# Nonsuch 30 for long term cruising



## lachbus (Feb 12, 2007)

I'm considering a Nonsuch 30 Ultra as my next boat for long term cruising. With 'cruising' I mean mostly coastal, but I'd love the option to cross some blue water stretches eventually and occasionally. 
Pros and Cons that I'm aware of:

Pro:
1. Easy to single hand, and encourages leaving the dock/can a lot because of that
2. Short for the space (low dockage fees)
3. Not much standing rigging to worry about
4. Only one sail, and it never has to go down below
5. Cored hull gives better insulation

Cons:
1. Only one sail - less variation in the sailplan in low wind, storm
2. No 'heaving to' is possible
3. Pretty expensive
4. Cored hull can be more problematic when damaged
5. Huge mast is a bear to step/unstep
6. Unprotected rudder

Any other thoughts? Anybody here that has a Nonsuch30 and wants to add to the list of pros and cons? I'd love to hear your opinions.

Thanks a lot!


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## killarney_sailor (May 4, 2006)

*Not for offshore*

I had one of the first n30s for quite a few years and I have a couple of comments. They are a wonderful boat overall and you will not be disappointed in your purchase if you go that way. 
1. At our club we did our own masting and dismasting and it is easier with a Nonsuch than a conventional sloop. The mast is heavy to move around when down, but such is life.
2. The cored hull should not be a problem as long as the integrity of the core has not been compromised. The worst case for this is if a rubrail has been attached without fastenings being potted in epoxy. Have a surveyor who knows his stuff look at all the places where holes/fasteners have gone through the hull. There are lots of solid bits in the hull where transducers, intakes and the like should be located - on a boat that has been in use for a number of years you never know.
3. Similar concerns will core rot in the deck. There is likely to be more rot here because there are many more holes in the deck than hull. Small rotten patches are not too hard to fix, but large areas can be very expensive.
4. Terrific coastal cruiser, not really good for extended offshore. The rig is very simple and there are few things to break, but when something does break it is major since there is no redundancy.
5. We did NYC to Bermuda and back and did well, but it was hard to make a third reef work since the end of the wishbone was not supported well in this situation. I had a storm mainsail and separate track installed and this might work but you still have a very long, quite heavy wishbone. I still have the storm sail if you buy a Nonsuch and would like one.

Let me know if you have any questions.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Killarny...aren't they fairly poor going to windward also compared to a sloop? 
Always enjoyed looking at these boats...aside from the rig...well built and good looking. I know lots of passages have been made in these boats but the hull never looked like a form that would be comfortable at sea to me. What was your experience on the Bermuda passage in terms of a dry cockpit and motion at sea?


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## killarney_sailor (May 4, 2006)

*Nonsuch sailing*



camaraderie said:


> Killarny...aren't they fairly poor going to windward also compared to a sloop?
> Always enjoyed looking at these boats...aside from the rig...well built and good looking. I know lots of passages have been made in these boats but the hull never looked like a form that would be comfortable at sea to me. What was your experience on the Bermuda passage in terms of a dry cockpit and motion at sea?


They certainly do not point as well as a decent sloop but if you lay off a tad you make up for it with much greater speed. The first two years I raced in the club Wednesday nighters in the white sail division and won the season both years. The first year I won something like 14 races in a row before losing so they do sail well compared to a white sail sloop - even on a triangular course with lots of windward work. The standard description of a full race crew on a Nonsuch is someone on the helm, someone on the sheet, and a wine steward.

Motion at sea was fine - the underbody is really pretty modern - it really is not at all like a traditional catboat in that sense. I crewed on a friend's Nonsuch 30 to Bermuda a second time and we got nailed by the first tropical storm of the year - one that passed between Bermuda and the mainland and was only noticed by a few folks on boats. We had 30 to 45 knots for a day or so and the boat did really well in it with three reefs. It was pretty much a beam to broad reach so the point of sail was ideal. Other than the end of the wishbone hitting the odd wave and bouncing back (a preventer would not have been a good thing) we had no problems and no solid water on board, which is good because the cockpit is pretty large. On the way back to NYC we had the clew fitting break (between the sail and the wishbone) in 20 knots or so. Quite a mess since with the flogging - before we could drop the sail - all of the reefing lines tied themselves into virtual rope fenders. This is the sort of minor problem that becomes a major one on a Nonsuch. Perhaps it is like having the same problem on a 60 foot sloop since the wishbone is something like 24 feet.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

KS...thanks for the additional info! Quite interesting.


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## conchcruzer (Aug 18, 2004)

*It's Been Done*

Some friends of mine have made it from Canada (Toronto) to Cartagena Colombia in their Nonsuch 30. The name of the boat is Wishbone. I don't have their new email address, but can say that their boat has performed well for them.


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## lachbus (Feb 12, 2007)

Thanks guys so far! It's pretty encouraging. I think I'll have a look at the boat here and see if I fall for her.
A beamy boat like that is maybe a little less sea kindly and has a smaller righting moment when close to capsizing - ultimately not as safe...
But I haven't heard any of you saying it's pushing it too far.
Thanks Killarney for your comments, and the offer for your storm sail. I plan to go onto one local N30 here and see the reefing mechanism in action, a friendly local owner has taken me for a test ride and I'll ask him once more. Your comment about a problem, if it occurs, becoming major makes sense. And that wishbone is huge indeed - scary to consider the forces at work on the thing.
Conch, I'll look if I can find your friends on the Nonsuch website.

Thanks guys so far. So many options, how the hell will I decide on my cruising boat?


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## reidclifford (Dec 14, 2015)

Nonsuch Sailboats

Nice big interior for sized boat. Nice teak wood work. Nice cabinets and drawers. Nice layouts that work.
A real bed room (stateroom), bed and private sleeping area, no Vee berth to climb up and into. Real sized bed in a nice private space.
Real sized bathroom (head) with separate shower, you don't find that on many boats less then 35 feet.
Nice classic looks. Looks of the boat will endure time. 
Easy to sail. The one big sail is intimidating but once up, easy to sail. 
Easy to maintain. 
Compact size with big boat accommodations. 
Nonsuch holds the value

I wished the company was in business long enough to figure out how to put the sail on a mast furler. Seems easy to do.


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## Barquito (Dec 5, 2007)

I would be worried about dipping the boom when running down wind.


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## flyrod (Oct 29, 2011)

if you are really rolling, (never have had a problem in my 36), you can use the topping lift to raise the end of the wishbone to the first reef, secure, no more problems.


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## Stu Jackson (Jul 28, 2001)

This might be an appropriate time to use an internet search engine like on "sailing Nonsuch boats", really. I recall some of their marketing literature that explained some of the tips & tricks, from back in the 80s. We have a dockmate with a 36, nice boats.


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## mbianka (Sep 19, 2014)

FYI A good read about a Nonsuch 30 that sailed across the Atlantic and back with and without crew is:

Without Rival: Voyages of SACI IV Paperback – 1995
by Brian H. Shelley and Mary Beacock Fryer


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

No comment on sailing qualities but make sure you get a surveyor that is very familiar with this boat. I've surveyed over thirty of them and have found that 50% had seriously compromised balsa core in the bottoms, some of them were built with solid core copper AC wiring which is now well past it's due date. The propane systems are absolutely atrocious, The collar type mast step has a 30% chance of being fractured on the forward side where it's hard to see), the mast is two pieces with an internal sleeve and must be closely inspected at the joint as issues there are not uncommon with repair being extremely expensive and replacement prohibitive and they were built with aluminum waste tanks although most have now been replaced as they rotted out fairly quickly.


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