For Sale: Bruce Roberts

[CapnElan]

Does anybody have any knowledge or experience with a 45 foot Bruce Roberts cruiser. I see they are badmouth on the Internet but I want to know personal experiences.

[Olly75]

Originally Posted by CapnElan

Does anybody have any knowledge or experience with a 45 foot Bruce Roberts cruiser. I see they are badmouth on the Internet but I want to know personal experiences.

I have a BR 44, fiberglass hull and professionally built in '79. She's proper solid and actually moves very well given the weight. She's also a gorgeous shape. So apart from the engine crapping itself last month I'm pretty happy.

However I wouldn't have touched her if she was home built. Or steel.

[rbk]

The problem generally isn’t with the design but rather a lot of BR designs are home built and done poorly at that. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any good ones out there, but you may have to wade through a lot of bad ones first. You’ll also see a lot of ‘Professionally built...by my uncle Joe in his barn’ could be good, could be bad.

[CapnElan]

Thank you for that. She is a beautiful boat but the owner was out of the country and the Harbormaster let me on board. 20 minutes later a broker calls me. I just don’t know..... but she has a beautiful shape and the reviews are mixed on the Internet. Price is well within my range But we all know what that means ha ha

[rbk]

Originally Posted by CapnElan

Thank you for that. She is a beautiful boat but the owner was out of the country and the Harbormaster let me on board. 20 minutes later a broker calls me. I just don’t know..... but she has a beautiful shape and the reviews are mixed on the Internet. Price is well within my range But we all know what that means ha ha

If you like the boat get a purchase survey completed. That will tell you a lot more about it. Is it grp, steel, wood? If you spend a grand on a mechanical and full survey you can avoid a potential proverbial turd or find a real gem anybodies guess really.

[CapnElan]

Originally Posted by rbk

If you like the boat get a purchase survey completed. That will tell you a lot more about it. Is it grp, steel, wood? If you spend a grand on a mechanical and full survey you can avoid a potential proverbial turd or find a real gem anybodies guess really.

Thank you. I’m trying to get information from the owners directly and not the broker. If I cannot get straight answers I will go that route. I will get a survey either way.

[john61ct]

The consensus seems to be, no matter how well built, they aren't great for sailing performance compared to the top-tier naval architects' output.

And not suitable for blue water passage making.

Those issues are not important for many buyers.

[unbusted67]

Originally Posted by john61ct

And not suitable for blue water passage making.

.

You are talking out of your tuchus. There's an awful lot of Bruce Robers' boats that have made some pretty serious blue water passages.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by john61ct

The consensus seems to be, no matter how well built, they aren't great for sailing performance compared to the top-tier naval architects' output.

And not suitable for blue water passage making.

Those issues are not important for many buyers.

Check out his website with 400 boat designs & tell me he can't design a blue water passage maker. Ridiculous!

BOAT PLANS, BRUCE ROBERTS BOAT PLANS,Â* BOAT KITS, FOUNDED 1966, OFFICIAL WEB SITE 400 boat plans SAILBOAT plans POWER BOATS; powerboats; steel BOAT PLANS; aluminum boat plans; fiberglass boat plans; wood epoxy boat plans, plywood boatbuilding plans,

[old frog]

Contact Hal Witaker, 410-279-2525. Hal is the Bruce Roberts representative in the USA. Hal is a naval architect, well versed, knowledgeable, excellent with composites, sailor, etc. He is also a good & kind person.

[Fiveslide]

I sailed on a 38'ish Roberts design. It was about 45' LOA with the bowsprit. It was purchased as a hull, the guy spent years putting on a deck and fitting out the boat to his personal desires. It wasn't luxurious, it wasn't fast, but it was a gloriously strong and roomy center cockpit cruiser. Huge bronze chainplates, nothing was spared in fitting that boat out to be a strong, safe offshore boat. All white interior instead of concentrating on a beautiful teak wood work. Only drew about 4.5 feet.

It was a "homemade" boat finished by an engineer, that could be had for pennies compared to any production boat in it's size and one that I would be very proud to own.

I know of a big Roberts design built in steel that assisted with rescues in one rally going south. Bunch of boats got beat up, not the properly built and maintained Roberts.

They can be fine boats.

[Fiveslide]

https://tampa.craigslist.org/psc/boa...663106055.html

It just so happens that the first boat in my post above has come up for sale. If I had the money, this one would be very near the top of my list.