Nimbus Weekender W9

It takes just a quick look at the 30-foot, 8-inch Nimbus Weekender W9 to guess that this interesting walk-around cuddy was not conceived in North America.

The cold, open waters and high fuel prices of its native Sweden, and the value of utility and quality to the Swedish culture, influence a design created by the largest boat manufacturer in Scandinavia.

For example, American boat brands often tout a level sole from transom through the cockpit to facilitate movement through the boat. So of course, I tripped when stepping from the starboard walkway of the W9 to her cockpit because I was not expecting there to be a sill to step over. The sill is intended to divert water from the walkway away from the cockpit, just one design requirement of the CE Class B Ocean certification the W9 has earned.

Classy yet stout

Nimbus boats have been available in North America, but each example was imported by the dealer. Nimbus Boats USA was created in 2022 to facilitate a more efficient importation and to support a growing dealer network in the United States. This W9 model shares its 9.35-meter double-step hull with T9 Tender center console and C9 Commuter pilot house models. The W9 Weekender we ran out of CenterPoint Yacht Services in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, is intended to be a family dayboat, with a cabin suitable for a quick overnight or tired children, a cockpit galley and seating area, and a large foredeck lounge — an alternative to cabin-less center consoles or walk-around cuddy models designed primarily for angling. The 9 Series is manufactured in Poland of hand-laid fiberglass cored throughout with Divinycell PVC rigid foam. In the U.S. market, the W9 will only be offered with a single Mercury Verado outboard from 250 to 350 hp.

The outboard is flanked by a pair of 5-foot-deep boarding/swim platforms, with a 1-foot walkway forward the motorwell for easy movement from side to side. The hull sides extend along the platforms, with just enough left open aft for a step from the dock. This securely encloses the platform area and makes space for a stowage bin in the gunwale of each that will hold both lines and fenders. The burly latches on the lids, the boarding ladder with grabrail and the massive 10-inch cleats set the tone for a boat that appears and feels stout throughout.

The cockpit is designed for sit-down conversation and dining, with an L-shape couch wrapped to port and elbow room for four adults at a solid teak table that pivots and folds to ease movement forward. The aft seat backrest folds down to create a sun lounge. In Europe, this is often used as a second berth. There’s a large lift-out molded dock box below this seat. In the finished bilge below the dock box are three batteries, the fuel filter, and the Mastervolt ChargeMaster, which is a component of optional shorepower. The rigging here is expertly detailed. The table pedestal is mounted to another hatch to access the optional Isotherm water heater and 14.8-gallon freshwater tank. The hatch can be opened with the table in place.

A galley console forward to port contains a sink and space for an optional propane cooktop, with a refrigerator below. Glass-sided drawers in the console are stocked with classy Nimbus monogrammed dinnerware, glasses and flatware.

Creature comforts

Nimbus pays special attention to helm ergonomics. Adjustable side-by-side seats feature deep side bolstering and flip-up bottoms. The dash has a very nice glare-free finish. Our boat was equipped with an optional 16-inch Simrad MFD plus a 4-inch Mercury VesselView display. Controls for the standard Zipwake Dynamic Trim interceptors and a bow thruster flank the wheel.

Glass-filled sail panels enclose the helm and galley areas, surrounded by a rather thick structure that curves gracefully and is designed to support the optional T-top that completely covers the cockpit and has a canvas sunroof opening.

It’s an easy step down past the sliding door to the cabin, which features 4 feet, 8 inches of headroom, a small closet and a very spacious double berth measuring more than 6 feet wide and long and a full 3 feet wide forward. The head compartment below the helm is a very bright space with overhead and side ports. A sink and ceramic head are standard. There is a rinsing shower at the swim platform. The cabin is trimmed with oak veneer, and the overhead is covered with a neat-looking molded composite cover.

View the W9 closely from the dock and realize that the deck is asymmetric — the house has been offset to port. This creates a 14-inch-wide main walkway to starboard and a 5-inch walkway to port. The large optional sunpad over the cabin may be the main lounging spot on the W9, and a foredeck sunshade is available if the boat is equipped with a T-top. A huge rode locker holds an optional windlass plus a pair of fenders, for which clips are provided.

Sea trial

A stiff chop greeted us on Sturgeon Bay — perfect conditions to judge the W9 ride. The running surface features a rather plum stem intended to stretch out the water line; it also enables that large rode locker, the wide forward berth and a pair of deep steps intended to aerate the hull and reduce drag. The 9-foot, 8-inch beam is rather narrow for a boat of this length, at least in the American market. It’s all designed to combine seaworthiness and a smooth, dry ride with optimized fuel economy. With auto interceptors and trim engaged, we were left to throttle and steer. Testing with a Mercury Verado 300, fuel economy was good at a relatively high speed, better than 2 mpg from 4500 to 5500 RPM and about 33 to 43 mph, for a range of about 160 miles. Top speed was about 46 mph. Overriding the Mercury Active Trim brought the bow down into the chop and smoothed out the ride. The boat carved some nice high-speed turns with no skipping or other awkward step-hull behavior. Enough air passes through the gap between the windshield frame and the T-top to keep the helm ventilated. The wide windshield pillars do sometimes obstruct the view forward from the helm.

Let’s close by raving about the absolutely outstanding fit and finish. Every component is top-notch and there’s not a rough edge, frayed seam, loose wire or wavey finish anywhere on this boat. The caulked seams in the cabin are an exercise in perfection. The attention to detail we can see bodes well for those details we cannot. This boat is a little quirky in a fun Scandinavian way. If you appreciate functional design and solid quality, check out the Nimbus W9.