The Riptide 35 was my first design for Jonathan and Libby McKee of Seattle. The concept for the 35 was conceived by Jonathan during a long and uncomfortable distance race on an ultralight 50 footer. He realized that a high percentage of the sailors on board were there purely as human ballast. His design brief was for a high performance racer/cruiser capable of blistering speed on the race course (Jonathan is an Olympic gold medalist in the FD class and a silver medalist in the 49er class). The boat was intended to be sailed only by the number of people required to handle the boat. In addition the boat also needed to have reasonable accommodations for family cruising with standing headroom, galley and enclosed head. She is capable of being sailed to a large percentage of her potential with a crew of two or three persons. Both Riptide 35s raced in the ’98 Pacific Cup race to Hawaii with crews of four and placed 1st and 2nd in class, beating all but one (turboed) Santa Cruz 50 over the line.
-Paul
Construction Details
The first was built by Shaw Boats in Aberdeen, WA. The second was built by Barry Smith in Seattle WA.
The goal of the construction was to maximize performance for a given cost and maximize the use of laminated flat stock.
Hull below the chine was built of strip planked Duracore with eglass/epoxy skins. The sides were built from eglass/epoxy skins on cross linked PVC core layed up on a flat table and cut to computer patterns. These sides weighed 32 kg each and were sprung into the female building jig.
The deck and cockpit were similarily built from carbon/foam flat panels and the house was carbon skins over a strip planked foam core.
All interior panels are built from lightweight composite panels cut out to accurate computer patterns for minimum weight and minimum waste.
The spar was built by Hall Spars and rigged by Paul Bieker in Seattle. Standing rigging is discontinuous rod.
Particulars
| LOA | 10.74 m (35.3’) |
| LWL | 9.54 m (31.3’) |
| Beam | 3.43 m (11.3’) |
| Draft | 2.67 m (8.8’) |
| Displ, racing trim | 2136 kg (4700#) |
| Fixed Ballast | 1023 kg (2250#) |
| Water Ballast (per side) | 545 kg (1200#) |
| Displ/length ratio | 67 |
| Mast Height above DWL | 15.7 m (51.4’) |
| Upwind Sail Area | 85 sqm (915 sq ft) |
| Downwind Sail Area | 163 sqm (1750 sq ft) |
I outer headstay = 13.8m (45.4’)
J outer headstay = 4.04m (13.2’)
I inner headstay = 11m (36.0’)
J inner headstay = 3.90m (12.8’)
P = 13.3m (43.6’)
E = 4.75m (15.6’)
Isp = 14.53m (47.7’)
Jsp = 7.06m (23.2’)
