The Nonsuch 30 is a Canadian

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by Mark Ellis and first built in 1978. It was the first the series of Nonsuch sailboats and was scaled upwards and down, to form a complete line of boats, from the

Nonsuch 22 The Nonsuch 22 is a Canadian trailerable sailboat, the smallest of the series of Nonsuch sailboats. It was designed by Mark Ellis Design and first built in 1984.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 185. Inte ...

to the Nonsuch 40. The Nonsuch 30 hull design was used to create the 1994 Nonsuch 324, which features a

carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

wishbone boom A boom, in the context of windsurfing, is a piece of equipment that attaches to the mast, providing structural support for the sail. It completely encircles the sail, and is designed to be gripped, allowing the sailor to control the sail for norma ...

, more sail area and a

wing keel The winged keel is a sailboat keel layout first fitted on the 12-metre class yacht ''Australia II'', 1983 America's Cup winner. Design This layout was adopted by Ben Lexcen, designer of ''Australia II''. Although Ben Lexcen "had tried the winged ...

Production

The first in the Nonsuch line of boat designs, the concept of a cruising catboat was proposed by Toronto businessman and sailor Gordon Fisher. Ellis designed the boats and they were built by

Hinterhoeller Yachts Hinterhoeller Yachts was a Canadian boat builder based in St. Catharines, Ontario. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats. The company was originally founded by George Hinterhoeller as Hinterhoeller Limit ...

St. Catharines, Ontario St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2021, St. Catharines has an area of and 136,803 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, south of Toronto ac ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, between 1978 and 1989, with 1080 examples completed.

Design

The Nonsuch 30 is a small recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

, with wood trim. It has a

cat rig A catboat (alternate spelling: cat boat) is a sailboat with a single sail on a single mast set well forward in the bow of a very beamy and (usually) shallow draft hull. Typically they are gaff rigged, though Bermuda rig is also used. Most are fi ...

, an unstayed mast with a

, a

plumb stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a vertical transom, an internally-mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, airship, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (usually air or water). On an airplane, the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw ...

controlled by a

wheel A wheel is a rotating component (typically circular in shape) that is intended to turn on an axle Bearing (mechanical), bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the Simple machine, six simple machin ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

. It displaces and carries of ballast. The boat was built with three different interior floor plans, the classic, ultra and nova. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel and with the shoal keel fitted. The boat is fitted with a Westerbeke

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

of . The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The design has a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

racing average handicap of 180 with a high of 192 and low of 156. It has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to- ...

of .

Operational history

In a review Michael McGoldrick wrote, "although the Nonsuch's single large sail means that its windward ability will not equal that of a sloop with headsail, its modern underwater profile allows it to point higher than many people would expect. The fin keel and spade rudder found on the Nonsuches also does away with the windward helm which is characteristic of the Cape Cod catboats. One of the great advantages of the Nonsuch boats is that they are very easy to sail short-handed, or even single-handed. (For example, you only need to turn the wheel to tack this sailboat.) ... Because of the nature of their hull design, the Nonsuches are very big boats. In terms interior volume, they are probably 20% to 30% larger than their length would indicate. At first glance, Nonsuches may seem a little expensive, but their prices are more competitive when compared to that of boats that are 20% to 30% larger." In a review Richard Sherwood described the design, "the Nonsuch is typical of this type of boat. Although recently popular, there is nothing really new about either the cat rig or the wishbone boom. The mast is unstayed. The wishbone eliminates the need for vangs or travelers, and it imparts a draft to the sail. The sail can be raised, lowered, sheeted, and reefed from the cockpit. The catboat hull has been modified. Maximum beam is farther aft, entry is finer, aft lines are flat, there is a spade rudder, and the fin keel is available with two depths."Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 228-229. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.

References

External links

* {{Nonsuch sailboats Keelboats 1970s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Mark Ellis (yacht designer) Sailboat types built by Hinterhoeller Yachts

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References

External links