# Bruce Roberts 43 Steel Hull



## seanicroute (Sep 13, 2017)

Hello. We’re actively searching for a boat to sail the carribean for the post ‘18 hurrican season. Nov 18-June 19. 2 adults 2 teenagers. In our search came across a steel hull 80’s Bruce Roberts 43’. We have been looking at plastic boats all this time and really have no idea on what’s good/bad about steel hulls and/or this particular design. Any feedback would be appreciated.


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## hpeer (May 14, 2005)

Sean,

Way too much to answer in a simple thread. 

And there has been way too much discussion about the topic already. 

Steel hulls MAY be great or horrible. Just like any other material. Bruce Roberts designs can be great or horrible (just saw a boat attributed to him that clearly had serious issues.) 

Probably the best thing to do is post what you know about THIS boat and folks can comment on the specifics. 

BTW we have 2 mid 80s Steel boats.


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## hpeer (May 14, 2005)

IM HAVING A DEVIL OF A TIME RESPONDING. EDITOR IS NOT WORKING RIGHT. 

See quote below. The comment about the area under the tanks not being easily inspected is troubling. Otherwise the boat sounds great. But I personally have had bad corrosion underneath a fuel tank. I had to cut the fuel tank out from under the cockpit and was not able to replace it. It all worked out fine but was a LOT of labor. 

I have next to zero trust in ultrasound. The problem being that it only gives spot measurements. A bad rust spot can be 1 inch from the measurement and you would never know. 

Frankly this looks a very nice boat, but requires some serious consideration of the potential risk. You need to look at it hard. 


The bilges below these tanks are not easily accessible but should be protected with coatings as in other areas. The anchor/chain locker has been recently inspected and epoxied/painted. A piece of the deck under the windlass was replaced. We have an industrial grade ultrasound thickness gauge to check the steel externally where we can not get at it from the inside. This is a good indicator of the integrity of the steel when it can not be inspected easily from the inside.


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

Bruce Roberts sold (sells) designs to mostly backyard amateur builders, some of whom had questionable skills. Any opinion of a specific Roberts boat bears no relation to any other Roberts boat.


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## Skipper Jer (Aug 26, 2008)

Post the link, if there is one, to this boat. Most Bruce Robert boats are home built. Not saying that that is good or bad, just be aware of it. If you do decide to purchase this boat have it surveyed.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

boatpoker said:


> Any opinion of a specific Roberts boat bears no relation to any other Roberts boat.


Other than the fact that they are all pretty modest performers.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I assume that this is the Bruce Roberts Mauritius 43. The Mauritious was a popular design. As other have said, the build quality of these boats varies wildly from boat to boat since the majority of these boats were constructed by amateurs. In looking at a lot of amateur built boats over the years, I can tell you that they are very hard to survey because even a gifted amateur might get something like the woodworking right, and totally miss it on the electrical systems or rigging. 

In terms of the Mauritius itself, these boats were built in different materials. I have encountered them in fiberglass, cold molded wood, and steel. The hulls and decks have been produced by a number of different companies in fiberglass and sold as partially completed boats. 

In fiberglass or wood, these were decent sailing boats. They are not very fast and do not sail well in lighter winds, but they have made a number of notable voyages. In wood and glass they are a little lightly ballasted, and tend to be tender since the ballast is a low density ballast (typically lead shot or steel boiler punchings in either polyester resin or concrete) carried pretty high in the boat. 

The problem is greatly exaggerated in the steel boats since the steel boats are much heavier than the glass or wood boats and so the ballast ratios tend to be much lower and the drag higher. It makes the steel Mauritius a very pretty poor choice for areas with a lot of wind, or not much wind. In heavy winds a steely will need to be reefed sooner, and you will end up motoring more in light to moderate winds. 

But the other issue is a nearly 40 year old steel boat. Back in the 1980's I worked for a yacht designer who had a specialty in steel boats. He was about as knowledgeable about steel as anyone around at the time. His customers tended to use high quality yards to build their boats and Charlie would specify the state of the art rust protection processes of the era. And even with that level of care, it was thought that these boats maybe had a 30 year lifespan before they would need major plating work. The issue is that steel boats rust out from the interior and in places that are inaccessible. They rust out in those small crevices between the steel plating and the framing. They rust out in areas where there are small breeches in the rust proofing. They rust out where some corner of an interior furnishing touches the skin, and erodes the coating and holds water against the steel. I have been aboard some of the boats built to designs that I worked on, and 25 years out they have had a lot of work, or need a lot of work. 

