Nicholson 35-2 Buyer's Guide
The Nicholson 35-2 on the brokerage market is a 1974-onward Camper & Nicholson cruiser with most originally sold in England but a steady presence in the United States. She is a medium-displacement offshore boat whose used examples vary more in interior layout and mechanical detail than in hull integrity, making a careful survey of the specific boat more important than a blanket model judgment.
Layouts on the Used Market
Two interior nav-station arrangements define the used fleet. The aft-facing station uses the dinette as a seat and deletes the quarterberth in favor of an extra cockpit locker plus a raised belowdecks watch seat by the companionway. The forward-facing station instead uses the quarterberth head as a seat and retains that berth. The pilot berth outboard of the original straight settee was deleted on many boats, trading a sea berth for wider stowage and a visually narrower cabin. Early boats show white melamine bulkheads and molded teak counter fiddles; later ones moved to lighter teak-veneered bulkheads but substituted plainer aluminum fiddles, and added a cutlery drawer under the counter. A chain pipe between the forward V-berths on many hulls limits conversion to a double.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Used Nicholson 35-2s commonly carry chartplotter, radar, AIS, autopilot, and life raft as navigational and safety baseline, with heating and electric winches frequently found for northern and short-handed use. Wind generators and spinnakers — including asymmetric types — are common, as are bow thrusters and hot water. Solar and inverter are often seen, and teak decks, bimini, and dodger appear on many. For a buyer, the meaningful clusters are power and energy (wind generator, solar, inverter supporting the early 90 or later 128 amp-hour house banks), and sail-handling comfort (electric winches, autopilot, asymmetric spinnaker reducing loads). A gimbaled two-burner Flavel propane stove is standard, but the original 10-pound propane supply is widely expanded by owners.
What to Inspect
Engine access is poor in both early hydraulic-drive and later V-drive installations, so confirm whether a V-drive quarterberth boat allows front access through the berth. Early hydraulic boats have the prop shaft emerging from the keel's aft end with the motor in the bilge aft of the main cabin — check for hydraulic-line condition and pump mounting. Later boats use an exposed shaft and strut with V-drive; inspect the bridgedeck structure above. Not integral to the hull, the fuel tank is a fiberglass unit bonded in place after molding, so look for any deck or bilge leakage at its seams. Forward-cabin ventilation is poor from the factory low-profile Tannoy hatch vent, and early boats fill the ~70-gallon water tank from inside with no deck fill — verify tank and vent condition. Later boats added flapper-protected transom scuppers; confirm cockpit drainage on earlier hulls lacking them.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Typical markets for the Nicholson 35-2 are Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. For a shopper, the priorities are:
- Confirm nav-station layout and whether quarterberth access aids engine service
- Inspect early hydraulic vs later V-drive drivetrain for access and condition
- Verify fiberglass fuel tank seams and early inside-fill water tank
- Check for later transom scuppers and cockpit drainage adequacy
- Budget for propane capacity expansion and ventilation improvement forward
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Nicholson 35-2. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 6 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 25 | 1 | $25,000 | — |
| Nov 25 | 1 | $68,349 | +173.4% |
| Feb 26 | 1 | $45,759 | -33.1% |
| Apr 26 | 3 | $39,252 | -14.2% |
| May 26 | 1 | $31,857 | -18.8% |
| Aug 26 | 1 | $40,546 | +27.3% |
Where they're listed
Nicholson 35-2 listings appear across 3 countries. Germany has the most listings with 3 (42.9%), followed by United Kingdom and Greece.
Country view
7 listings · 3 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | $45,759 | 3 | 0 | 42.9% |
| United Kingdom | $39,252 | 3 | 0 | 42.9% |
| Greece | $40,546 | 1 | 1 | 14.3% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
10 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Island Packet 35 | 35.33' | $ 74,900 | 63 | 25 |
| Dufour 35 | 35.25' | $ 30,000 | 25 | 1 |
| Nicholson 32 | 32' | $ 14,922 | 24 | 2 |
| Westerly Oceanquest 35 | 35.45' | $ 62,261 | 21 | 14 |
| Moody 36-2 | 36.75' | $ 87,978 | 17 | 5 |
| Hinterhoeller Niagara 35 | 35' | $ 25,000 | 14 | 4 |
| Nicholson Nicholson 35 | 35.25' | $ 39,222 | 10 | 2 |
| Nicholson 35-1 | 35.25' | $ 40,943 | 10 | 3 |
| Nicholson 39 | 39' | $ 101,513 | 8 | 3 |
| Camper & Nicholsons 35-2You are here | — | $ 40,546 | 7 | 1 |