Review of Nelson 37
Basic specs.
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The Nelson 37 is equipped with a long keel. A long keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.
The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.60 - 1.70 meter (5.25 - 5.55 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
Nelson 37 is typically equipped with an inboard Perkins engine at 72.0 hp (53 kW), which gives a max speed about 8.5 knots.
The fuel tank has a capacity of 600.0 liters (158 US gallons, 131 imperial gallons).
Sailing characteristics
This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Nelson 37 is 1.75, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.4 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Nelson 37 is about 210 kg/cm, alternatively 1179 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 210 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1179 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
Sailing statistics
This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Nelson 37 is 31.5.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Nelson 37 is 3.35.
The ballast ratio for Nelson 37 is 33%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Nelson 37 is 264 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 35m2 (376 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.
Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.
If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Jib sheet | 11.4 m | (37.4 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 11.4 m | (37.4 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 28.5 m | (93.5 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 25.1 m | (82.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
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