Sabbatical SC35 - Updated 9/28/26

985 Southern Cross 35 Cutter — "Sabbatical"
Hull SC35-22 (CER350220585)
Port Republic, New Jersey — $39,900

Thomas Gillmer's double-ended bluewater cutter, built by C.E. Ryder in Bristol, Rhode Island. Airex-cored hull, balsa-cored deck, skeg-hung rudder, encapsulated lead keel. Quarter berth layout, with the nav station at its head and a U-shaped galley to starboard.

My father bought her in 2018 as a neglected project boat and spent six years bringing her back. He died in December 2024 and the family isn't going to use her, so she's for sale.

Repowered. Beta Marine 30 diesel commissioned June 2020 with a PRM 90 gearbox (2.5:1) — 114 hours total, with oil and filter changes logged at 44, 67 and 94 hours. A complete service record for the engine's entire life. Twin Racor primaries, the second added in 2022 with its own switch and alarm. Luke feathering prop, 2023.

Systems largely rebuilt 2018–2024. Full house-power rebuild in 2024: 300W shadow-resistant solar and controller, 1100W inverter, two 100Ah lithium iron batteries on a 200-amp bank. Pressure water system, all new hoses, accumulator and stainless Kuuma water heater, June 2024. Cool Blue refrigeration, July 2024. Headliner replaced 2024 with the deck leak above it traced and repaired. Thru-hulls and seacocks replaced in the 2018–19 overhaul — all operable and bonded at survey. Mast wiring 2022, LED cabin lighting 2023.

On deck. Harken MKIV jib furler. Electric windlass with controls, stainless plow and colour-coded rode over 30 ft of chain. New lifelines 2021, rub rails 2020, stainless dorades, teak cockpit gratings. All interior and exterior teak stripped and recoated more than once — five fresh coats over the winter of 2022–23. Full custom boat cover made for her.

Electronics. Furuno VHF with AIS and registered MMSI, Furuno NavNet GPS, radar and chart plotter, Datamarine depth, Garmin speed and wind at the masthead, CPT autopilot (2023).

Her condition, plainly. She has been ashore at Chestnut Neck Boat Yard since autumn 2024 and hasn't been launched since. The engine hasn't run in two years and will want recommissioning before use. The mast has been down since late 2024 — which means the rig, chainplates and fittings are all at eye level and easy to inspect properly, and I'd encourage any buyer to do exactly that: there's no record of the standing rigging ever being replaced, so assume it's original. The main and genoa are serviceable older working sails, professionally serviced in 2021; the staysail is from Linthicum Sailmakers, 2022. The bottom has been painted regularly but never stripped back to the barrier coat. She will be properly winterized before the first freeze in 2026.

Documentation. My father kept a log book, and I've transcribed all 153 entries into a spreadsheet covering every repair and improvement from December 2018 onward — including the items he never got to, which I'll send as he wrote them. There's a 2024 survey by a SAMS-accredited surveyor, yard invoices, receipts, and the product manuals for everything he installed. Happy to send the lot, plus photos and video, to anyone seriously interested.

Niall McGrath — nfmcgrath86@gmail.com