Nicholson 32 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

Early-mark boats reaching the market today carry one of two saloon arrangements. The very earliest examples had the original twin settees with a pilot berth outboard of the port side — an arrangement that makes the narrow nine-foot-three beam feel tighter than it need be. From Mark VI onward, that pilot berth gave way to a pull-out double formed by sliding the settee seat toward the centreline, which opened the cabin considerably. The full-width heads compartment sitting between the saloon and forecabin has remained consistent across all marks and is a genuine strong point — a properly private space with enough room to use comfortably at sea. The V-berth forecabin benefits from the boat's characteristically full forward sections, giving unusually generous foot room for a 32-footer. On pre-Mark X boats, the anchor-chain hawse pipe threading between the forepeak berths is a common source of complaints and many examples on the market will have had the routing modified by previous owners. Mark X and XI boats gain a quarterberth tucked aft of the chart table to port, a galley enlarged enough to take a proper gimballed cooker, and a glassfibre inner accommodation module that has generally aged well even in boats that have seen periods of neglect. Buyers looking for offshore passage-making potential should weigh these later layouts seriously, while those drawn to classic character and original joinery may prefer the earlier marks with their oiled teak interiors.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Boats on the market today are typically fitted with a chartplotter, a fixed autopilot, and a life raft — reflecting how broadly this class is used for serious coastal and offshore work. Radar, a sprayhood or dodger, solar panels, and some form of cabin heating are commonly seen additions, the heating especially on the British and Irish examples that make up a substantial portion of the fleet. Aries or similar wind-vane self-steering gear appears frequently on boats with offshore histories, often alongside upgraded primary winches — self-tailing Lewmar or Andersen units in place of the original Canpa equipment. Engine replacement is nearly universal: the original Watermota Sea Wolf and later Sea Panther petrol-diesel hybrids have largely given way to modern Beta Marine, Yanmar, Volvo Penta, or Kubota diesels of broadly similar power. AIS and a spinnaker or cruising chute are sometimes-seen additions rather than standard equipment, but they appear often enough on well-prepared examples that their absence is not remarkable. Many owners have also led control lines back to the cockpit from the mast — a sensible modification for single-handed or short-handed sailing that was not part of the original design.

What to Inspect

Osmosis is the defining structural concern with the Nicholson 32, and no prospective buyer should skip a thorough moisture survey. The hull is moulded from massively thick chopped strand mat — crude by modern standards but strong — and the resin used by Halmatic has proven susceptible to inter-laminate moisture ingress. This is not a superficial gelcoat blistering issue but full inter-laminate osmosis, and boats that have been treated once can relapse if the epoxy barrier coat was not applied over a sufficiently dried substrate. Many examples will already have been peeled, dried, and re-gelled at least once, but the surveyor should probe for any evidence of retreatment and confirm when the work was done. Early boats, numbers roughly 200 to 210, used a slightly thinner laminate that caused some superficial flexing and crazing around the main bulkhead areas; these were originally returned to the factory for stiffening, but the work should still be checked. The chainplates deserve close attention: the earliest examples used flat-strap chainplates that passed through the deck-to-hull joint and were prone to leaking when the leeward shrouds slackened off; from boat number 41 onward, a U-bolt system with an internal stainless steel bar replaced this arrangement. Even on the later boats, the U-bolt clevis-pin contact point tends to groove and harden over time and should be regularly inspected. Deck fittings and the stemhead area are worth careful examination: deck joints and stemhead fittings have been known to part on some models. Gas locker drainage is another surveyor-flagged item: some older boats have a gas locker that drains below the waterline, which requires remediation. The keel shoe fastenings on the GRP rudder and lower keel moulding should be checked for moisture ingress and loose bronze fittings. The original Watermota engines are mechanically interesting — the Sea Wolf was a Ford Consul/Cortina petrol engine with a diesel cylinder head, operating a 24-volt starter system incompatible with the boat's 12-volt wiring — and most will have been replaced, but any remaining original installation warrants specialist attention. Under power, the long keel and small rudder produce a characteristically large turning circle and vigorous prop walk in reverse; this is a known handling trait rather than a fault, but buyers should assess the marina berth they intend to use accordingly.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

The Nicholson 32 fleet is concentrated in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where the class association remains active and a genuine community of owners provides parts knowledge, surveyor experience, and informal support. Examples also appear with regularity in Australia, Spain, and across the Mediterranean. The class is genuinely global — boats have crossed the Atlantic solo, completed non-stop circumnavigations via the Southern Ocean, and transited the Patagonian canals — and that proven range means international buyers can find examples that have been liveaboard-prepared to a high standard. The active owners' association at nicholson32.org is worth consulting before purchase for known-hull histories and surveyor recommendations.

Before making an offer, work through this checklist:

• Commission a full out-of-water survey with a moisture meter reading across the entire hull, specifically requesting inter-laminate osmosis assessment
• Confirm the date and extent of any previous osmosis treatment and whether the hull was dried for a full season before barrier coating
• Inspect all chainplates — type (flat strap vs U-bolt), condition of the stainless bar, and any evidence of leaking into the deck-to-hull joint cavity
• Check the stemhead fitting and deck joint integrity, particularly around the bow and the mast partner
• Verify the gas locker drains overboard above the waterline, not below
• Identify the engine: if an original Watermota installation remains, budget for replacement; otherwise confirm the replacement engine's service history and impeller, zincs, and raw-water system
• Check the mast step — whether deck- or keel-stepped — and inspect for any cracking or movement around the partner
• Review the keel shoe fastenings and bronze fittings on the rudder heel
• Establish the mark number from the hull number (the Nicholson 32 Association maintains records) and understand what layout and deck configuration you are buying before viewing