I'm not familiar with the Nicholson 31 and I have a Nordica not a Nautica
but from what you've told me and the reputation of the yard... I'd say it's
a great boat. I saw a few photos of them and like the lines but I'm more of
the classic double ended with a bowsprit lines kind of person.... the Hans
Christian or Lord Nelson designs.


Are you looking at a buying another boat? Good Gawd Man... I have trouble
keeping one hole in the water from sucking my finances dry! ;-D

I can't say I'm in favour of wheel steering in a vessel under 35 feet. That
seems to be the cutoff point where a wheel makes sense and doesn't obstruct
the cockpit too much. After talking to a friend who completed a Trans
Atlantic on a Bayfield 29... the one piece of gear he said was paramount
was the Wind Vane. He also strongly reccomended an exhaust shut-off valve
for when at sea in storm conditions.

Luckily I'l be able to tow Overproof into the yard this season and have her
next to the shop and shed for some serious renos.

CM


"Michael" wrote in message
...
| Still sittng in the room but ready to go to the spa/jacuzzi/sauna for an
| hour or so, after of course, a round on the pain machines. It's only
9:20AM
| here. May sound good but remember, while you are out on the ships life
goes
| on back wherever and you have no control over it. There is always
drawbacks
| to anything. The payback is the months on end out on the pond. But if I
| have to make good use of Uncle Sam's Budget I'd rather be here than most
| places. Beats MRE's and a rucksack for sure. Latest rumour is some of
the
| ship's are going back to the US for whatever reason. All the other guys
in
| our travelling group, (going to several different vessels) are hoping it's
| the one they are assigned to but I kinda hope I can lay back on or near a
| tropical atoll and just make money. Say, thinking of Nautica's did you
see
| the article on the Nickerson 31 in the May/June Good Old Boat? Keel
looked
| kinda like the Nautica and the rest looked great. Same length as my new
one
| so I got some ideas to incorporate for the interior. Then a good article
on
| tiller vs. wheel. My new one had the conversion and luckily the previous
| owner did everything right including leaving the tiller post accessible in
| the cockpit and allowing plenty of room on each side. For single hand
| tacking you get a choice of pushing the wheel over and handling the lines
or
| using the auto helm tacking button and stand in front. You can also stand
in
| front when viewing the radar screen down in the cabin area. Standing
behind
| is even more fun as there is plenty of room for standing or sitting etc.
IF
| I have to use the tiller it's located in an easy to get spot and I have a
| Navico 300 to pop on. The Navico also connects to a stub which replaces
the
| wind vane paddle so you can have the best of both worlds that way as well.
| Scanmar/Monitor actually came up with the idea but it will work well with
| any paddle system. Anyway back to the Nickerson they are a bit hard to
find
| and a bit spendy but seem to incorporate a lot of the best ideas and
| compromises. What do you think?
|
| I don't know how long I'll be on as we get our fly/don't fly instructions
in
| a few hours but I'll check back in as I can.
|
| Michael
|
| "Capt. Mooron" wrote in message
| ...
|
|
Jeee-e-e-e-e-e-e-e--e-ee-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-z-z-z-z-z--zz-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-zz-
| z--zz-z ......... I HATE YOU!
|
| Damn you... Ha Ha Ha Ha ha
|
|
| Goood Going Michael!!!
|
| Keep your Blade Sharp and the Liqour Handy!
| "Michael" wrote in message
| ...
| | Life is certainly improving in the world. After a long 10 hour flight
| to
| | Tokyo, three hour wait and another 6 hour flight to Singapore I'm
safely
| | tucked away in one of the Amara chain hotels. They certainly do treat
| us
| | right in this business, meals included! Nice to be in a well paid
| shortage
| | specialty while the rest of the world whines about lack of jobs.
Funny
| .
| .
| | .we are about 2,000 short industy wide. Whoever encouraged me to do
| this
| | gets a big thankyou! First thing I spotted was a T-1 connection but
| after
| | a few messages decided to catch up on jet lag. Now, somewhat
refreshed
| I
| | thought I'd check in again. Someone asked where the Bombards are
made?
| I
| | don't know actually. Didn't check the box but I wouldn't be surprised
| if
| it
| | wasn't China. They areowned by Zodiac now and could be made in Oz or
| almost
| | anywhere else. Check with Boatarama I suppose. We are waiting to find
| out
| | if we fly today out to the ships or wait another day. If so they have
a
| | night safari tour through a wild life park and I think I'll take that
| one.
| | For lunch today it's the mecca of western tourists of course. The
Long
| Bar
| | at Raffles for an original sling. True to nature I've already spotted
| the
| | nearest marina and yachtie hangout so that will take care of the day
for
| me.
| |
| | I thought if I can't get through on the newsgroups the regular way
from
| the
| | work area I might send reports now and again via Katy or Oz or Doug
or
| Thom
| | or Bart or . . . .. or any one of a number of my other good .ASA
| friends.
| | Hell! I'd even send one through neal if I had an address that worked.
| I
| | did find another sort of discussion group though that is accessible
| through
| | Internet Explorer so I'll stay in touch that way.
| |
| | Cheers and fair winds as I drift slowly from Schoonertrash to . . . .
..
| |
| | /s/ Michael Freightertrash
| |
| | (where's that damn phone booth when you need it!)
| |
| |
| |
| |
|
|
|
|