oldsurfer
Member
Any feedback/experience on this micro cruiser?
Nordica 20
- Thread starter oldsurfer
- Start date
Steam Flyer
Sophisticated Yet Humble
Slow
Pretty
Pretty
I'll echo the succinct descriptors of Steam Flyer and add despite its small size, not really suitable for real gunk holing due to its draft. Otherwise a not too bad small cruiser in the spirit of it's-not-the-destination-but-the-voyage that counts.Comfortable and safe when conditions get a bit hairy.
andykane
Member
I have fond memories of mine, but I was 18 and could walk down the hill and go sailing whenever I wanted so that might not be entirely the boat.
- The cockpit is very comfortable, everything is at hand but nothing is in the way to bash your shins.
- Interior is pretty spacious for a 19 1/2' boat
- Solid build quality
- Sails pretty well. Obviously not blazingly fast with that full, full keel, but points decently and generally moves along well. Very stiff boat too so it will keep plugging away to windward in a breeze with no fuss. With a hull speed of something like 5 knots you're not going fast, but it doesn't feel like a slow boat.
- Not practical to ramp launch. You'd need to mess with tides or use some long strap or something. Mine had a trailer with a big tongue extension and it still wasn't close to workable.
If you haven't seen it there's a lot of good info at https://nordicaboats.com/index.html
- The cockpit is very comfortable, everything is at hand but nothing is in the way to bash your shins.
- Interior is pretty spacious for a 19 1/2' boat
- Solid build quality
- Sails pretty well. Obviously not blazingly fast with that full, full keel, but points decently and generally moves along well. Very stiff boat too so it will keep plugging away to windward in a breeze with no fuss. With a hull speed of something like 5 knots you're not going fast, but it doesn't feel like a slow boat.
- Not practical to ramp launch. You'd need to mess with tides or use some long strap or something. Mine had a trailer with a big tongue extension and it still wasn't close to workable.
If you haven't seen it there's a lot of good info at https://nordicaboats.com/index.html
SloopJonB
Super Anarchist
FWIW it has a PHRF about the same as a Cal 20.
Horses for courses, as the saying goes. On a vacation to Lake Dillon I noticed they had a high proportion of small keelboats, 15-17 feet long. You don't see many of that sort of boat in most places, but when the cold air falls off the mountains, they get 20kt breezes.
SF Bay is another place a boat like the Nautica might do well.
SF Bay is another place a boat like the Nautica might do well.
That surprises me for some reason.
Steam Flyer
Sophisticated Yet Humble
And me. I can see it on off-wind legs. But with any beating involved, IMHO the Nordica would be left far behind.
It's not the 20kt winds, it's the suddenness and ferocity of the gusts. On a sunny day of gentle breeze, pleasantly sailing along, getting a 20kt blast from a random direction is very unsettling and difficult for less stable, more powered-up, boats to cope with.
The Nordica cockpit is deep, dry, and comfy, if a bit tight. 2 people max, preferably skinny.
