Nimble Nomad Trawler

L & F, you are going to love your Nomad. They are great little boats and will get you compliments every where you go.
Lets see lots of pics when you get her.
Tom

Hi all
I am new to the forum. I live in Auckland, New Zealand, and I'm sure a Nomad would cruise the waters here beautifully.
The Nomad appears to fit my needs absolutely! I have two 6 year old boys, and the deep cockpits look very safe for them.
I have gained much knowledge reading the posts, however, one or two questions. Do the fore and aft cockpits drain easily and quickly? (Do they take much water at all)
Secondly, how easy is the boat to get on and off the trailer?
Lastly, what is the stability like at anchor (in reasonably sheltered water). Little movement, or rock and rolly?
I don't think there are any Nimbles in NZ, I would have to ship from the good ole US of A.
thanks
Rizzo

Rizzo..would love to see a Nomad in your beautiful country!
We own hull #1 and have owned her for 18 yrs so I guess I am qualified to talk about Nimbles.
The deep cockpits were a deciding factor for us as my wife does not swim. The forward cockpit seldom takes any water except during heavy rains. The later models have proper drains with thru-hulls for draining. The aft cockpit will occasionally take on water if you are in a heavy following sea.
They are pretty easy to unload from a trailer. I used to tow mine and launched it many times with no issues.
And at anchor, they are fine.
Being fairly flat bottomed, they are pretty stable but will pound some under power in a chop.
Let me know if I can help you more.
Tom

Hi, Nimble1. I remember visiting the Nimble "factory" in Lutz back in the late 90s or so while I attended USF. I really wanted a Nimble Vagabond as my first boat. Sometime in 2005, I recall that the Nomads were being built by an operation in Tampa or perhaps it was Sarasota/Manatee. In addition to building new boats, they were re-furbing a few. My wife and I visited the location and we seriously considered a Nomad, but the job situation wasn't conducive to boat buying. The Nomad is a great trawler for Florida waters!

Yes, although they listed the address as Clearwater, they were actually built in a small factory east of there. We visited the factory also and met Jerry Koch, the owner and watched them as they were building a Nomad. It was a pretty small operation and when Jerry died of a heart attack they went downhill.
Supposedly there is an operation in the Tampa area that owns the molds and has built a few since and claim they are working on a larger version.
They are a niche boat obviously and as you said, perfect for our water.

I was just checking Yachtworld to see more pictures of these little boats and came across one 'just listed' for sale in N Carolina.

They pack a lot of stuff into such a small package, this one even has autopilot, priced at 20K.

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listing/boatMergedDetails.jsp?boat_id=2622448&ybw=&units=Feet¤cy=USD&access=Public&listing_id=2185

Created a album and will be adding more pics of our Nomad.

My Nimble Nomad

Hull #48 tropical. I took delivery of her on July 11. She was in Charlotte, NC, and had sat for several years due to the deteriorating health of her previous owner. I had her shipped up here to Michigan. She needed a thorough "going over" plus lots of cleaning. After about 2 weeks on the trailer getting everything ready, she was launched on July 26th. Over the next 3 and a half months we made lots of short trips up and down river from the marina and even a few ventures into Lake Erie. I get compliments everywhere I go. I just upgraded to a more suitable tow vehicle so next season I plan on trailering her to the Erie Canal and maybe the Trent-Severn waterway.

Here's my first mate, James, making sure all's clear astern.

Super neat trawlette. What would you consider to be an appropriate tow vehicle?

I just got a Dodge Durango. 5.7L V8 AWD. Should tow, launch and retrieve my boat no problem.

Happened on this forum but all the posts occurred in 2010. Is anyone still reading this?
Please let me know if it is active, because I am number 2 on the list to get the new Nimble Nomad '29, and my wife and I have decided to sell our spot, so if anyone is interested you can save a bundle on a great boat.

Bob,
Might help if you post some pics in the "For Sale" add. I saw a few that Cliff sent me a while back of hull#1 .I never saw it when it was finished, just production pics.
Tom

To pull a thread out of the past in order to get to Nimble Nomad owners I have a question of you. Have any of you experienced having gasoline fumes in the cabin? The wife and I rented a Nomad to make a trip on the Erie Canal, this made the trip somewhat less than a stellar experience. Thoughts on this problem are welcome.

I purchased my 1994 Nomad a little over a year ago and I can tell you that I have never smelled any fumes.

Nomad gas funes

We had a Nomad for 7 years and never smelled gas. Doubt it is a fuel line leak because if that was the reason the engine probably would have experienced fuel starvation (sucking air) and it would have run sporadically. I'd check to determine if there is a leak around the filler cap or possibly a crack in the tank itself.

On SweetPea, I occasionally will smell some gas fumes right after I open it up on very hot days but it dissipates very quickly. If the fumes were to continue or get stronger I would check it out.

Nimble one
I live in Port Charlotte and am considering a nimble Vagabond. What do these boats ride like when the harbor gets rough. Is it something you would be comfortable cruising from pine island down to marco or up to venice in?
Thanks
Pat

GP:

I researched the Vagabond extensively and had an opportunity to visit the factory in Lutz years ago. Roomy for their small size. They handle rough water well for a flat bottom boat but I'd probably be most comfortable in relatively sheltered waters. I've seen them with 9.9HP high thrusts and up to 30HP. I'd prefer the latter for open water.

GP, since they are flat bottomed and pretty light, I am guessing that they will pound some in a chop. For protected waters like going to Venice or Marco, it would be great and very economical.

Really nice boats for the Port Charlotte, West coats of Fl waterways. Just use it as it was intended, no big water, inlets or other challenges. I like these boats as Ted Brewer designed them, protected waterway cruisers.

Any Nomad owners want to trade "up" for an Albin 27FC in excellent condition currently doing the loop? My Albin is located in Sanford, FL. My phone no. is 251-597-9256. Dale

Nimble Vagabond

Hi Nimble owners
I have just purchased a nimble vagabond. Smallest of the nimbles, I think.
It has a few things that need addressing, but one that is causing me a headache is the sliding window felt track gasket is more or less petrified and needs replacing.
Has anyone dealt with this sucessfully, know where I can get some, what it's called or even where I might purchase replacement windows.
Thanks for any help.
Tammy

Tammy, the company that produced the windows for the Nomad is still in business and I would assume they made the windows for your Vagabond.

Wynne Enterprises Inc.

Vagabond info

Tammy, I scanned an original sales sheet on the Vagabond for your info.

Vagabond Windows

Thank you so very much sweet pea!
I will get right on that next week.
Very helpful indeed.
Turns out I have the tropical version.

Rosborough Boats Now Built in USA

Bentsailor said:

Hi Again

If you are into 25' .. should also check out the Rosborough 254 at*http://www.rosboroughboats.com/index.html


Barb & Jeff

Click to expand...

My wife and I are proud owners of a Rosborough 246. While our 2003 was indeed built in Canada, Eastern Boats in Milton, NH bought the molds a couple of years ago. They are continuing the Rosborough tradition, and there website is Rosborough Boats USA

Bill Webster
Salty Paws
2004 Rosborough 246 HSV

FWIW, Nimble is developing a 29' boat. I saw the prototype at the MIA boat show in 2015.

New Boats | Nimble Boat Works

Don't know how far they have gotten with it since though.

Not sure if they have ever sold any of the 29' Nimbles. I for one don't care for the look of the "spoiler" on the back of the cabin. In fact the lines of the boat just don't look right.

I was told that the "spoiler" is where the A/C unit goes.