YachtDatabase.com

Review of Nicholson 476


Nicholson 476
Nicholson 476 anno 1986. Nicholson 476 under sejl ud for Vedbæk i 1998.

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Nicholson 476 is a large sailboat designed by the British maritime architect David Pedrick in the mid eighties. Only a few boats have been produced. The Nicholson 476 is built by the British yard Camper & Nicholson Ltd..

Looking for a new boat? Find a Nicholson 476 or similar boat for sale

Interior
Floor plan
Floor plan of Nicholson 476. Interiør plan for NICHOLSON 476

The interior is like most other boats made of teak. Teak has the advantage of being naturally very oily and therefore water-repellent, which is suitable on boats.
The boat is equipped with 3 cabins, 7 berths, a galley, 681.0 liter fresh water capacity, toilet facility and 125.0 liter waste water capacity.


Rig

The Nicholson 476 is equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.


Keel

The Nicholson 476 has been built with different keel alternatives.

Fin keel

One option is a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.29 - 2.39 meter (7.51 - 7.81 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Unknown keel type

The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

Nicholson 476 can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.50 - 1.60 meter (4.92 - 5.22 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

DaggerBoard aka Sword

Another option is a daggerboard keel. A daggerboard is a lifting keel that can be lowered and raised, allowing the boat to enter shallow waters as well.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.50 - 1.60 meter (4.92 - 5.22 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Fin keel

Another option is a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a full keel.

The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.78 - 1.88 meter (5.84 - 6.14 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

Nicholson 476 may be equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.236 diesel engine at 85 hp (63 kW). The speed is 8.0 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 341.0 liters (90 US gallons, 75 imperial gallons).


Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Nicholson 476 is 1.70, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.1 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Nicholson 476 is about 307 kg/cm, alternatively 1724 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 307 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1724 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.


Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Nicholson 476 is 39.3.

Low High 73% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 73% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Nicholson 476 is 3.47.

Wide Slim 54% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Nicholson 476 is 40%.

Low High 73% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 73% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just above average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Nicholson 476 is 309 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

Heavy Light 21% 0 50 100
21% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 53m2 (570 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.


Rig

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Jib sheet 14.4 m(47.4 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet14.4 m(47.4 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 36.1 m(118.5 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet31.8 m(104.3 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.



Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Nicholson 476 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.



References