Nicholson 40
Description
The Camper & Nicholsons 40 (most commonly the Nicholson 40 AC for "Aft Cockpit") is a premium, limited-production bluewater ketch from the late 1970s–early 1980s, built by Camper & Nicholsons Ltd. in Gosport, UK. Only about 20 hulls were produced (1978–mid-1980s), emphasizing the yard's signature overbuilt quality, seaworthiness, and comfort for serious offshore or extended cruising. It's a heavy-displacement motorsailer/cruiser with excellent motion comfort, stability, and load-carrying ability—ideal for long passages in varied conditions. The design is in-house by Camper & Nicholsons (yard team; some related variants like the Nicholson 40 DS credit Raymond Wall for updates). It features a fin keel with skeg-hung rudder for good tracking/protection and maneuverability (better than full-keel boats in tight quarters), a masthead ketch rig for balanced, shorthanded sailing (easy mizzen handling, depowering), and solid fiberglass (GRP) construction that's famously durable and "overbuilt."
Construction Details
| Designer | In House Design |
|---|---|
| Builder | Camper and Nicholsons |
| Length | 40.000 ft |
| LOA | 40.000 ft |
| LWL | 30.500 ft |
| Beam | 11.500 ft |
| Displacement | 24416 lb |
| Ballast | 12000 lb |
| Max Draft | 5.750 ft |
| Year Built | 1978 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 48.53 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 14.50 ft |
| p | 44 ft |
| e | 14.76 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48.53 ft | 14.50 ft | 44 ft | 14.76 ft | - | - | - | - |
Sails
Nicholson 40 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 44 ft - (13411 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 14.76 ft - (4499 mm) |
| Leech | * 45.76 ft - (13948 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88.01 ° |
| Diagonal | * 45.92 ft - (13996 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | 324.37 ft² |
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Nicholson 40 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 40.52 ft - (12350 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 19 ft - (5791 mm) |
| Leech | * 35.57 ft - (10842 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 16.68 ft - (5084 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12 ° |
| Area | 337.89 ft² |
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Nicholson 40 - GENOA
| Luff | * 48.12 ft - (14667 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 23.24 ft - (7084 mm) |
| Leech | * 45.47 ft - (13859 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 21.75 ft - (6629 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 4 ° |
| Area | 523.29 ft² |
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Nicholson 40 - SPINNAKER
| Stays | * 48.12 ft - (14667 mm) |
|---|---|
| MidGirth | * 26.1 ft - (7955 mm) |
| Foot | * 26.1 ft - (7955 mm) |
| Perc LP | * 180 % |
| Area | 1067.54 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
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.
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