VIC
2 posts
Cole 31 and Nantucket 31?
Can anyone give me any info on these boats?
I'm interested in a Cole 31 but the Nantucket looks almost identical.
How do they handle in the rough and are they ok for sailing around Australia and to the outer Islands?
Cheers and thanks in Advance
NSW
103 posts
Yes we owned a Nantucket 31. Loved the boat, she was a great boat to sail upwind and would point just fantastically well. Not brilliant downwind though. They were built by Comprador in Sydney and ours was in good condition with no osmosis. They have a bolt on lead keel, and are a little prone to leaking through the keel bolts when working hard. We had extra stiffeners put into ours and this did reduce this but didnt stop it. Very shallow bilge and as they are keel stepped we did get some leaking down the mast into the bilge. We had a boot which stopped this. Also had to reseal the port side tracks as we had some leaking here as well. Sounds bad but honestly most of it was just due to lack of general maintenance when we first bought her. I think you will find that they are newer than the Cole 31 and some of the Coles are cold moulded where the Nantucket is fibreglass. As a general rule once the wind was close to 20 knots we would reef her but she handled it well. Would be ok coastal hopping I would think, we did a little between Sydney and Newcastle and she was fine.
NSW
7757 posts
All the Cole 31's are fibreglass. The Cole 32's were cold molded or fibreglass but mostly fibreglass. I think you will find all Cole 31's have wheel steering. Nantucket 31's can be either tiller or wheel steered. The Nantucket 31 is a newer lighter boat than a 31 but I would own either!
VIC
5904 posts
very good yachts . similar to the eastcoast 31 . all designed by the the same bloke ..... cole .
all built in sydney . as with all boats built in sydney in those days have a good look at the hull for blisters . some of nantucks have teak decks... more maintenance !!
If you are in Vic why not have a look at the S&S defiance 30 built by Jack Savage in Williamson in the same era . they are great yachts as well and sail like a dream !!!
all the above mentioned yachts were fin keelers built to ocean race to the same 1/2 ton rules . they will all sail to windward like a dream !!!! they will roll a bit dead down wind
another Sydney boat the Currawrong would be worth a look as well, built with the lead keel encapsulated in the f/glass . maybe not quite as quick as the others
all these yachts are built strong......... most of the hulls are 1/2 '' thick F/G at the thinnest point !!!!
buy one of these yachts and look after her and she will look after you !!!!
NSW
3585 posts
Nope, not all built in Sydney - some (most of the 32s, I think) were built in Perth as Ramona says. I think the first of them was Peter Nicol's timber flush-decker Bodega, which did the '76 half ton worlds without success.
Cole's own Nantucket was another timber boat. Last time I saw her she was in Tarban Creek. Sasha from Queensland, The Hum and Grasshopper were all custom built in timber as well, I think, in a variety of cities.
