Review of Nicholson 476

The interior is like most other boats made of teak. Teak has the advantage of being naturally very oily and therefore water-repellent, which is suitable on boats.
The boat is equipped with 3 cabins, 7 berths, a galley, toilet facility and 125 liter waste water capacity.

The boat equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.236 diesel engine at 85.0 hp (63 kW), which gives a max speed about 7.2 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenence than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 341 liters (90 US gallons, 75 imperial gallons).

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Nicholson 476 is 1.70, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.1 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Nicholson 476 is about 307 kg/cm, alternatively 1724 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 307 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1724 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Nicholson 476 is 39.3.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 73% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Nicholson 476 is 3.47.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is slimmer than 54% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more speedy hull design.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Nicholson 476 is 309 which categorizes this boat among 'medium weight cruisers'.

21% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

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[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.