Camper & Nicholsons Nicholson 32 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

What separates the Nicholson 32 from later lightweight cruisers is its unapologetically heavy and stable character. At a displacement of 12,200 lb on a 24-foot waterline with a 9-foot 3-inch beam, the boat carries a ballast ratio of 55.7 percent and a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of just 14.2. Those figures describe a vessel that is not quick to accelerate or particularly responsive, but one that carries load well and resists both heeling and capsize, with a capsize screening value of 1.6. The slender beam and deep, long-keeled hull — described by period observers as a "cod's head and mackerel tail" form — keep drag low and give the boat strong directional stability.

Structurally the Nicholson 32 was genuinely pioneering. It was one of the first sailboats built entirely in fibreglass using monocoque construction, a method in which the hull, deck, ballast, bulkheads, and interior furniture are all bonded into one rigid unit. Halmatic developed the one-piece female-mould technique with polyester resin and invented the bonding process that gives the structure its stiffness. Practical Boat Owner's survey describes the laminate itself as massively thick chopped strand mat, which helps explain the boat's reputation for robustness rather than finesse.

Rig and Handling

The Nicholson 32 carries a single-spreader masthead rig that test sailors found well supported, and the boat can hold her full sail plan up to Force 5. On a test sail the boat tacked reliably through a measured 90 degrees, and upwind speeds ran 5 to 6 knots across a range of wind and sea states, bearing away to average around 6.5 knots on a reach. Those are respectable numbers for a heavy cruiser. The trade-off sits at the helm: the long keel and relatively small keel-hung rudder with no balance area produce a large turning circle under power, and in reverse there is pronounced prop walk that demands anticipation in close quarters.

Accommodations

The original interior held four berths — a V-shaped forepeak pair convertible to a double with an infill, and two saloon singles that double as daytime seats — with the galley to port, chart table to starboard, and head between. Early boats had two settees with a pilot berth outboard, and the big saloon windows let in abundant light. By the late 1960s the layout shifted to a single settee with an opposite dinette that converts to a second double. Later marks added a pilot berth above the chart table, a pull-out double under the galley, and a quarter berth under the cockpit seat, reaching a maximum of six berths. Later boats traded the large side windows for smaller ones but kept the saloon bright through added coachroof front windows. The Mk X of 1972 brought higher freeboard, a lower coachroof, a larger centerline companionway cockpit, and a redesigned interior; Mk XI boats from 1977 gained a glassfibre inner moulding stopping at the top of the bunks. All models retain bilge space for water and fuel tanks.

Known Issues

The principal documented defect concerns the early hulls: early Nicholson 32s were prone to osmosis, a laminate problem rooted in the early GRP chemistry and thick mat lay-up of the period. This is a historical condition of the first boats rather than a universal affliction of the class, but it shaped how the boats have been maintained and surveyed over the decades.

Refits and Ownership

The class evolved through eleven marks, with the Mk X representing the most significant jump — three inches more freeboard, hull length to 33 feet, and a more streamlined deck moulding — and the Mk XI introducing optional wheel steering in 1977. The existence of a dedicated Nicholson 32 Association and the survival of many original boats, some with round-the-world passages, speaks to a design that owners have chosen to keep and improve rather than discard.

The Verdict

The Nicholson 32 is a serious offshore-flavored cruiser from the dawn of production glassfibre, built to a monocoque standard that few modern boats match in sheer laminate mass. It will not win a buoy race, but it shoulders load, tracks steadily, and has carried owners across oceans. A buyer needs to respect the early-laminate osmosis risk and the long-keel handling quirks, but the class's longevity and active ownership base make it a credible small bluewater candidate.

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