Nexus 600 Sail-away

The Nexus 600 is a sailing catamaran, conceived, designed and built as an accomplished blue water cruising vessel.

With this in mind, a great deal of attention has been given to provide the features, quality and performance required when taking to the high seas. Our aim has been to maintain a level of simplicity and to avoid sophisticated finishes that serve no real function, rather focusing on providing the essence of comfort, not the trimmings.

Because the Nexus 600 was conceived as a long distance cruiser, it has been designed from scratch as a capable load carrier, with fuel, water tank and load carrying capacities that reflect the requirements of a serious ocean expedition. To this end the hull lines have been optimized to carry substantial loads without negatively affecting performance or handling. The hull sections have generous flare above the waterline in order to create a rapid increase in displacement as the vessel is loaded. The water and fuel tanks are also located centrally to avoid excessive trim changes as water and fuel is consumed.

In keeping with the theme of simplicity, the keels are of the fixed fin type, with generous chord length and minimal draft, and double as grounding protection by straddling both mast and companionway bulkheads. The rudders are of the balanced spade type, and provide light and sensitive steering control.

The primary hull, deck and bulkhead structure has been optimized to provide a solid and seaworthy platform but without adding excessive weight. The basic hull and deck structure is glass reinforced epoxy sandwich, with a foam core. The exterior finish is faired and painted to offer a long lasting glossy and bright finish. The interior secondary structure and furniture panels are cored wherever possible to enhance stiffness and reduce weight, and we have gone to great lengths to avoid the use of plywood and other hardwood timber in the interests of long term water resistance.

The interior is offered in a four-cabin layout, although as a low volume manufacturer, we are able to offer a certain degree of customization depending on the needs of the owner. In all cases we strongly motivate owners to keep the finishes and specification as simply and robust as possible. The hulls offer cavernous space for a vessel of this size. The spacious one-level saloon opens on to a large cockpit area that extends right aft, integrating a swim platform into the overall layout. In the interests of sun and rain protection, the cabin roof extends over the cockpit area, and ventilation is optimized by generously sized hatches in both the cabin roof and the windscreen.

The window material on the Nexus 600 is laminated glass with heat reflecting coating, which offers excellent optical clarity as well as scratch resistance, and lasts far better than acrylic or polycarbonate materials. The helm position and sailing cockpit is positioned to starboard and is readily accessible from the cockpit to avoid the helmsman from feeling cut off from the rest of the crew. Importantly, however, all sailing functions are kept away from the living area of the boat.

At Nexus we believe that an important safety and comfort feature is the ability of a sailing yacht to perform well on all points of sail. The Nexus 600 sailplan is generously sized, but with an emphasis once again on simplicity and ease of handling. In particular, the genoa is generously proportioned and has a large overlap to enhance up-wind performance. The main and genoa halyards run aft to the cockpit where they are handled by the two centrally mounted electric winches.