Duloe has just emerged from a loving refit and her glossy topsides and unmarked mouldings proved the adage that you'll be enjoying he quality long after you've forgotten the price; Nicholson 31s were top-dollar boats in their day. Construction was conventional, hand-laid GRP to Lloyds specifications, with balsa-cored decks and coachroof and encapsulated lead ballast.

C&N made full use of GRP technology, and most of the 31's interior -galley, heads, furniture bases- is made up of moulded modules bonded to the hull. Allied to stringers and frames, this makes for a very strong unit. It would also make for a rather plasticy feel to the interior, but for the extensive use of teak trim and joinery.

At first sight the saloon looks rather snug, but this is down to the settees being brought so far inboard to make room for stowage. She is actually not a lot narrower than most modern 31-footers, in which stowage is usually sacrificed in favour of a more spacious feel to the interior. The settees are fairly short but,being aligned with the boat's centreline, make good seaberths with the aid of trotter boxes under the galley peninsula and chart table. To port, a useful pilot berth faces a bank of overhead lockers to starboard.

There is a vast amount of stowage outboard of and under the settees, and also in the forepeak. Much of this is due to the location of the tankage; the 65-gallon water tank is part of the keel moulding. The 17-gallon fuel tank is under the cockpit sole and batteries are below the quarterberth.

The full report appeared in a 2000 issue of Yachting Monthly and may be available from them.

Performance under sail

Conditions at the time of the review sail, although not the most pleasant (cold north-easterly Force 5), were ideal for putting a boat of this type through her paces. Most bad traits would have shown up in these conditions and the Nicholson 31 showed just how much of a thoroughbred she is by no vices and indeed demonstrating many very desirable characteristics for a cruising boat. She proved to be as good, if not better mannered, as any boat I have reviewed for Yachting Monthly.

Under the main alone she could be easily controlled and tacked, ideal for close quarters manoeuvring, and if the helm was left she slowly luffed up, tacked sailed off a little, luffed and tacked again, virtually marking time on the same spot. Ideal for the shorthanded sailor working up for'd or just jilling around. With two rolls in the main and the No. 1 jib we sailed her out into the Solent on a beam reach and she sailed along quite happily at about 6 knots and although she was overcanvased in the gusts there was only a little weather helm - just enough to remind the helmsman that another reef might be needed.

Having put a further three rolls in the main we hardened up on to the wind and it was on this point of sailing that she showed her real forte. There was a very short stopping sea but she kept on sailing, her weight giving her the power to drive through it at a steady 4 knots. She was very well balanced, even when laid fairly far over and she could be left to steer herself for long periods, only luffing up slightly but carrying on sailing. She was surprisingly dry too, with no more than the occasional splash reaching the weather deck and nothing finding its way past the dodgers and into the cockpit. Above all, she gave a great feeling of surefootedness and confidence. A Hydrovane self-steering gear is offered as an option and it should be quite enough for this boat.

Conclusion

The Nicholson 31 is a very worthy addition to the Nicholson range and she easily fulfils her role as a comfortable and easily handled cruising boat of the go-anywhere variety. Everywhere she is strongly built to a very high standard. With a boat this good there has to be a snag and that is her price which makes her considerable more expensive than most boats of her size - but then if you want the best you've got to pay for it.

The full report appeared in a 1977 issue of Yachting Monthly and may be available from them.