Willard 30 Nomad: On My Shortlist

Hi all,

I am on a 3-4 year countdown to living aboard, so I am trying to put together a list of boats that would be good matches for me. Happily, I could spend hours on Yacht world without getting bored, so the research is coming along pretty well thus far.

So far I have three boats identified: Prairie 29/ Atlantic 30, Morgan West Indian, and now, the Willard Nomad. I always liked how they looked, and the glowing reviews for their sturdiness, but I assumed that (like almost all boats that are well built), they were out of my estimated price range. They just look like expensive, serious boats. I finally looked up some asking prices, and WOW! what a deal these are!

Has anyone lived aboard a Nomad? Do I stand much of a chance at finding one in the Florida/ Gulf Coast/ Lower Eastern Seaboard area? Anything in particular that I should watch out for? I did join the Yahoo group, and aside from ballast issues with some boats, I haven't seen anything too scary or unusual.

I would love to hear anything you have to say about them, or about the other 30 models.

Cheers!

Hi,* Right now there is a 30' Willard 1973* on E-Bay.** The boat is located in Slidell LA. It is listed in the sailboat section.** It has a no reserve start price of 7k.** I noticed it today, it is a 6 day listing and no bidders as of this morning.***

JohnP

IG32 #25**** "Adagio"

Toms River** NJ

John, vjm,
$7K ??* Never heard of a Willwrd that cheap. The Willard is NOT a good liveabord. It's just too small. Well if you get a Voyager 30, a 36 or a 40' Willard that could change. I consider a Nomad too small but I've seen guy's living aboard small basically open OBs in Juneau Alaska so it's always up to the individual but basicly you need a boat that is short and wide with a good hull. For most folks cheap is also good. A well insulated boat is better also. I remember a guy living aboard a 28' FG house boat w only a small electric heater but it was well insulated. That Island Gypsy would be a lot better than my Nomad. For a livaboard forget cute. I'd be looking for $45 to $55K for mine. They usually sell for $25 to $75K.

Nomad,* I suppose for a liveaboard it would probably not work, however if someone were into Willards* the one on E-Bay for 7k* starting price would be worth looking at.* I think the model is the Horizon II motorsailer and for a minimalist it could make a great cruiser.

Happy New Year**** John and Miri**** "Adagio"

Gonna have to go with Erric on this one. A willard is just too cramped. It is a "small" 30 footer while the P29 is a HUGE 30 footer. I LOVE the West Indian as it has the same styling as the Prairie. Think of the West Indian as a Stretch Prairie if you will and that is basically what it is. If the right one popped up we would be all over it. I see 3(one is listed as a Heritage EAST so you might be missing that one) right now on YW and all seem to be project boats. One is 3 miles from my house. Anyway, I would get instant spousal approval for a nice WI.

Virginia, one of the first things to think about is if you want to stand upright while living aboard and not banging your head and elbows on things. That is what would happen on a Willard 30. It is quite luxurious to walk from your cockpit to your salon without one single body gyration to go through the door. My next bullet point on liveaboards is storage space. Not so much the amount of space as to the "arrangement of space". What I mean by that is how is eerything organized. You can have TONS of storage space but if it is arranged in 2349 different little drawers and cubby holes then it is not all that useable. Nothing like one pair of socks and one underwear to fill a complete drawer. You would have to wake up early just to track down your outfit for the day. Anyway, you get the drift....BIG DRAWERS and BIG HANGING LOCKERS. The Prairie 29 has 3 HUGE drawers backed up by 3-4 smaller drawers and a HUGE hanging locker.....that is PLENTY of good space to arrange everything you need to live aboard. The Atlantic's galley down set up might take up some of that hanging locker. The rod in my hanging locker on my P29 was about 3-4 feet long. That is SERIOUS real estate in ANY boat much less a 29 footer. To be quite honest, if a cherry P29 popped up, my wife would be all over it...she absolutely LLLLLLLOOOOOOOOVVVVVVED that boat and regretted selling it. And she lived on it with me for over 2 years!!!! And she is FAR from a minimalist. Anyway, I will shut up as most on here have heard this schpiel before. Just please for your own sake, think about things like the 2 things I have mentioned above. Those things a VERY basic but make life aboard MUCH better.

John P,
Yes that's true but usually Willard's are not "minimalist" to buy. This 7K boat is VERY unusual.
John B,
Very informative post. When it comes to living aboard those that have done it are light years ahead w insight and those that haven't are like hunters shooting into the woods hoping to hit a deer.
One of the main reasons we sold our Albin 25 was the bang'in the body issue. I almost never bump into the boat on the Nomad. It was like night and day Albin to Willard but the Horizon may not be equal to the Nomad in this regard. The Horizon is, however considered to be the most seaworthy of the 30' Willards***** ...and that's quite seaworthy indeeed. Space was utilized in amazing ways on the Albin though so an old Albin 36 may be a good live-aboard. It is 13' wide too. I think.

Thank you so much everyone! Invaluable advice, as usual. Sounds like I will be scratching the Willard off my list.

vjm wrote:Has anyone lived aboard a Nomad?

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Yes, but not me.* A local author in Bellingham lived and wrote aboard a 30' Willard for a number of years with his wife/significant other.* They no longer live on this boat--- they have moved ashore so far as I know--- and the boat was put up for sale a few years ago.

Any boat is capable of being lived on, even a fishing dory.* The only variable is what the person living on it is willing to accept.

While I have no desire to live on a boat of any length, I would concur with the others in saying that a 30' Willard would be a pretty cramped place to live.* I know a couple who live on a boat and they have gone from a GB36 to a GB42 and now have a GB46.* They have told me that the GB46 is the smallest size they consider truly comfortable for living aboard.

