[mbianka]

Well I may be biased since I own a 1986 30U. I got interested in looking at a Nonsuch when I wanted to step up from my Bristol 24. I had a good discussion with the Captain of the boat we had chartered on for a winter vacation back in the early 1990's. He had delivered a number of Nonsuches for a dealer and was schooled as a marine architect. He liked them for their simplicity of design, no stays to worry about and all lines come back to the cockpit including reefing lines.. Not a lot can go wrong with them. No mucking about on the foredeck until it's time to pick the mooring or anchor. He also said they were very well built. As others have said lot's of room below and good headroom (I'm 6'2). Lived aboard mine while working in New York City for about five years from April to December and loved it. Tough little boats. A book called WITHOUT RIVAL chronicles a Nonsuch 30 that was abandoned on the return leg of a Trans Atlantic crossing near the Azores and drifted over to Central America. Owner retreved it and is still sailing today.I finally bought mine in 1995 and have not felt the need to look at another boat since then. Love it even more now that I have converted it to electric propulsion. Would never think of selling it until I can no longer sail it.

 

[mbianka]

High quality, decent performance, simplicity and huge accommodations for a given length make this a pretty appealing package. The only downside seems to be sail plan flexibility.

Has JeffH weighed in on the nonsuch?

One of the great things about the Nonsuch is it only has only one sail to deal with. One of the bad things is it has only one sail! As the marine architect who turned me onto the Nonsuch said it is sailing simplicity. My sail has provisions for three reefs though I only have rigged two and I can do all reefing from the cockpit. Some days while sitting in the cockpit nursing a boat drink I contemplate how I could rig up an emergency sail. Since the mast is unstayed and is essentially a big round stick it looks like it would be fairly easy to rig up. I may try it one day if I get ambitious enough. Though I doubt I ever need it considering my current sailing plans.

 

[mbianka]

I've not sailed a nonsuch, but I have to think that its cat rigged sail is cut to accommodate a reefing.

However, I'm inclined to agree that a storm sail would seem to present a problem. I just don't think Nonsuchs were design for conditions that would necessitate a storm sail. Noting, those conditions are quite infrequent, which doesn't much limit a Nonsuch's coastal cruising capability.

I've have sailed double reefed in near gale conditions and the boat behaved well. Like any boat you have to get to know it's tendencies. That said the 52 foot mast up forward does tend to make the bow fall off. Which may be useful if one were to employ a sea anchor technique ala Lin and Larry Pardy's recommendation in Storm Tactics. Not that I plan on trying that anytime soon.
As far balancing the sail effort. Since the Nonsuch is so different from other boats use of a Storm Sail might have to be rigged differently too. With the mast up forward. My feeling is that a storm sail might have to be rigged more toward the back of the boom not at the mast. This to compensate for the bow mast windage . What size it would have to be is just a guess on my part. I'm thinking 50 sq feet. But, again I don't ever plan on being out in conditions where I would need to test this theory.