Nicholson 35

[purplerobbie]

Nicholson 35
Are they any good?
A friend is thinking of buying one for weekend use and a bit of round the cans. He is also talking about using it for an atlantic crossing in 2012.

What should he look out for? I thought they where bolted keel but he says they are encapsulated?

I said a vancouver 34 would be better?

Rob

 

[webcraft]

Nic 35- lovely boat, fast, encapsulated keel

.
Gorgeous looking boats. Fin and skeg but with an encapsulated keel.

Performance-wise very seaworthy ocean cruisers and (I think) faster than the Vancouver. Also likely to be considerably cheaper - you can pick up a Nic in good nick for £35,000 but you are likely to pay up to double that for a (newer) Vancouver. The vancouver has a better accommodation layout though and is a lovely boat as well.

There is a Nic 35 near us that I will be after tomorrow if we win the lottery tonight.

Specifications for the Nicholson 35

LOA 35.3 ft. LOD 35.3 ft.
LWL 26.8 ft. Beam 10.4 ft.
Draft 5.5 ft. Displaces 17,630 lbs.
Ballast 7,390 lbs. Sail Area 550.0 sq. ft.
Engine 40.0

Performance Indicators

D/L 409 B/D 42 % SA/D 13.0
Comfort 39.1 Capsize 1.60 L/B 3.4

------------------------------------------------

Specifications for the Vancouver 34

LOA 34.3 ft. LOD 34.3 ft.
LWL 27.5 ft. Beam 10.5 ft.
Draft 4.7 ft. Displaces 13,995 lbs.
Ballast 5,999 lbs. Mast Height 46.5 ft.
Sail Area 487.0 sq. ft.

Performance Indicators

D/L 300 B/D 43 % SA/D 13.4
Comfort 30.5 Capsize 1.74 L/B 3.3


- W

 

[photodog]

I think if you want someting for "Round the Cans" and weekend pottering... then the Nich is gonna be a better choice...

 

[webcraft]

.
If you want something for round the cans and weekend pottering have our Vega and we'll take off and put some miles on the Nic . . . that boat wants to travel.

Here's a Nic35 that was next to us in La Gomera leaving San Sebastian for Brazil and Cape Town . . . it's a great boat for a transat.

'Vortex' leaving San Sebastian for Brazil and Cape Town

- W

 

[Tranona]

Like most Nics of that era they went through a number of changes in layout and specification. The early ones had a smaller rig and a plain interior, but later ones became more luxurious. Need to pay careful attention to the engine. Most had big Perkins and V drives which are very congested and potentially difficult to maintain as all the gear is obsolete.

Although a better boat for pottering and club racing that a Vancouver, that is a waste. There are much better boats for that use, but if the real objective is long distance cruising and your friend prefers old fashioned boats then it is an excellent choice.

It would have been near the top of my list until I discovered that the world of boat design has moved on a long way since the 1970's! Still attracts the eye though!

 

[dk]

Nic 35s are really great sailing boats, but are a little cramped below for long term cruising. I sold mine two years ago - she had had a custom interior for bluewater cruising, together with a new engine/saildrive. With the standard power set up they are pretty tricky to manoeuvre in tight marinas and they do need the rudder extensions (standard after 1975 i think). Early models, like mine, had shorter masts, which meant i could keep full sail up to F6!

Despite their non-guest friendly interiors I would have another one tomorrow if I had the money, because of their superb sailing characteristics.

Watch out for spongy foredecks and shroud bases - not insurmountable, but tedious and messy repair job. Ask for, and check engine/transmission service history - although pretty reliable usually, if those V-drives aren't well maintained they can be a pain.

I have some cracking pics, but have yet to work out how to put them up. Might waste a few hours trying today!

D

PS - Kings Easton (Beaulieu) are experts on Nicholsons - well worth a call. www.kingsyacht.com. No connection except that they sold me mine and seemed very knowledgable and helpful.

