The photo taken on Lake Michigan August of 2005, and it can be seen in print on page 6 of Wilson Wright's Brass Bell, the Chris Craft Antique Boat Club newsletter. Very nice boat. I have a much better appreciation for the 35 after seeing this one.
Here is a frontal view of a 35' Commander. I call this one the "Express" model, but Chris Craft called it the "Commander". For many people, this is the ideal size. It's not so large that it consumes lots of fuel if it's run frequently, and it's large enough to offer almost all of the benefits of the larger boats. Two hundred and twenty two of these boats were built between 1968 and 1972.
A 35' Sports Cruiser was offered between 1969 and 1972 and 164 of those were built. In addition, an unusual 35' Salon was built between 1971 and 1972, and 25 of those rolled out of the Chris Craft manufacturing plant (that boat featured an open top and helm station, and aft cabin). Numerous other variants exist from subsequent years, and you will find some of them in the following links! The 35 is a well respected Commander model, featuring good lines and performance to match. Looking at the production numbers, they remain a pretty rare boat to be seen on the water or at the marina.
The boat features the Dick Avery "aggressive aerodynamic" look, first introduced on the 1963 Constellation, later applied to the 1970 38 Commander. The 35 featured this look from the onset, and it also has a very refined interior that takes advantage of all the tricks Chris Craft learned over the years designing cruiser interiors. The beam on this boat is the same 13' as the 38' Commander.
Regards, P
