Leisure 22 v Nicholson 27 as a first boat

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Geo1000

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Hello all.

Looking for opinions on these two boats, both bilge keelers.

Does the extra 5 feet make a big difference??

There are two for sale in my region at the moment, both in reasonable condition and the Nicholson is pretty much twice the price of the Leisure and 6 years younger.

27 is a bit outside my fiscal comfort zone for a first boat, but not prohibitively so.

There isn't much info on line for either apart from the owners groups and they're all biased?

Any feedback appreciated
 
There is a huge difference in both the length, accommodation and abilities of the two boats. One will take you across the Channel, the other will take you round the world.

I'd respeckfully suggest you get a year or two sailing the 22ftr out and around coastal and estuarine waters, and building up you r experience and knowledge of boats, and talking to other sailors. Then you will be in a position to understand if you need, or want, a boat that is 5 ft longer, and you may be able to afford one a bit longer perhaps.

Both are excellent boats and perfectly good at doing the what they are designed to do. The trouble is, there are two different objectives.
 
A bit like comparing a Ford Escort with an Audi Q3, they are not really directly comparable.
The extra 5' of the Nicholson changes the whole aspect of the boat, it's performance, handling and of course space.
The Leisure 22 is like all the Leisure's a solidly built boat built to provide maximum accomodation in a compact form, they have in my opinion never been the fastest boats on the water, but were never designed with that in mind.
The Nic' is a boat that, as sarabande has pointed out, a boat that will take you anywhere, and in a greater degree of than the Leisure,
 
I've been to see the Leisure, and whilst I appreciated what it was for the money, I think I would start to feel fairly cramped quite quickly. I can imagine I would want a bigger boat ASAP. Given that, is the Nicholson a good starter 'big' boat??
 
If you can afford to look at the Nic' for your first boat, then there is no reason why not, but make sure you get a full survey done on any boat before you buy, there are lots of 'nasties' that unless you know what to look for will cost you later, a n experienced surveyor will know what to look for.
 
No brainer, go for the Nic if you can afford it and the associated costs.
The actual speed and sailing ability of the Nic would convince me.

Though remember that any boat is just a money black hole in disguise.

The speed of the boat is proportional to the square of the waterline length and the capacity of a boat is in proportion to the cube of the length.
Expenses, like moorings and so on, are a straight proportion of the length

I bought a 24 foot boat and found myself 3 years later buying a 35 foot. Kept that for nearly 15 years

Buy once, buy the best you can.
 
Use that survey report as a guide and look around the boat at the areas of concern that it picked up. Check the condition of the rigging and the sails as these degrade with age and need replacing. Generally the better the condition of the boat and its sundry items the better. Is this being sold privately or through a broker? Have you taken it for a sail and are happy with how she handles? Also check where you intend to moor. Is it accessible at any time/tide or limited to high tide only (check that you can get out on any high tide and not just those close to the high tide)
 
Even if it had a survey two years ago, I would still consider having a survey done now, a lot can happen to a boat in two years, this survey was not for you so should be accepted with caution, and it is quite likely your insurance company will want a new one anyway.
 
Well worth getting the engine checked out by a marine engineer in my opinion if you are not too familiar with mechanics. Normal surveys tend to only give a rough idea of engine condition and it is one of the most expensive items to put right/replace.
 
The nic every time if you have the budget. Big boats are actually easier to steer than small boats, although it may just feel like that to me :)

27ft is still a small boat by most folks standards, but the comfort level and sea keeping wll be in a different league.
 
Will all these older and cheaper boats a central point is "What's the engine like". A replacement engine is very expensive in relation to the boat value. So make sure it is a good engine or allow an £5000 min in your budget.
 
The Leisure is on at £2900 and the Nic is on at £5500. Leisure has an outboard, a 5hp parsuns and the Nic has a 20HP beta, don't know the year but advert states low hours run.
 
Geo1000 said:
The Leisure is on at £2900 and the Nic is on at £5500. Leisure has an outboard, a 5hp parsuns and the Nic has a 20HP beta, don't know the year but advert states low hours run.
Click to expand...


FWIW.

Just on that information you should really 100% try to get the Nic' (y)

PS
...........But satisfy yourself that the saildrive is ok
.
 
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