The 26 belongs to the Nonsuch catboat family that Ellis developed for the yard in the late 1970s. Its unstayed, single-sail rig was a deliberate departure from the sloop configuration then dominant among small cruising boats.
Design and Construction
Ellis applied the unstayed catboat concept in a practical, efficient form. Hinterhoeller built the 26 using a balsa-cored laminate construction technique, rather than the solid fiberglass found in some of the yard’s earlier work.
The boat displaces 8,500 pounds and carries 2,750 pounds of lead ballast. Its beam is 10 feet 6 inches, and the standard draft is 4 feet 6 inches; a 3-foot 9-inch shallow-draft alternative was also available.
The builder placed the mast in the bow, separated from the accommodation by a bulkhead. This leaves the forward cabin free of the compression post and chainplate clutter usually associated with a stayed rig. Hinterhoeller’s Nonsuch boats can be considered the standard for the type, and the 26 was aimed mainly at owners sailing on Lake Ontario and Long Island Sound.
Rig and Handling
The boat’s defining feature is its freestanding mast and single 420-square-foot sail, carried on a wishbone boom. There’s no headsail and no sleeve-luff arrangement; the sail runs on a track like an ordinary mainsail.
Sailing to weather calls for a different technique than it would aboard a sloop. Even so, test sailors found that the Nonsuch 26 tacked easily within 80 degrees, while its large, freestanding rudder was easy to control.
The masthead stands 49 feet above the waterline. With no standing rigging and no headsail to handle, movement around the deck is simpler, as is shorthanded sail trim: the crew needs only to adjust the lines that control the wishbone boom’s position.
Accommodations
Because the mast stands forward of the living space, the interior doesn’t need the conventional V-berth, with its often dark and cramped bow area. Instead, a light panel slides up and locks into place, separating the forward part of the cabin from the aft end for sleeping.
The head is very large for a 26-foot boat. Located opposite the galley, it occupies the widest part of the hull and benefits from maximum headroom. Pressurized hot water was optional. The surveyed boat also had a propane heater, while twin 30-gallon water tanks provided a generous total capacity of 60 gallons for a boat of this size.
Verdict
The Nonsuch 26 Classic is a purpose-built small cruiser for sailors who value uncluttered decks, a walk-through forward cabin, and a rig that one person can manage without handling a headsail. Ellis’s catboat formula produces a boat that tacks easily through a close angle and is straightforward to steer. Below, it offers a roomy head and a flexible sleeping arrangement without the confined bow berth common to conventional 26-footers.
The balsa-cored hull and modest draft keep the boat suited to sheltered-water and lake sailing. However, sailors raised on sloops may find that the unstayed rig and catboat handling take some getting used to.
Pros
- Unstayed wishbone rig and no headsail simplify shorthanded sailing
- Forward mast and bulkhead free the cabin from a cramped V-berth
- Large head at the widest part of the hull, with optional hot water
- Easy tacking within 80 degrees and a responsive freestanding rudder
Cons
- Catboat handling to weather differs from a sloop and may not suit everyone
- Shallow draft and a lake-oriented design limit offshore ambition
