I've been planning a return to recreational sailing for a few years now, and had purchased plans to build a sailboat. However, this past January, the sudden death of a friend & co-worker reminded me of the vagaries of life, and caused me to decide to get out on the water, rather than dream about it.After reviewing options, I settled on the Nomad, manufactured by the same folks who build Laser sailboats in North America. The Nomad is a 17' sloop-rigged open dinghy which can comfortably seat four adults or six if there are both kids and adults aboard, but can also be sailed single-handed, making it ideal for families. The Nomad is a beamy 8' and is a stable platform for sailing. Although it includes neither trapeze nor hiking straps, the gunwales are wide enough to sit on, if you need to get some weight outboard of the seats. And, for those who sail on the edge, there are available sail floats to prevent the boat turning turtle should you manage to capsize.
The Nomad is easy to trailer to your launch point and one person can set it up in about 25 minutes, so you can have choice of sailing locations, and no moorage costs, OR, the boat is sufficiently stable you can choose to leave it at a mooring.
My only disappointment with this boat has been the distinct lack of wind on the lake this year -- all the locals say it's been unusually calm!
While seeking information about the Nomad, I found little information about the boat from users, so if you have comments or thoughts about the Nomad, please contribute!
Here are some links:
- 48° North review
- Designer's Page
- Discussion page. Includes rig tuning info
- San Francisco Bay video
- Chesapeake Bay video
0 comments:
Post a Comment