"jds" wrote in message news:hhojd.119314$hj.27282@fed1read07...
thanks a lot for the input gentlemen. very informative. sounds like either
one would suit my needs.

Jeff: how was yours in open water??

You shouldn't confuse a Nonsuch with a true bluewater boat. For a variety of reasons,
this is not a good choice for a real passage. However, it is surprising well behaved
in almost anything you're likely to encounter in coastal cruising. We sailed Downeast
Maine to Buzzard's Bay, including the Cape Ann to Mt Desert "offshore" route a number
of times, and always had full confidence in its abilities.

Its weaknesses: with the full bow it pounds in a nasty chop - like a lot of boats.
Its large sail *must* be reefed early. It can easily be driven to hull speed in 20
knots with reduced sail, so why carry more? If overpowered, the boat would be a
handful, though the powerful rudder will handle her. Dead downwind in heavy stuff you
have to be careful not to drag the boom. We would haul the topping lift to raise the
boom and add twist to prevent accidental gybes. Needless to say, gybes were always an
adventure in stronger wind - we often did a "chicken gybe!"

If you reduce sail in timely manner (1st reef @ 18 knts) you shouldn't have a problem.
Three times we got caught in 40+ with a single reef, and were always able to forge on.

The only time I ever wondered if we had made serious mistake was coming out of the
Cape Cod Canal and hitting 6 to 8 foot square waves (generating by a 25 knot SW wind
against the 4 knot current) on the nose. We had little choice but to pound against
them making no progress through the water, until the current pulled us clear. Our
small daughter slept through it in the forward bunk, taking air on each wave!

The other problem with the boat is that the mast forward plus the boom create a fair
amount of windage. Its not a problem underway, but manuevering under power in marinas
was tense on puffy days, and in reverse we often had little control. And at anchor
the boat will dance around a lot - we often used a riding sail. Our boat was under
propped - in retrospect I wish I had studied that issue more.



any problems with things holding
together??

Its a pretty solid boat, we never had any structural problem. Make sure she's
surveyed by someone who knows the the boat, and understands cored construction and
unusual rigs.


places to look for leaks??, ports etc.

Just the usual. All the fittings are first class. Since they've now been out of
construction for ten years (other than a handful of custom jobs) you're likely to be
looking at a 20 year old boat. Look on nonsuch.org to see what issues have come up.
If you're in New England, you should start your search at Eastland Yachts.
http://www.eastlandyachts.com/

thanks again for the info
and the excellent links. best regards, j.d.

Good Luck, and keep us informed!