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Peter asked if he could join our group because, as he wrote in an email:
Quote:I am just starting the process towards purchasing a Nicholson 38 to go extended cruising when I finally retirePeter is from North Yorkshire, and has extensive sailing experience. Welcome Peter, I hope we can help you understand the positive aspects of this lovely ketch!
Hi Peter,
Welcome to the group.
I am just relaxing at anchor at Grenada after a full year of cruising Alexina from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean. Tomorrow we lift out for a three month period and some light maintenance (we intend to solve the problem of subsidence under the mizzen). Earlier today I chatted with Tom, the owner of Prospero, another Nicholson 38.
In my erxperience, not only will your prospective Nicholson 38 look after you, indeed, you will find that she is a much better sailor than you are, you will also enjoy the privilige of instant friendship with other Nicholson owners, large and small.
Best Regards .. Peter
Many thanks for your kind words – very much appreciated. I have long been an admirer Nicholson yachts right back to my early days as a boy when I remember seeing footage of Gypsy Moth 1V rounding the Horn, and thinking “I want one of those!” Thankfully, I understand that the Nic 38 sails far more comfortably than did Gypsy Moth, and I doubt that I will be sailing single handed round the World! However this has been a lifetime ambition and I think that finally I have hit on the right combination of length, stability, comfort and price with a Nic 38 and that is why I have joined the Owners Group.
The next steps are to find out what to look for when buying a Nic 38 and what have been the most successful modifications that have been made over the years I understand for example, that the newer hull numbers have the nav desk looking forward and the older ones looking aft – or is that an owner’s modification? Some have had the aft cabin modified to make a usable double bed. Has anybody used a Hydrovane self steering with success or is the general view that the servo pendulum systems work better with this hull configuration. Has anybody increased the mast height to add a bit more power in light airs, and has anybody added a staysail? I am sure that you went through all these sorts of questions before you bought Alexina as has everybody else.
If you or anybody else has any advice for me, I will be delighted to hear from you.
In the meantime, may I wish you every success in solving the mizzen subsidence problem and that your light maintenance program does not throw up any expensive gremlins!
Kind regards
Peter Reynolds (Newby to the forum, seeking advice from the experienced and a hopeful owner within the next 2+ years.)
Hi Peter,
Ah! so many things to consider. I notice that Hull No 1, Rinji, built alongside Gypsy Moth IV is currently for sale, just to tempt you.
All I can suggest is that you take your time and decide want you want your Nicholson 38 to do. Their prices seem to vary depending on the location, they are expensice in Northern Europe, less so in the Med and even cheaper in the USA.
To answer your questions ..
We have been very happy with our aft facing nav station although it has to be said that with the advent of charts on PCs, GPS and AIS our navigation is now done almost entirely from a notebook computer in the cockpit.
The aft cabin belongs entirely to our eleven year old daughter, Tiger. We have no idea what configuration she and her chums have made of it.
We have never used our mizzen staysail as it would interfere with our mizzen mounted wind generator. We have installed an additional forestay and have the theoretical ability to fly a staysial but have never bothered as we have a roller reefed foresail.
We have had mixed successes with our Hydrovane, when it worked it was wonderful, unfortunately the rudder shaft sheared, we are not sure whether it was a result of a previous misadventure by an earlier owner or a design problem ( Hydrovane have since increased the size and soecification of the rudder shaft)
Best Regards .. Peter
Quote:I understand for example, that the newer hull numbers have the nav desk looking forward and the older ones looking aft – or is that an owner’s modification?Rainshadow, hull #126 (1974), has her nav station at the aft end of the dinette in the salon, facing aft. This is rather late in the production run, so I suspect a forward facing nav desk is an owner modification. I have a hard time even imagining how that might be possible.
Quote:Some have had the aft cabin modified to make a usable double bed.Rainshadow’s aft cabin has a “double bed” on the port side. The PO enlarged the area by moving the fore/aft running bulkhead slightly inwards as far as possible to widen the berth area behind the port side aft head “locker”. The cushon is about 50″ wide at the top, but narrows down to someting like 27″ at the foot. It takes a limber body to get in/out of this berth, and the person already in the bed must stay smashed close to the hull as the second person climbs in. Then you play footsie all night long. Suffice to say, it can be clostrophobic at times for the person on the hull side, and quite stuffy.
The other nice modification the PO made in the aft cabin was to turn the starboard side berth into a chair at the fwd end of the aft cabin, and a useful set of drawers in line where the cabin top drops down just before the mizzen. Behind this set of drawers, accessible from the aft deck locker, is the propane storage locker. Having a reasonable chair and all the drawer storage is more useful than another quarterberth, especially since the port side quarterberth is now a friendly double.
In addition, the aft head has been turned into a hanging locker with its nice tannoy vent(more storage the better), and the aft sink has been removed. This left 3 unused thru-hulls in the aft cabin. We are considering using the aft head inlet (located in the bilge under the aft cabin floorboard) as the inlet for a saltwater pump at the galley.
To get a better general understanding of the boat and her design, I encourage you to contact Jeremy Lines to get a copy of the CD, which is described here
Also, just browse all the postings in this forum. The owners are a wealth of knowledge, both with nifty tricks, as well as useful things to watch out for.
Hi Peter
Welcome. I use my mizzen staysail as often as I can (my ‘hooligan’ has red and white stripes). With this and the mizzen, mainsail and spinnaker Ronar M bombs along in light airs – so no need for a taller mast. Cheers, Trevor
i use a hydrovane its very good tho it makes mizzen obsolete so a longer mast would be good about 3ft longer. but no to staysail for me as tacking will be a handfull on my own
Just a quick thank you to everybody who has sent me advice so far. I already feel part of the Nic 38 community and feel that I will have plenty of resources to call upon. Please keep sending me any advice you have. Thank you – Peter
This is a post of very mixed feelings! We have been looking at Nic 38s for some while now, and have followed the forum with great interest. We have also had a huge amount of encouragement from members on a direct email basis as well as in the replies above. Of particular note has been “The Alexina’s” – Peter and Helen, as well as Trevor aboard Ronar M where my wife, Linda and I spent a most enjoyable week.
After all this support, I am slightly embarrassed to report that in our travels, we came across a Hallberg Rassy Rasmus in the South of France, registered in Guernsey, in incredibly good condition. Last week we finalised the Transfer of Registration and “Raselle” is now ours.
As a result, I feel that we cannot justify being full members of the Nic 38 Owners Group, when in fact, we own an HR Rasmus! We would, though like to keep in touch so we will keep an eye on the site.
May I thank everybody for their help and friendship with the assurance that if we see a Nic 38 anywhere on our travels, the crew will always be welcome aboard “Raselle” for a glass of wine.
Thank you everybody.
Peter and Linda Reynolds.
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