Peterson / Ganbare 35 opinions?

[sgwright]

An interesting boat came up, but due to its remote location, I am unable to view it for several weeks at least. I'm trying to do some research to determine if it will make a suitable cruising boat for extended offshore use.

It's a 1980 Peterson 35 mkii, production version of the IOR racer Ganbare, but equipped as a racer/cruiser:
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/ganbare-35

I've only seen a few photos so far, but the equipment list is pretty extensive, and at $15K, it seems like it would be worth a closer look.

Is a '73 IOR 1 ton a bad idea for a cruiser? Does anyone have direct experience with these boats, either racing or cruising? Apparently 35 were built by Cooper or Martin in Vancouver.

Thanks.

[Waylon]

I own a Peterson 35,

One of the original Cooper/Martin Builds,

It is a fantastic boat!

[psk125]

Should be a great boat to sail - very responsive and quick. Beware of possible IOR issues, however. Narrow bow is good for going upwind, but can be wet, since the lack of surface forward lets the bow dig in. Some IOR designs have flat sections forward of the keel, trying to fool the measurer. Sometimes these might pound in a seaway. Tucked in stern and possible bustle can make IOR boats squirrely downwind, too. This, coupled with a long, narrow bow can lead to wipeouts and broaches. Have a look for funky shapes aft of the keel. Hefty beam provides support for upwind sailing, but crew weight on the rail is often required to hold the boat flat. (Note photo in the Sailboatdata link you posted with everyone but the skipper on the windward rail, and it's not blowing that hard - 150% genoa and no reefs in main.) The Ganbare design may not have all these traits, but it looks like she might have some. Reports are that they are fantastic boats and sail fast, but you need to be ready for them to get the most out of them.

[Jim Cate]

Is a '73 IOR 1 ton a bad idea for a cruiser?

Well, there are considerable differences between the designs, but we cruised full time on a 1973 design 1974 build Standfast 36 by Palmer Johnson... a semi-production IOR one-tonner... for 17 years and ~86,000 miles. Draw whatever conclusion you wish from that, but we loved the boat, and she did well by us.

Anecdote: the folks at PJ, when I contacted them whilst thinking about buying the boat, said that they had the unfortunate timing to introduce their new design at the same time that Ganbare was blowing the doors off the competition at the one ton worlds. The PJ outweighed Ganbare almost 2:1 yet rated the same, and the handwriting was on the wall. They said that at PJ the boat was called the "one-ton mistake".

So, it was never a big winner in serious racing, but of the 21 that were built (including the prototype) nearly half circumnavigated as cruisers, not including ours which racked up the miles but never did the RTW circuit. And our old boat is still out there cruising in other's hands, nearly fifty years of age.

Jim