Camper Nicholson 30
Description
The Camper & Nicholsons 30 (often called Nicholson 30) refers to a series of 29–30 ft fiberglass cruising sailboats from the early-to-mid 1970s, built by the historic UK yard Camper & Nicholsons (Gosport). These are distinct from the later Nicholson 1/2 Ton (1977 Ron Holland design, 30 ft LOA, more race-oriented with ~28 hulls built). The Nicholson 30 line includes: Nicholson 30 Mk I (1972, designed by Raymond Wall): Early version, hulls molded by Robert Ives, mostly finished by C&N (some owner-completed). Nicholson 30 MkII (1976+): Updated with minor changes (e.g., rudder/skeg refinements; some had minimal or no skeg). These were developed as cruiser-racers (some sources note quarter-ton or half-ton influences from in-house designs), offering solid performance, good build quality ("Rolls Royce" reputation for C&N), and practical accommodations for coastal or moderate offshore use. They're not heavy bluewater tanks but reliable, sea-kindly boats with a Motion Comfort Ratio in the coastal cruiser range (20–30). Many were built as club racers that doubled as family cruisers, with fast, responsive handling under sail.
Construction Details
| Designer | Raymond Wall |
|---|---|
| Builder | Camper and Nicholsons |
| Length | 29.000 ft |
| LOA | 29.000 ft |
| LWL | 25.420 ft |
| Beam | 9.840 ft |
| Displacement | 7495 lb |
| Max Draft | 5.750 ft |
| Year Built | 1972 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 38.50 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 11.50 ft |
| p | 33.25 ft |
| e | 9.50 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38.50 ft | 11.50 ft | 33.25 ft | 9.50 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Camper Nicholson 30 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 33.25 ft - (10135 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 9.5 ft - (2896 mm) |
| Leech | * 34.16 ft - (10412 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 34.26 ft - (10442 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4.5 in - (114 mm) |
| Area | 157.77 ft² |
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Camper Nicholson 30 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 32.14 ft - (9796 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 15.07 ft - (4593 mm) |
| Leech | * 28.21 ft - (8598 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 13.23 ft - (4033 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | 212.55 ft² |
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Camper Nicholson 30 - GENOA
| Luff | * 38.17 ft - (11634 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 18.43 ft - (5617 mm) |
| Leech | * 36.07 ft - (10994 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 17.25 ft - (5258 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4 ° |
| Area | 329.19 ft² |
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Camper Nicholson 30 - SPINNAKER
| Stays | * 38.17 ft - (11634 mm) |
|---|---|
| MidGirth | * 20.7 ft - (6309 mm) |
| Foot | * 20.7 ft - (6309 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | 671.6 ft² |
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Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.