Moving from sail to motor questions, Nelson 32

SHUG

SHUG

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I'm thinking of getting a motorboat which will double for sea and French canal use.
There is a Nelson 32 on the market which has twin 145HP engines. It would be a great sea boat but somewhat overpowered for canal use.
Can I have opinions on the Nelson (any other recommendations) and a realistic estimate of what the fuel consumption would be in the two areas of operation.
Thanks
 
We have recently made the move from sail to power, and like you we wanted a boat which could be used both at sea and on the French canals.

Early on I looked at a Nelson 32 and the accommodation was very limited indeed. Even in larger sizes, the older Nelsons are quite narrow and offer little space for their length. But coming from a yacht, you'll be used to that!

In the end we settled on a Princess 35 (and had to go to Spain to get a good one at a good price) but that will not necessarily be an appropriate solution for you. If you like seaworthy semi-displacement boats you might like an Aquastar. Or a Broom.

I can't really comment on the Nelson's fuel consumption other than to say that at full throttle it will shock you, and at canal speeds it will not.
 
The Hardy 32 is a Nelson type design; they quote just over 1mpg at 20 kts.:ambivalence:
http://www.hardy-marine.co.uk/PDF/commander32.pdf

A big keel with a big Skeg= lots and lots of drag, and it also means squirrelly handling in a following sea as the wave energy hits the keel pushing the boat sideways.

thr RNLI with their latest Shannon class boat have got rid of the keel completely, and have two tiny little chine fins to give some directional stability.

[/
imagejpg1_zps6ea8cd5c.jpg


so the Nelson concept has been superseded and is pretty much dead in the water.
 
Deleted User said:
Interesting. They've nicked that from Marlow who claim to have pioneered twin strut keels:Dhttp://www.marlowyachts.com/Technical_Information.html
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Thats an interesting development, but the Marlow boats still seems to have quite big skegs in comparison to the lifeboat.

safehaven's boat design was rejected by the RNLI back in 2006 as it had a conventional keel; so they've redesigned it to conform with the latest ' slippery hull thinking'; but they have left the skeg in its original central position but made it very small while making the bow entry super fine to stop slamming.

imagejpg1_zpsfc78afb4.jpg

origional full keel design.

imagejpg2_zps87d0da96.jpg


New design with mini Skeg; take a look at the bow section!
 
SHUG said:
I'm thinking of getting a motorboat which will double for sea and French canal use.
There is a Nelson 32 on the market which has twin 145HP engines. It would be a great sea boat but somewhat overpowered for canal use.
Can I have opinions on the Nelson (any other recommendations) and a realistic estimate of what the fuel consumption would be in the two areas of operation.
Thanks
Click to expand...

What 145 engines, I feel more hate mail coming on...........
 
SHUG said:
I'm thinking of getting a motorboat which will double for sea and French canal use.
There is a Nelson 32 on the market which has twin 145HP engines. It would be a great sea boat but somewhat overpowered for canal use.
Can I have opinions on the Nelson (any other recommendations) and a realistic estimate of what the fuel consumption would be in the two areas of operation.
Thanks
Click to expand...

many people giving up sail seem to go for the Nelson! They are a good boat. The engines are not particularly powerfull but don't forget when going through the canals you can always use one engine! Do equal amounts of time for port and starboard engines. Don't know what consumption will be but not going to be huge for a mobo, but will seem quite large for someone giving up sailing!
good luck
 
rustybarge said:
thr RNLI with their latest Shannon class boat have got rid of the keel completely, and have two tiny little chine fins to give some directional stability.
Click to expand...

Perhaps not totally unrelated to the fact that they plan to drive the thing right up the beach on a regular basis? :)

Pete
 
I would guestimate that at Full Speed (WOT) you would use about 7 to 8 Gallons per hour per engine. Depends on how well your prop is matched and at what engine speed it is optimised for.
 
prv said:
Perhaps not totally unrelated to the fact that they plan to drive the thing right up the beach on a regular basis? :)

Pete
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Good point!
But maybe standard bilge keels would have worked as well for running up the beach.
If you go too the RNLI site there is a short video by the naval architect, and the design brief was to create a hull which would look after itself in a following sea without any input from the helmsman.

It took nearly 7 years of experimentation to come up with this design. Admittably they also wanted a faster cruising speed, and as you say they choose jets so the boat could be run up the beach without damaging the props.

As I understand it the mini-chine fins are a major feature of the anti-broaching design, just like on a surf board.
 
I did some of my commercial powerboat license on a similar Nelson.

It was a horrible boat, poorly layed out, dated, poor visibility from the wheel and I found it difficult to manouver. I can not think of a boat that I have enjoyed driving less.

I moved up to 40ft Aquastar which was a treat to drive...........OK not ideal for canals.

I would have thought a single small engined Jeneau or Benateau or similar with bow and stern thrusters would be a better choice.
 
Hi All, usual fantastic Forumites!!! Thanks for all your useful comments. The Nelson seems to be a popular choice for raggies to motorists BUT....
Yes. Perkins engines... that seems to be a concern.
Limited accommodation.....thats important.
Poor handling in a following sea....more worries.
Fuel consumtion is now fading as a key issue!
Mmmm...I think I'll start looking at Aquastars
 
SHUG said:
Hi All, usual fantastic Forumites!!! Thanks for all your useful comments. The Nelson seems to be a popular choice for raggies to motorists BUT....
Yes. Perkins engines... that seems to be a concern.
Limited accommodation.....thats important.
Poor handling in a following sea....more worries.
Fuel consumtion is now fading as a key issue!
Mmmm...I think I'll start looking at Aquastars
Click to expand...

It is all personal choice, but I would infinitely prefer the Aquastar.
 
Firefly625 said:
Looks nice, hopeless accommodation for us, been for sale for a loooooong time..
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I get the impression that unless you are selling a popular mass produced boat it's virtually impossible to sell a custom built boat like the Aquastar. Saying that just look at the number of Beneteau and Antares for sale with no purchasers in evidence.

It's still a buyers market, and asking prices are not a good indication of the true market value. It's my guess that any reasonable offer however low would be accepted on boats that have been on the market for longer than a few months.
 
SHUG said:
I'm thinking of getting a motorboat which will double for sea and French canal use.
There is a Nelson 32 on the market which has twin 145HP engines. It would be a great sea boat but somewhat overpowered for canal use.
Can I have opinions on the Nelson (any other recommendations) and a realistic estimate of what the fuel consumption would be in the two areas of operation.
Thanks
Click to expand...

Buy my Weymouth (Nelson) 32 - and put whatever engines (or engine) you like... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172089883782

It's already been through the French Canals once and is wider than a Nelson.
 
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