Nomad was built by F.C. Morgan Giles at Hammersmith in 1908.
It is of clinker construction with spruce planks on steamed oak frames. It is gunter rigged with a single wooden bamboo mast and spars and a cast iron centreplate and copper buoyancy tanks. It is the design of this boat that led to the development of racing dinghies such as the International 14 and National 12 during the 1920s and 1930s.
Designed originally with a totally open hull, a half deck was added at some point before 1936, when it was purchased by the Palmer family. A later owner removed the decking to restore it to the original condition (as seen in the image). The Palmers repurchased Nomad in the 1960s but found that, without the decking, the hull flexed excessively. The boat was donated to the Museum by the family in 1978.
Dimensions
Length 4.29m
Beam 1.47m
Maximum height when rigged 7.78m
