Sailing Scenesstable: great when on the wind,
but they need increasing tiller
pressure when off the wind in
heavy weather. (This is separate to
weather helm, which can also
play a part.) I find the Halmatic
far easier in this respect.’
He added that hand-steering the
Victoria on long passages under
sail was a strain, which was one
of the reasons he sold the boat,
whereas the Halmatic 30 ‘has
nice manners going forward, is
comfortable and easy to handle.
The chart table
arrangement
works well, there
is ample locker
space and a roomy heads for a
boat of this size. The Barbican
30 is a ‘deluxe’ version of the
Halmatic 30 and even prettier
outside and in. I couldn’t find one
when I was looking, but I think
they are worth searching for.
Good luck!’
And what about the Nicholson
31 (30ft 6in)? More than 100 were
built, so you should be able to
track one down. And there’s no
doubt that Ray Wall – who doesn’t
enjoy the fame he deserves –
designed lovely yachts. TheNicholson 31 is admired as a
superb performer with a quality
finish. The accommodation is pure
Nicholson and excels at sea with
its U-shaped galley, forward-facing
navigation station, practical pilot
berth and well-proportioned
amidships heads. But there’s one
problem: owners tend to hang on
to these boats forever, and the few
that appear second-hand often
need upgrading and refurbishing.
One response to the thread
simply read: ‘I can’t give anunbiased opinion, because I’ve
owned my Nic 31 from new in- She’s a great boat, has
sailed transatlantic (Maine to
Ireland, averaging just over 5
knots for the entire, comfortable
passage) and was great for living
aboard for six seasons, cruising
three months at a time, in northern
European waters. Fabulous boat.
Not for sale. You’ll have to wait till
I die! PS: Almost any used boat
will need to be updated. Just start
with a good foundation.’ Which
about says it all.
Thanks to the Nicholson 31
Association, I contacted Bill
Roesner – the writer of this
response – and he told me more
about his cruise from the US to
Europe. ‘We had a variety of
weather conditions, and the
combination of full keel and great
sail balance allowed the Aries
to steer straight in all but the
lightest air, even downwind. The
Nicholson 31, being tiller-steered,
is a superb single-hander, with jib
sheets and mainsheet at hand
with the tiller
between your
legs. About
two-thirds of my
time was single-handed for the
next five summers, which were
spent in Scotland, Norway,
Sweden, Finland, Denmark,
Germany, Holland, England
and France.’Condition and
equipment
However, another response to this
thread made the valid point that
‘There are more mainstream boats
available in that price range that
will do anything you want to do.
Going offshore is not the solepreserve of old-fashioned-style
long-keel boats. Just about any
more modern family boat such as
a Westerly, Hunter, Sadler, Moody
or more recent Bennys, Jennys
and Bavarias in the 28-32ft size
range will help you learn what
coastal and offshore cruising is
about. The advantage of this type
of boat is that it tends to be newer,
more spacious, easier to handle
and easier to sell when the time
comes to move on. There is a
much wider choice because they
were made in the hundreds rather
than tens. Once again, condition
and equipment are important.’
This prompted a similar
response from another sailor, who
wrote: ‘When I was looking for a
boat with my father, he had his
heart set on a Nicholson 31
because of the build quality,
reputation and heavy weather
abilities. We viewed several, and
they were all similar – they needed
a refit. Many Nicholson 31s will
have done galactic mileage,
because that’s what people
bought them for.
‘You must consider the type of
sailing you do. Long-keelers
tend not to be too marina-Halmatic 30: available second-hand from £18,500Victoria 30: available second-hand from £19,650
Nicholson 31: available second-hand from £19,995Sailing ScenesSailing Scenes Sailing ScenesUK-built 28 to 30ft cruisers
➜
The accommodation is pure
Nicholson and excels at sea
Moody 29: available second-hand from £22,000