Contessa 35
JEREMY ROGERS · Doug Peterson · 1974
Updated
The Contessa 35 is a 10.82 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Doug Peterson and built by JEREMY ROGERS, first launched in 1974. It races in Class C.
Length
10.82 m
35′ 6″
Beam
3.52 m
Draft
1.97 m
Displacement
6.6 t
Sail area
79 m²
On the podium
Where a Contessa 35 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
40%
of 15 starts by 2 boats
Wins
40%
Read from 15 starts by 2 boats between 2025 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Contessa 35 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
XXX Lliga Social CMPO2026
Nordseewoche2026- XXIX Lliga Social CMPO2025
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
46%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
—
Not enough data yet: no races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Contessa 35 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Tofinou 950 (6 meetings), J/35 (1 meeting), Tripp 40 (1 meeting), Elan 40 (1 meeting), X-41 (1 meeting), Italia 9.98 (1 meeting), J/88 (1 meeting), Swan 46 (1 meeting), JPK 39 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Contessa 35 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.99
38°
Beam reach
7.75
90°
Broad reach
8.38
135°
Downwind VMG
7.46
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
This is a light-air boat. Early-season racing and morning breezes play to its strengths; once it pipes up the fleet comes back to it.
Where it gains
Its best ground is upwind in the light stuff, where it outruns what it looks like on paper.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind once it pipes up, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.
How fast is a Contessa 35
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.39 | 4.52 | 4.90 | 4.99 |
| 52° | 5.13 | 6.48 | 6.86 | 6.96 |
| 60° | 5.37 | 6.63 | 7.01 | 7.16 |
| 75° | 5.53 | 6.75 | 7.17 | 7.48 |
| 90° | 5.43 | 6.75 | 7.25 | 7.75 |
| 110° | 5.31 | 6.88 | 7.49 | 8.01 |
| 120° | 5.16 | 6.83 | 7.52 | 8.33 |
| 135° | 4.69 | 6.56 | 7.37 | 8.38 |
| 150° | 4.02 | 6.00 | 7.06 | 8.04 |
| Run VMG | 3.48 | 5.21 | 6.45 | 7.46 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 490 kg.
Rigging
Contessa 35 rig and sail dimensions
A Contessa 35 carries 13.01 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.75 m boom, a forestay 14.73 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 2 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails