Overview
The Nicholson 38 is a ketch motorsailer that Camper & Nicholsons designed in 1965 by reworking John Alden’s Mistral, lengthening it and raising the freeboard. The first was shown at the 1966 London Boat Show, and hull numbers reached 134, the last completed by its owner in 1978. Halmatic moulded the hulls and nearly all were finished by C&N at Gosport.
Design and Construction
sailboatdata.com lists a long keel, 37.83 ft overall on a 27 ft waterline, 10.5 ft of beam and 5.17 ft of draft. It displaces 15,904 lb, and the masthead ketch carries about 662 sq ft. The owners’ association notes that hull 26, Mauna Kea, was the first to complete a circumnavigation, in the early 1970s.
Buyers Notes
The owners’ association advises checking the bronze rudder stock where it bonds into the fiberglass blade, since it can work loose. Neal warns of blistering on boats kept in warm water (see Known Issues). Ten hulls were finished by their owners, so confirm who completed a given boat.
