At 35 feet 3 inches overall, with a 26-foot-9-inch waterline, the Nicholson is heavy by racer-cruiser standards. But its true medium displacement is entirely reasonable for a serious offshore cruiser.
Design and Construction
The hull is solid fiberglass, with an encapsulated lead keel. The casting is dropped into a molded cavity and heavily glassed over. Its lead is concentrated low in the molded keel, and the 42 percent ballast-to-displacement ratio makes the boat reasonably stiff by any measure.
Below the waterline, the Nicholson 35-1 has a moderate fin keel and skeg-mounted rudder. This configuration provides decent light-air performance despite the relatively small sailplan.
Some hulls, though not all, were built under Lloyds survey. Nicholsons was also an early user of isophthalic polyester resin, albeit only in the gelcoat. The deck is solid fiberglass, with very little exterior wood. A teak caprail, teak grab rails, and teak-ply cockpit seats are about the sum of it, giving the boat a clean, almost austere appearance.
Rig, Performance, and Handling
The rig is a straightforward masthead sloop with double lower shrouds and single airfoil spreaders. Working sail area is divided almost evenly between the foretriangle and mainsail. The tapered, anodized Proctor mast is filled with foam to deaden sound.
Early boats had roller-reefing booms, while later models changed to slab reefing. Halyard winches are mounted on the mast. On most early boats, they’re adequate for hoisting sails but too small to send someone to the masthead easily. Standard jib-sheet winches are Lewmar 40s or 43s.
The mainsheet traveler divides the cockpit just forward of the wheel, so the crew must step over it to reach the side decks. A PHRF rating of about 156 puts the Nicholson roughly six seconds per mile behind an Ericson 35-2, but around 20 seconds per mile ahead of some other contemporaries.
Cockpit and Deck
The cockpit is both deep and enormous in volume, providing excellent protection from seas and spray. Its molded-in dodger coaming recalls S&S designs such as the Tartan 37. The seats, however, are short and not especially comfortable against the high, nearly vertical coamings.
A bridgedeck protects the companionway. Even so, the high coamings could allow the cockpit to fill nearly to the top of the hatch in a major pooping. Later boats added large, flapper-protected transom pipe scuppers alongside the already substantial cockpit scuppers.
The shroud chainplates are heavy stainless-steel “hairpins” positioned just inboard of the low bulwarks. They’re bolted through the beam shelf and were approved by Lloyds. Under sail, those low bulwarks give an enormous sense of security. Wide side decks and a flattened grab rail along the top of the cabin trunk further ease movement around the deck.
Accommodations
Headroom exceeds six feet throughout the interior, and the long main-cabin windows admit plenty of light. The forward cabin has V-berths that don’t taper to a point, leaving useful foot room. Ventilation is poor, however. A low-profile Tannoy ventilator in the aluminum deck hatch was standard, but it moves little air.
On many boats, a chain pipe runs between the berths to the chain locker, limiting the prospects for conversion to a double berth. Aft of the forward cabin is a full-width head.
Every boat has a U-shaped dinette to starboard with a permanent drop-leaf table. On later examples, the table sits on a heavy tubular aluminum base bolted to the cabin sole. Many boats lost the original straight settee and outboard pilot berth, exchanging the berth for more storage and a cabin that looks narrower.
All berths came with lee cloths as standard equipment—an unusual provision even aboard serious American cruising boats.
The galley includes a small sink, a five-cubic-foot icebox outboard beside the stove, and a standard gimbaled two-burner Flavel propane stove with an oven. The 10-pound propane supply is paltry.
Engines and Systems
Engine access is poor with either the early hydraulic drive or the later V-drive installation.
Early boats can be identified by a propeller shaft that emerges from the aft end of the keel. They use a hydraulic drive, with the engine facing aft beneath the bridgedeck and the hydraulic motor in the bilge aft of the main cabin.
Later boats place the engine farther aft beneath the cockpit and use a V-drive with an exposed shaft. On V-drive boats fitted with a quarterberth, the front of the engine can be reached through that berth.
Early boats also lack pressure water and a hot-water shower. Their molded fiberglass water tank is filled from inside the boat, with no deck fill.
Known Issues
The main shortcomings are straightforward:
- Engine access is poor with both drive arrangements.
- Forward-cabin ventilation is weak by design.
- Early boats lack pressure water, a hot-water shower, and a deck water fill.
- The deep cockpit offers good protection, but its seats are short and uncomfortable against the high coamings.
- The early hydraulic-drive installation calls for mechanical patience.
The Verdict
The Nicholson 35-1 is a serious cruiser’s cruiser: stiff under its low-placed lead ballast, well protected by a deep cockpit, and equipped with offshore-minded details such as standard lee cloths and a Lloyds-approved chainplate arrangement.
It’s no lightweight racer. The early hydraulic drive and poor engine access in both configurations will demand patience from a mechanically minded buyer. But as a medium-displacement bluewater boat, the Nicholson 35-1 rewards an experienced hand.
Pros
- Encapsulated keel casting, heavily glassed over
- Low, concentrated lead ballast and a 42 percent ballast ratio
- Deep, protective cockpit with a molded dodger coaming
- Standard lee cloths
- Lloyds-approved chainplates
Cons
- Poor engine access with either drive configuration
- Weak ventilation in the forward cabin
- No pressure water, hot-water shower, or deck water fill on early boats
- Short, uncomfortable cockpit seats and high coamings
