Review of Nimbus 26

Basic specs.

The Nimbus 26 is a sailboat designed by the Danish maritime architect Bjørn Olsen in the early sixties. The Nimbus 26 is built by the Danish yard P. Bjørn Olsens Bådeværft ApS.

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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. 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 hull is a double hull which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.

Interior

The interior is like many other boats made of mahogany. Mahogany belongs to the hardwood species, known for being water-repellent and resistant to decay. It has an attractive wood grain and holds wood polish and varnish well.
The boat is equipped with 2 cabins, 4 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

Rig

The Nimbus 26 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.

Engine

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Bukh DV10M diesel engine at 12 hp (8 kW). Calculated max speed is about 5.0 knots

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 26 is 1.60, 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 6.5 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 26 is about 106 kg/cm, alternatively 598 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 106 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 598 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 26 is 27.6.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 90% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly above average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Nimbus 26 is 3.58.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 98% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a significantly more speedy hull design. This type of design is also referred to as 'needle'.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Nimbus 26 is 213 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

62% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

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

The SA/D for Nimbus 26 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 12.3, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 14.5.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 12% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

RSP (Relative Speed Performance)

What is Relative Speed Performance?

The Relative Speed Performance for Nimbus 26 is 14

The relative speed performance is 14 which means that a it is faster than 14% of all similar sailboat designs.

Maintenance

Rig

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.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	21.9 m	(71.9 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	21.9 m	(71.9 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	21.9 m	(71.9 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Jib sheet	8.0 m	(26.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	8.0 m	(26.2 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Mainsheet	20.0 m	(65.5 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	17.6 m	(57.6 feet)	10 mm	(3/8 inch)
Cunningham	2.9 m	(9.4 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Kickingstrap	5.7 m	(18.7 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 inch)
Clew-outhaul	5.7 m	(18.7 feet)	8 mm	(5/16 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.

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Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Nimbus 26 (Olsen) 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.