Review of Nimbus 42

Basic specs.

The Nimbus 42 is a large sailboat designed by the American maritime architect bureau Kaufman & Ladd in the early eighties. The Nimbus 42 is built by the Swedish yard Albin Marin AB.

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Hull

Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Interior

The boat is equipped with 454.0 liter fresh water capacity.

Keel

Fin keel

The Nimbus 42 is equipped with 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 boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.77 - 1.87 meter (5.81 - 6.11 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

Nimbus 42 may be equipped with a Pathfinder diesel engine at 50 hp (37 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.6 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 227.0 liters (59 US gallons, 49 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 Nimbus 42 is 1.80, 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 7.8 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 Nimbus 42 is about 265 kg/cm, alternatively 1489 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 265 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1489 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 Nimbus 42 is 31.4.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 58% 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 Nimbus 42 is 3.32.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 50% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen an average hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Nimbus 42 is 47%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 88% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly above average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Nimbus 42 is 240 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

50% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. This boat has a precise average ratio between displacement and length!

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Nimbus 42 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 17.7, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 21.2.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 54% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

The Nimbus 42 has more rig than 46% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.

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 44m² (473 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

Dimensions of sail.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

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**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	38.6 m	(126.8 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	38.6 m	(126.8 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	38.6 m	(126.8 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Jib sheet	12.7 m	(41.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	12.7 m	(41.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	31.6 m	(103.8 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	27.8 m	(91.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Cunningham	4.6 m	(15.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Kickingstrap	9.1 m	(30.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 inch)
Clew-outhaul	9.1 m	(30.0 feet)	12 mm	(1/2 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 Nimbus 42 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

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.