FWIW, here’s the comment I posted there on that “Update”…
It’s always nice to see information coming out about a very nice class of boats.
That said, it’s very disappointing to see this report tagged as “updated”. The only new information that jumped out at me was the market scan. Another clue that little was done to update it is that it refers to the principals behind it (Gordon Fisher, George Hinterhoeller, and Mark Ellis) in the present tense. The former two passed away decades ago, and Mark just last month. It’s further disappointing to see that the first of the four comments preceding mine, dated November 2022, remains on the website despite being clear and blatant spam.
Readers might be interested in Jeff Spranger’s Practical Sailor article about the boat dated December 1, 1986, re-posted with permission on the International Nonsuch Association’s (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lTCX-p3b0AaloZzYr2Or4_2BpKO1X-aI/view?usp=sharing)
It’s also disappointing that Practical Sailor has stuck to the schtick of calling the design, “weird.” This dates to the original 1981 Practical Sailor review, while Spranger pointed out only five years following that, “…there is now certainly acceptance by sailors; as with the comparable Freedom line, the rig is no longer ‘weird’ – it’s merely innovative.”
A point in Spranger’s article which remains true is that the International Nonsuch Association (www.Nonsuch.org), which has operated since 1983, has always been owner-supported, and continues to have the, “incredible esprit de corps” and “owner enthusiasm for the boat” which Spranger noted in 1986. The INA’s more than 600 members represent about two-thirds of the boats known to still exist.
In fact, this “updated” article contains information that would’ve been inaccurate when originally published in 2000 – and is even more so today. E.g., “The mast is … connected to the hull by a deck-level pin which passes through the mast and the cast aluminum deck collar.” In point of fact, this was only true of Nonsuch 26s and 30s built before spring 1984, and the Hinterhoeller factory initiated a repair/replacement program to update even those boats to a new below-deck mast tiedown system. It is highly unlikely to find any Nonsuch that still has the arrangement this article describes.
It is certainly the case that – like almost every ever sailboat sold – there was marketing material implying it could be taken offshore. However, it was in fact designed, built, and primarily marketed as a lake and coastal boat suitable for one-design racing and couples cruising. I base this on having personally interviewed the designer, the late Mark Ellis, for my 2020 Good Old Boat Magazine article on the Nonsuch 36. Mark was adamant about what the boat was and was not intended to do.
Updating a previous website comment posted by “sprime”, there were actually almost 1000 Nonsuches produced. These ranged from 22 to 36 feet in mass quantities, with a handful larger boats also produced labelled as either Nonsuch or Nereus 40s.
The Nonsuch today remains an innovative design that’s easy to handle, sails well (really well if you’re a tweaker), and offers tremendous interior space for its size. Although more expensive than similar sized boats of the same age because of the value they offer, they are very reasonable alternatives to massively overpriced new boats. The appeal is primarily to those who appreciate the innovative elements, which drew on Laser and Finn designs, and who are willing to invest the effort that any older boat will require.
– Robert Neches
Past Co-President, International Nonsuch Association