PPS - have tried posting a pic but says 'server busy' all the time. Here's the link anyway
http://i782.photobucket.com/albums/yy104/sailsail/OliviaNic35.jpg

 

[photodog]

 

[photodog]

Nice Boat!

 

[dk]

Thanks photodog - was i doing something wrong?
Duncan

 

[EuanMcKenzie]

re Nic 35

There are a couple in our Boatyard at Tignabruaich, one especially good looking example called Orwell lass. No guessing where that came from?

They have an old fashioned line and are especially pleasing to the eye. Spotted a really nice looking example for sale in yachting life last night.

One owner from new and maintained by a paid hand.

Its for sale via Ardfern brokerage but located in Thurso if your keen.

No connection. I guess I'm just taken in by the lines

 

[hannahman]

My brother has one, and he sailed his, with his young family, from here in the UK to New Zealand.

I've emailed him a link to this thread, so I hope he'll contribute with some of his experiences of the boat!

Doug

 

[gcoulson]

Nic 35 - Awesome Boat

We sailed ours (Clarabella, built '72, hull 36) from UK to NZ 2005 to 2007 with my wife and me and our 3 children. The boat is very solid, sails beautifully and is very comfortable indeed at sea. Before that we used her for weekends and summers etc, great for that too.

Have a lookt at www.clarabella.net for more about our trip.

 

[Lady Campanula]

How d' you think a Rival 34 might stack up in that 'beauty contest'....

 

[Bajansailor]

They are very nice boats, thats for sure.
I sailed on a couple out here in the 80's, and crewed for a pal with two others on a Nic 35 up to Bermuda from here in May '08.
We stopped at St Maarten on the way to stock up (some more) as we were planning on going non stop to the Azores - as you can see in the photo below we were well loaded down, with the boot top underwater......

Plans changed on the way to the Azores, and we ended up in Bermuda instead - but we were not complaining, as it is rather a nice place to visit - here we are at the St Georges Dinghy Club (they offer a warm welcome to all visiting yachties).

Flew home from Bermuda via England, and had a week in high latitudes in between. Met another nice Nic 35 (below) in Gosport - they were heading south soon for the Caribbean.
Or rather, I met her crew in Coburns at Premier - they were most surprised to find somebody from Barbados there!

And then I bumped into them again in the Tobago Cays (in the Grenadines) last year -

They had crossed from the Canaries with 4 crew on board, and it all went well, apart from (I think) a problem with the gooseneck, which meant that they bypassed Barbados and went straight to Grenada to carry out repairs.

I was over in England just before Christmas and we toddled off to Coburns for a drinkie - and who do we bump into...... our intrepid Nic crew had flown home for C'mas, and Coburns used to be their local.....

Nic 35s do have a very comfortable motion at sea - they are very stiff, and really start truckin' along when the wind gets up. The wind was picking up steadily during our last 2 days out of Bermuda, and we were broad reaching with just the 150% genoa up, and absolutely stonking along, with Harry the Aries totally in control, often hitting 8 knots, despite being so heavily laden.

Access to their engine installations has been described by some as diabolical though, and I would tend to agree with that.... many were fitted with a Perkins 4-108 and a hydraulic drive (rather than a vee drive) and these apparently have much less overall efficiency than the vee drive. The engine is literally under the cockpit, and on our boat it's home was affectionately (?) called 'the black hole'.......

 

[whipper_snapper]

For blue water, I would regard lots of solar power and shade over the wheel essential. I know it's criminal vandalism, but how would a big A frame/bimini with solar panels work on the nic35 ? I have seen lots with wind chargers, but none with all that gubbins at the back. It is easy on a modern boat with a wide flat stern, but on a nich35 it would be ugly and possibly difficult to arrange. Any thoughts ?

 

[Blue5]

And then I bumped into them again in the Tobago Cays (in the Grenadines) last year -

They had crossed from the Canaries with 4 crew on board, and it all went well, apart from (I think) a problem with the gooseneck, which meant that they bypassed Barbados and went straight to Grenada to carry out repairs.

