Restoring a 30-foot Nomad in NY
I fell in love with a 30 ft Vega when I was about 24 years old. A person came into our marina Bay Point in 1974 or 1975. Bay Point is in the western end of Lake Erie. Across the bay from Cedar Point. I went over and the owner was very nice and let me come on board and take pictures. And he told me all about the boat . I was in love. So I checked it out and looked into buying one. Well in those days they were around 35K. Way Way Way out of my budget. Like all first loves you put her pictures in your sock drawer and move on.
Some 30 years later I sold a very successful party rental business and the first thing I did was to go out and find a 30 ft Willard Trawler in the Nomad version. I could have purchased almost any boat that I wanted but I found the little girl in Chicago and went up and purchased her right on the spot. Despite the terrible condition she was in. She was so bad that I had to have her trucked to NY.
She is now safe in my work shop and going through a complete Re-Manufacturing process. I have been at it for a number of years with out much progress but this year I have made a new commitment to stay at it. And so far the progress is slow. But when I say a complete re-man What I mean is that every single thing in the boat was taken out and now all new and updated equipment is being fit and installed. The only Component that I saved was the motor and transmission. These were completely re-built with every thing that could be replaced was replaced. I could have gotten a new motor for less but this motor matches this boat. We are making a lot of changes to set this boat for long term cruising and live aboard.
I will have to look at the serial # next time I am down at the shop but under your listing of Nomad there is a name Beluga That is the name that is on the boat now. What are the chances that there are two belugas out of 29 builds.
If anyone wants to see her or has any advice other than the obvious don't ever completely re-do a complete boat I would love to hear from you. If you are in the area give me a call and stop by. Any one with skills that might be staying in the area and want to help you are welcome.
Thanks Rick
Re position the mast
I have a 30ft Nomad that I am completely re doing . As part of the construction efforts I need to move the mast aft about 30 inches. This will allow for the installation of a radar arch. Has any one done this ? Does any one know if this would cause problems? E-mail aahandyman55@gmail.com Thanks Rick
I don't know of anyone who
I don't know of anyone who has done that. The cabin top is reinforced by the aft vertical edge of the flying bridge seats, so is plenty strong where the mast is. But moving it aft 30" would put it in the middle of the cabin top where it is not so strong. Will it still be used to carry a steadying sail? You'll have to relocate the shrouds as well. All in all I see a lot of trouble and little or no benefit from the change. Why do you want a radar arch -- it doesn't seem like it would go with the style of the boat. Radar scanners can be mounted on the mast quite easily. But if you're going to install an arch I'd say just get rid of the mast and forget about the sail.
-Rick Etsell
If you are saying
Rick Etsell If you are saying that the strength of the cabin top is reinforced with the top edge of the back of the seat then I am in real trouble, It is our plan to remove the seats completely. We plan on installing two captains chairs. I like the look of the mast but to keep it and install a radar arch the mast has to go aft or when it comes down for bridges then it would have to lean forward. Not good. My concern was more that the mast would be to far aft and not as use full as a steadying sail. Which as I understand it is its purpose. We are setting this boat up from the keel up for cruising and adding every modern convenience we can to make it more user friendly. The arch is for the radar 2 vhf antennas 2 garmin gps receivers and 2 ACR remote controlled search lights and some spreader lights. Right now this boat is gutted and we are putting it back together. At present we are installing 1 inch Soundown insulation in both compartment the aft compartment will house the new 5 kw Northern Lights gen set. We have put in 2 new water tanks and to 35 gal each holding tanks for wast and grey water. Thoes actually went into the aft compartment. We moved the water back about 12 inches each and then cut out paft of the shelf that the water tanks were sitting on and then in stalled the two tanks one on each side.
The seat part does add a lot
The seat part does add a lot of strength there, which helps compensate for the downward force from the mast. It's not only the weight of the mast, but when the sail is up and the rigging is taught, there is an additional downward force component through the mast. The cambered house top helps a lot too, but I wouldn't recommend mounting the mast in the middle of the deck with no other support. But then, I wouldn't recommend keeping the mast at all if you're going to add an arch. It will be way too cluttered. Keep it simple and just do the arch. Most owners don't use their steadying sail anyway, and although I do use it and like it, the effect is not all that great and I wouldn't worry about eliminating it.
Sounds like your plans will pretty much overtake the upper deck, so eliminating the mast is probably a good idea from a weight and stability point of view. Remember she's only 30-feet!
Wow, great to hear about your
Wow, great to hear about your re-building efforts. Photos would be fun to see if you get a chance to send some.
I agree that yours must be Hull #23, which is listed in the database as a 1973 Nomad named Beluga, indicated as being in the Great Lakes area. Has to be the same boat, so I've updated the database to reflect your ownership. Be sure to let me know when you decide on a new name, or any other changes.
Cheers,
Rick Etsell, Willard Boats site admin.