Long past are the days of the antique and classic boats known as “commuters,” designed to get early twentieth-century Wall Street barons from their Long Island estates to their downtown offices faster — and in a lot more style — than any train could. Yet even today on occasion a manufacturer will call one of their boats a commuter, and sometimes, the shoe fits. Are you likely to use a new Nimbus C11, tagged a “next generation commuter” by this Norwegian builder, to get to work every day? Not likely. Yet when it comes to getting from Point A to Point B in speed, comfort, and style, few boats could serve the purpose better.
Numbus C11 Cruising Features
The C11 has a full cabin with a small open cockpit aft, providing plenty of all-weather protection for the crew just as the classic commuters did. The upper cabin features a U-shaped settee with a convertible dinette table in the center, with sofas that can be shifted to provide forward-facing seating for seven passengers. Step down below to the forward cabin, and you’ll discover a double berth forward, a fully enclosed stand-up head with shower, and a compact galley to port with a two-burner stove top, sink, refrigerator, and stowage compartments. Tucked aft under the helm, there’s a mid-cabin double berth.
Considering all these accommodations, despite the commuter moniker this boat clearly also qualifies as a fully-equipped power cruiser. And unlike the boats of yore, the Nimbus’s helm is space-age with room for a pair of 12-inch MFDs at the helm and a pair of electrically-actuated opening glass sunroof panels overhead. Optional tech-touches you can add include joystick steering, gyroscopic stabilization, and a Humphree interceptor system with active stabilization.
Whether you’re planning to cruise to the office or just go out for a cruise, one of the features we find very attractive on this boat is the way Nimbus designed the sidedecks. They’re incredibly deep, are ringed by rails, and thanks to grab rails lining the cabin top have handholds to both sides. Make your way up onto the how, and you’ll find a sunpad and lounger with cupholders and more grab rails placed within reach.
Numbus C11 Design
The C11 is built on a twin-stepped hull with an unusual sort of double chine, the lower of which meets the water just forward of the first step while the upper remains above the waterline when at rest. The entry is nearly plumb.
Overall while the C11 has a bit of the appearance of many modern European wedge-shaped cruisers, it does carve out its own unique look. The bow is a bit more rounded at the top and the lines are softer than most. The cabin is also a very unusual design trait. The windshield is neither forward- nor reverse-raked, but rises up at 90-degree angle from the cabin top. This angular shape is defied, however, as the corners of the windshield are rounded moving aft. The juxtaposition of straight lines and curves, each being where you’d expect to see the other, makes for a one-of-a-kind appearance.
Numbus C11 Performance
The Nimbus C11 is designed to carry a wide range of power options: you can get one with Twin Mercury Marine V8 300-hp Verados; L6 350-hp Verados; L6 400-hp Verados; or twin 320-hp Volvo Penta D4 DPI diesel stern drives.
With the standard-issue 300-hp Verados and a light load the boat will get into the mid-40-mph range, which would seem to be plenty of pep for most folks. Up the ante to 350s, however, and this becomes a 50-mph-plus boat. Opting for the Volvo diesel stern drives will maintain speeds in the 40s while also boosting range.
These days we expect most boats to offer neck-snapping acceleration and hair-ripping speeds, but what’s really startling about the C11’s performance is how steady it remains throughout the powerband. The boat planes at shockingly low speeds and doesn’t have the usual struggle breaking from displacement to planning modes. Credit that tricky hull design and note that efficiency barely changes from 2500 rpm right on up to wide-open throttle. Just what is that efficiency? Depending on load and power choice, you can look for around 0.8 to 0.9 mpg at cruise.
Truth be told, boats are a pretty lousy way to get back and forth to work every day. They aren’t very economical, you’re at the mercy of the weather, and sooner or later you’ll glance down to see salt stains on your Louis Vuitton wingtips. Besides, we can think of about a million places we’d rather cruise to than the office. Still, wouldn’t it be fun to take the boat in to work every now and again? You bet it would — especially if you had an uncommon commuter like the Nimbus C11.
Nimbus C11 Specifications
- Length (LOA): 40’7”
- Beam: 11’4”
- Weight: 14,550 pounds
- Draft (motor down): 3’0”
- Max HP: 800
- Fuel Capacity: 225 gallons
- Water Capacity: 36 gallons
See Nimbus C11 boats for sale on Boat Trader.