Review of Nicholson 476
Basic specs.
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Nicholson 476 is 39.3.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Nicholson 476 is 3.47.
The ballast ratio for Nicholson 476 is 40%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Nicholson 476 is 309 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.
Maintenance
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.
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.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Jib sheet | 14.4 m | (47.4 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 14.4 m | (47.4 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 36.1 m | (118.5 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 31.8 m | (104.3 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
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