I was over in England just before Christmas and we toddled off to Coburns for a drinkie - and who do we bump into...... our intrepid Nic crew had flown home for C'mas, and Coburns used to be their local.....

Nic 35s do have a very comfortable motion at sea - they are very stiff, and really start truckin' along when the wind gets up. The wind was picking up steadily during our last 2 days out of Bermuda, and we were broad reaching with just the 150% genoa up, and absolutely stonking along, with Harry the Aries totally in control, often hitting 8 knots, despite being so heavily laden.

Access to their engine installations has been described by some as diabolical though, and I would tend to agree with that.... many were fitted with a Perkins 4-108 and a hydraulic drive (rather than a vee drive) and these apparently have much less overall efficiency than the vee drive. The engine is literally under the cockpit, and on our boat it's home was affectionately (?) called 'the black hole'.......

The boat was being prepared in the yard next to my boat prior to there departure, the guy who owned it had worked for Nicholsons for a long time and had helped with its original build. The standard of workmanship he had put into the upgrade was stunning, I used to like going to the yard just to look at it, I had wondered how they were doing, thanks

 

[jonnyhull]

I have the Nic 35 that Martin (BajanSailor) did the Bermuda trip in. It's the only Nic I've ever sailed. She's a great boat and I prefer her sailing motion to most other boats I've sailed in. We brought her back across the Atlantic with just 3 of us and accommodation below felt cramped but still comfortable. I've sailed her since the early 90's and have ran her for two lots of three years during that period. Lovely arrangement with the owners - when they want a break from ownership costs I get her and pay all the costs although pretty much the same group of people still sail her - I get first shout on where we go and who goes. On the last occassion I shipped her to Tortola, sailed down the caribbean chain, back up again, across the Atlantic and then along the South Coast last year. We've done may Round the Island races (winning the Nic 35 cup) and countless cross channel races - including one where we had 50+knot gusts. We had 56kts gusts (apparent - running downwind) whilst approaching Falmouth in 08 and hit over 10kts. She was fine throughout. I have never felt scared in heavy weather. I have felt frustrated in light winds though! Round the cans is not really my thing but she's regularly taken part in short races and has performed fairly well - rarely likely to win though! We also performed best at the longer races in stronger conditions.
When we sailed her heavily (weekend and week long summer cruising) in the 90s we were all in our early 20s and being cramped really wasn't a problem. There is definitely not the comfort factor you get with bigger more modern yachts but I think it is worth the trade off.
She is can be problematic in a marina - the fin skeg config means she has a very wide turning circle and she doesn't go backwards well. But again it is worth the trade off.
And Martin is right about the Aries wind vane - Harry is fantastic - just the odd tweak here and there and she sails herself.

 

[Goldie]

For blue water, I would regard lots of solar power and shade over the wheel essential. I know it's criminal vandalism, but how would a big A frame/bimini with solar panels work on the nic35 ? I have seen lots with wind chargers, but none with all that gubbins at the back. It is easy on a modern boat with a wide flat stern, but on a nich35 it would be ugly and possibly difficult to arrange. Any thoughts ?

Ther's a Nic 35 on a swinging mooring in Portsmouth Hr with 'goal posts' etc on the back and it doesn't look bad at all. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if she's still there over winter so no photograph available. Proves it can be done though.

 

[DaiB]

Nic 35 engine

I once helped a fellow yachtie with his engine on a Nic 35. He was very enthusiastic about the boats sailing abilities and loved the boat.
My first exclamation on seeing the engine layout was "what effing idiot designed that" It was a hydraulic drive jammed in with no room to get at anything.
Make sure you have a good engine if you are buying one and be prepared for some heart ache if it ends up with problems.
If you are a DIY guy then you need long arms, ten fingers on each hand a bloody good sense of humour!!!!!!http://www.ybw.com/forums/images/smilies/wink.gif