So while this boat may be perfectly well maintained and may have had every necessary repair made, buying a steel boat that old is akin to playing Russian Roulette with a lot of rounds in the chamber. 

Respectfully,
Jeff


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## boatpoker (Jul 21, 2008)

Let me counterbalance my own arguments against home built boats. After more than 4800 surveys (409 powerboat models, 350 sailboat models) I have been seriously impressed by the build quality, weld quality, materials and systems installation of only three boats. All three were over 48', metal, two trawlers and one schooner ...... All three were home built. 

You have to be careful but you never know, maybe you'll stumble into one of these three gems. Curiously each of these three were built by Croatian gentlemen.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

People tend to think about boats in much the same way they think about cars when in actual fact boats have more similarity with houses.

No-one even thinks about who actually built a house because it's irrelevant - they look at how each one was built, perhaps through the eyes of an inspector but there is no "brand" to a house or concerns if it was built by a pro or an amateur.

Like Poker, some of the best boats I've seen were home brew - a handful were better than any pro built boat I've ever seen. Every boat has to be taken on its own merits.


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

I cruised for some years on an old steel boat. Here are some thoughts.

It is my understanding that steel boats when they start to rust through do so progressively and that the progression is slow. I was around for a year when someone tried to repair then stripped out everything of value when he realised he had a colander . It was 18 months before he gave up . So have big bilge pumps.

There is always someone with a welding set and any bodger can do an external patch.

Any competent welder can cut out rusted metal weld in new and make a repair that is as strong as the original build. 

I am currently cruising on a GRP boat and I am much less adventurous about my reef running.compared to the days of my Ryton 38 and it's 1/4 inch Corten steel hull.


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## Capt Len (Oct 9, 2011)

Any locals know if Clancy sold that Bruce Roberts (47'?) in Victoria.? Finished empty hull. New perkins in a crate. Looked like a solid project for 20 grand. Was on Craigs but coudn't refind it. (hint, Slicing your face off with a zip blade on angle grinder can take the enthusiasm out of any enthusiasm )


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## Skipper Jer (Aug 26, 2008)

Here is one with a new Perkins Bruce Roberts Spray sailboat for sale in Ohio Don't know if its sold yet.

Then again for a few dollars more you can get one ready to go: https://wilmington.craigslist.org/boa/d/bruce-roberts-pilothouse/6392119598.html


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## hpeer (May 14, 2005)

There was a 60ish foot aluminum ketch on sale for years. Finally went when it was reduced to about $100k. It was a hard hull with new unused sails and working motor. Professionally built by a well known yard, just can’t recall at he moment. It was a hell of a lot of boat for the money.


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## hpeer (May 14, 2005)

Topper Hermanson I think.


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## colin58 (Jun 17, 2021)

Jeff_H said:


> I assume that this is the Bruce Roberts Mauritius 43. The Mauritious was a popular design. As other have said, the build quality of these boats varies wildly from boat to boat since the majority of these boats were constructed by amateurs. In looking at a lot of amateur built boats over the years, I can tell you that they are very hard to survey because even a gifted amateur might get something like the woodworking right, and totally miss it on the electrical systems or rigging.
> 
> In terms of the Mauritius itself, these boats were built in different materials. I have encountered them in fiberglass, cold molded wood, and steel. The hulls and decks have been produced by a number of different companies in fiberglass and sold as partially completed boats.
> 
> ...


I was reading your comment with interest I am an old sailor that has had many boats, steel, wooden, GRP and Aluminium, the greatest boat I have ever owned is my Mauritius 43, have ridden out a cyclone on the way back from the islands to NZ, I have had her for 10 years and she has never missed a beat, the only work I have done on her is I altered the rudder to get rid of some of the weather helm when she is overpowered. She is not as fast as a Farr 11.6 (which I have also owned and rate it as the worst boat for cruising ever, and Farr is a Kiwi so saying that feels wrong). I have a well-built boat that has great rust protection and trust her to hell and back, which after all is what you want in a boat. She will get me 8.5 knts and cruises easily at 6.5knts, not the fastest boat but she will get me there. There have been over 2000 Mauritius/Norfolk 43 built and to my knowledge, some better then others but on the whole they keep on going. Oh and I sail in Wellington NZ where the wind is fierce and have taken this fabulous boat down to the Auckland Islands, where a lot of modern boats would struggle to survive.


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