Review of Nicholson 32

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. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.

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 one cabin, 5 berths, a galley, 200.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

Rig of Nicholson 32 anno 1975.

The Nicholson 32 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.

Full keel

The Nicholson 32 is equipped with a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.64 - 1.74 meter (5.38 - 5.68 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Nicholson 32 may be equipped with an inboard Watermota Sea Panther diesel engine

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 76.0 liters (20 US gallons, 16 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Nicholson 32 is 1.57, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.6 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.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Nicholson 32 is about 138 kg/cm, alternatively 776 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 138 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 776 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Nicholson 32 is 39.6.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Nicholson 32 is 3.45.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Nicholson 32 is 45%.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Nicholson 32 is 428 which categorizes this boat among 'heavy cruisers'.

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

The SA/D for Nicholson 32 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 13.4, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 15.9.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 25m² (269 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.

Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.

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.

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.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Nicholson 32 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.