the Duchy 35. He is managing director of Wellington Yacht Sales. The firm is primarily known for premium brokerage boats but also represents a few select lines of new boats, including Duchy. Hood, who is also known as “Ted Hood’s son,” was eager to show off the boat’s social side.

Despite the wind, he opened the varnished wood folding doors that separate the salon from the cockpit to emphasize how the two spaces become one seamless entertaining area. The cockpit includes a boarding door to starboard, another door at the stern, and a U-shaped lounge surrounding two removable teak tables that, when unfolded, create one large dining surface.

“We originally designed the boat with no seating in the cockpit,” Cockwell said. “We were thinking about fishermen, but we haven’t sold one without seats yet.  That’s still an option if an angler wants it.”

There are thoughtful safety features throughout the boat. Handrails on the hardtop make a trip to the foredeck more secure, as does the tall, sturdy bowrail. And if you board the boat from the dock on the starboard side, you can snug your foot into a recessed step in the hullside, then grab hold of the rail along the side of the pilothouse.

In Essex, the Duchy 35 drew traffic and compliments for both its layout and its looks. The boat’s lines flow properly, and its proportions are balanced. The extended hardtop, springy sheer and dark blue hull with red boot stripe looked the part in this New England port, even if it wasn’t built in this part of the world.

We asked Cockwell how his boat distinguishes itself from the Downeast-built cruisers at the show. “I’m not an expert on American boats, but based on my observations, you either have dayboats or cruising boats,” he said. “What we offer is a design that gives you both a big, open cockpit and a really spacious enclosed area. There’s an equal balance. And it’s a very comfortable boat to be in.”