It was among the first production-built GRP yachts of its size. The partnership between the Camper & Nicholson design office and the pioneering moulding firm Halmatic produced a boat that remains well represented afloat, and several Nicholson 32s have circled the globe.
Design and Construction
The Nicholson 32 is markedly heavier and more stable than later lightweight cruisers. It displaces 12,200 lb on a 24-foot waterline, with a beam of 9 feet 3 inches. Its ballast ratio is 55.7 percent, while its sail-area-to-displacement ratio is just 14.2.
Those figures describe a boat that isn’t quick to accelerate or especially responsive, but that carries a load well and resists both heeling and capsize. Its capsize screening value is 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 provide strong directional stability.
The Nicholson 32 was also genuinely pioneering in structural terms. It was one of the first sailboats built entirely in fibreglass using monocoque construction, with the hull, deck, ballast, bulkheads, and interior furniture bonded into a single rigid unit. Halmatic developed the one-piece female-mould technique using polyester resin and invented the bonding process that gives the structure its stiffness. Practical Boat Owner’s survey describes the laminate as massively thick chopped strand mat, which helps explain the boat’s reputation for robustness rather than finesse.
Rig, Sailing Performance, and Handling
The Nicholson 32 carries a single-spreader masthead rig that test sailors found well supported. The boat can hold its full sail plan up to Force 5.
On a test sail, it tacked reliably through a measured 90 degrees. Upwind speeds ranged from 5 to 6 knots across a variety of wind and sea states. When the boat bore away onto a reach, it averaged around 6.5 knots. Those are respectable figures for a heavy cruiser.
The trade-off is most apparent at the helm. The long keel and relatively small, keel-hung rudder, which has no balance area, produce a large turning circle under power. In reverse, pronounced prop walk calls for anticipation in close quarters.
Accommodation
The original interior had four berths. These comprised a V-shaped pair in the forepeak, convertible into a double with an infill, and two saloon singles that also served as daytime seating. The galley was to port, the chart table to starboard, and the head between them.
Early boats had two settees with a pilot berth outboard, while large saloon windows admitted plenty of light. By the late 1960s, the layout had changed to a single settee opposite a dinette that converted into a second double.
Later marks added a pilot berth above the chart table, a pull-out double beneath the galley, and a quarter berth under the cockpit seat, bringing maximum capacity to six berths. These boats replaced the large side windows with smaller ones, but additional windows in the front of the coachroof kept the saloon bright.
The Mk X, introduced in 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 that stopped at the top of the bunks. All models retain bilge space for water and fuel tanks.
Model Development
The Nicholson 32 evolved through eleven marks. The Mk X represented the largest change, with three inches more freeboard, an increase in hull length to 33 feet, and a more streamlined deck moulding. The Mk XI introduced optional wheel steering in 1977.
A dedicated Nicholson 32 Association remains in existence, and many original boats survive. Some have completed round-the-world passages. Together, these facts point to a design that owners have chosen to maintain and improve rather than discard.
Known Issues
The principal documented defect concerns the earliest 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 was a historical condition affecting the first boats, not a universal problem across the class. Even so, it has shaped the way Nicholson 32s have been maintained and surveyed over the decades.
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 for sheer laminate mass. It won’t win a buoy race, but it carries a load well, tracks steadily, and has taken owners across oceans.
A buyer needs to allow for the osmosis risk in early laminates and the handling quirks of the long keel. Even so, the class’s longevity and active ownership base make it a credible small bluewater candidate.
Pros
- Monocoque GRP structure with massively thick laminate for rigidity
- High ballast ratio and a stable, capsize-resistant demeanor
- Proven global-cruising pedigree and an active owners association
- Successive marks updated the accommodation and deck
Cons
- Early hulls were prone to osmosis
- Large turning circle and strong prop walk under power
- Low sail-area-to-displacement ratio limits light-air performance