While bigger is not automatically better when it comes to operating and cruising a boat, I do believe that bigger is better when it comes to living on a boat.

Eric,* I think the Willards are great- I like the full displacement low power idea. I hope someone buys the one on E-Bay and enjoys it.* I am going to put it on my watch list and see if it goes. Not sure why he does not list it for sale on the Willard site.* To liveaboard* (not having a house or other place to live)* I think something from 45-50foot would probably work. Compared to the average house that would still be small.

Happy New Year**** John and Miri**** "Adagio"** Toms River** NJ

John,
I'm sure they just need to dump it FAST. Prolly don't even know about Yahoo Willard Boat Owners. You may want to buy it just to turn a profit.
Marin,
I think that author/liveaboard was on a 36 named Quasar.

nomadwilly wrote:Marin,

I think that author/liveaboard was on a 36 named Quasar.

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No, the author is Clyde Ford and his 30' Willard is/was named Mystic Voyager.

*

Marin wrote:nomadwilly wrote:Marin,

I think that author/liveaboard was on a 36 named Quasar.

Click to expand...

No, the author is Clyde Ford and his 30' Willard is/was named Mystic Voyager.Marin is correct. Clyde is the author of "Whiskey Gulf", "Precious Cargo", and "Red Herring". These are his three west coast marine detective novels. His Willard was named "Mystic Voyager". Clyde's hero in his marine novels lives on a 36' Willard in Bellingham.*

*

Carey wrote:Clyde's hero in his marine novels lives on a 36' Willard in Bellingham.

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Wasn't Charlie Noble the hero in his novels? (I corresponded with Clyde about his
novels* 4 years ago.)

*


-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Thursday 30th of December 2010 08:57:14 PM

SeaHorse II wrote:

*
Carey wrote:Clyde's hero in his marine novels lives on a 36' Willard in Bellingham.

Click to expand...

Wasn't Charlie Noble the hero in his novels? (I corresponded with Clyde about his
novels* 4 years ago.)

-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Thursday 30th of December 2010 08:57:14 PMYes, Charlie Noble was the hero, supposedly living on the 36. The actual 36 that gave Clyde the inspiration was only six or eight slips away from Clydes. I never asked Clyde if the owner of the 36 was any inspiration for the books.

Clyde is an awesome person. If any of you ever see him at a boat show or bookstore, take the time to meet him. He's a really down to earth, good hearted person. Check his web site, and you'll see other sides of him in his non-fiction, as well as his east coast detective novels. Clyde is actually an accomplished Psychotherapist, Chiropractor, Author, Kayaker, Boater, and more.*

*

Marin,
The boat in Bellingham that I thought was the author's boat was in fact Larry Greenlund's boat. It's the 36 Willard for sale I posted on Classified. There is a "Mystic Voyager" on Yahoo Willard Boat Owners. I think it was the cover of a book.

Marin,

While I normally like what you write,* I'm not sure that after hearing you say you would not want to live aboard a boat of any length,** How can you objectively speak on this subject?

Remember,* everyone has his or her own wants from a live-aboard,*

With increased size of boat come increased issues.

Finding and paying for slip or anchorage would come to mind.*

Costs of fuel and annual maintenance go up several times over.

Big boats are harder to handle.* I have seen many couples struggle with a boat that is clearly outside their expertise.


Many owners go this route:

1.* Get boating fever.

2.* Like boating and get 2 foot disease.

3.* Regret getting that boat that was just a little too big,* and downsize.

Sort of like all the folks these days who build a McMansion while the kids are in high school,** only to find that once the kids move out,* they are now living in an air palace,* with too many rooms to heat and clean.** Look around,* they are everywhere.


Granted,* the Willard 30 is a bit small for a live-aboard,* as I am soon to find out.* But,* it is far bigger in living space than most 35 or 40 foot sail boats many have lived on successfully.**

I sure would like to have a 36 but I would rather go and have my fun,* and be able to do it longer,** than shorten my time afloat due to financing.

Rant over,

Eric,** give me a call sometime.

Dan Pease

Carey wrote:SeaHorse II wrote:

*
Carey wrote:Clyde's hero in his marine novels lives on a 36' Willard in Bellingham.

Click to expand...

Wasn't Charlie Noble the hero in his novels? (I corresponded with Clyde about his
novels* 4 years ago.)

-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Thursday 30th of December 2010 08:57:14 PM
Yes, Charlie Noble was the hero, supposedly living on the 36. The actual 36 that gave Clyde the inspiration was only six or eight slips away from Clydes. I never asked Clyde if the owner of the 36 was any inspiration for the books.
Clyde is an awesome person. If any of you ever see him at a boat show or bookstore, take the time to meet him. He's a really down to earth, good hearted person. Check his web site, and you'll see other sides of him in his non-fiction, as well as his east coast detective novels. Clyde is actually an accomplished Psychotherapist, Chiropractor, Author, Kayaker, Boater, and more.*

*


*I had the pleasure of meeting Clyde at the Vancouver boat show a couple of years ago, and you are absolutely right - it was a genuine pleasure to chat with him. Re his living aboard a 30' Willard, keep in mind that his Willard is/was a later model that I believe has more space than the earlier models, the Voyager being a possible exception. And perhaps the most important point to keep in mind is that Clyde is not a large person.

*

Just remember there is a VAST difference in cruising and "Live aboard".

A boat that will be very cramped while aground in a slip in her coffee grounds ,

can be quite large enough for extensive cruising.

Are you looking for a cruising boat or a floating condo?

BIG DIFFERENCE!