More of this Feature • Part 1: Maxum 3500 SCR • Part 2: Maxum 3500 SCR continued • Maxum 3500 SCR Specs • Maxum 3500 SCR Deck Plan • Maxum 3500 SCR Acceleration Curve • Maxum 3500 SCR Photo Gallery
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It's a no-brainer for a boat designer to squeeze more into less. All it takes is a sharp pencil, a perverse sense of humor, and a streak of cruelty. There are a lot of cruising boats out there with features and creature comforts that look great on the drawing board, but after a long weekend of real life, the only happy face is on the post-cruise chiropractor. So what do you do when your budget allows for a 35-footer but your persona demands the good life that can only be provided by a 40-footer? Well, Maxum's new 3500 SCR takes a long stretch toward that bigger-boat feel. Sure, with an LOA of 35 feet and a beam of 12'2", she's right in the ballpark of most other like-size cruisers, but step below and you've gone from the old Polo Grounds to Yankee Stadium.

For instance, a defining feature of most 35-foot cruisers is what is commonly referred to as the midcabin. Sometimes this is little more than a space with a privacy curtain where a pair of guests can be made to ponder the error of their ways or where the children can be stashed, neither out of sight nor out of sound. This Maxum has none of that. Her spacious, L-shape midcabin is accessed by an honest-to-goodness solid door to port that leads directly into a changing space complete with a sink-into-it vinyl-covered chair. Two single bunks (an insert converts them to a double) are equipped with twin reading lamps, and there's even a full-size hanging locker. Without ports, many midcabins nurture our incipient claustrophobia. There is a port here, though, and while the only view is of the cockpit deck and skipper's feet, it still lets in plenty of light.

As a matter of fact, this midcabin offers more privacy than the forward stateroom, which is separated from the saloon by just a curtain. However, there is no question that this is the master. It's appointed with a pedestal-style double berth (sheet changing will be a cinch), two hanging lockers (each capable of stowing two or three suits and an evening dress without need of an extra fold), and a couple of ingeniously placed shelves for knickknacks. Plenty of under-berth stowage holds enough gear for a week afloat.

With its hardwood flooring, Corian countertops, and dual-voltage refrigerator, the galley would do justice to a New York studio apartment. A touch of good design--and more representative of a larger boat--is its location, to starboard and aft of the companionway. All too many similar cruisers position the galley forward of those steps, intruding into the saloon.

That saloon, by the way, features a huge U-shape dinette/lounge that converts to a double berth. Electrical switches are cunningly hidden behind a cupboard-like door, which makes them easy to reach and difficult for a thief to find. With this sensible galley-saloon layout, the cook is out of the traffic flow but still within social distance. Also, cooking smoke and odors will waft up the companionway and out.

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