Vanguard Nomad 17
Description
The Nomad (commonly known as the Vanguard Nomad or Nomad 17) is a modern American daysailer designed by Bob Ames (with project input from Steve Clark at Vanguard) as a recreational, trailerable, dry-sail boat for cottages, sailing clubs, schools, and family use. Built by Vanguard Sailboats (USA) starting in the early 2000s (around 2003 launch, with production ongoing in limited numbers), it emphasizes stability, ease of use, and performance in a centerboard dinghy format—jazzed-up daysailer blending dinghy-like responsiveness with family-friendly features. It features a fractional sloop rig (adjustable for easy handling), Airex-cored hull/deck for stiffness/lightweight, asymmetric spinnaker option for downwind fun, open cockpit for 4–6 people (dry and stable), and minimal accommodations (basic cuddy/storage forward). It's praised for swift, stable ride (planes easily, sails 7–8 knots off wind with asymmetrical spinnaker), excellent for club racing/training, and forgiving in chop/light winds—competing with boats like the Ideal 18 but more family-oriented.
Construction Details
| Designer | Robert Ames/Steve Clark |
|---|---|
| Builder | Vangard Sailboats (USA) |
| Length | 17.170 ft |
| LOA | 17.170 ft |
| Beam | 8.000 ft |
| Displacement | 650 lb |
| Max Draft | 4.500 ft |
| Min Draft | 0.500 ft |
| Year Built | 2003 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 17.50 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 5.30 ft |
| p | 20 ft |
| e | 9 ft |
| p2 | - |
| e2 | - |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17.50 ft | 5.30 ft | 20 ft | 9 ft | - | - | - | - |
Documents
Sails
Vanguard Nomad 17 - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 20 ft - (6096 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 9 ft - (2743 mm) |
| Leech | * 21.45 ft - (6538 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 21.64 ft - (6596 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4 in - (102 mm) |
| Area | * 92.89 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Vanguard Nomad 17 - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 17.33 ft - (5282 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 6.67 ft - (2033 mm) |
| Leech | 15.92 ft - (4852 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115.66 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 6.13 ft - (1868 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 6.43 ° |
| Area | * 53.09 ft² |
| Edit in Calculator |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.
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