Bruce Roberts, steel boat plans, boat building, boatbuilding, steel boat kits, boat kits

Hi Bruce, I love my M43 ketch and I wish the technology had been around 25 years ago to easily build a steel hull. I built it alone on shoestring in 12 years. Then I had to teach myself to sail. It is an easy boat to handle and given to no sudden or nasty tricks. A most forgiving design. Often on the bay , I meet other boats of the same size that are heeled strongly while the M43 remains adamantly upright. I'm making the same speed so I guess I'm doing something right. The Mauritius 43is very forgiving and very stable. Only for a person who never skippered anything but a canoe God was she massive! regards RF

Hello Bruce. Just a short message regarding one of your completed designs. My father, Charles Bonds, built a Norfolk 43 centre cockpit, flush deck, ketch rigged sailboat named KANGATOO from your designs in our backyard in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto (Canada). He started building it approximately in 1981 and launched it in 1989. He set sail for Florida and retired there. Unfortunately he passed away this year but he had many years of live-aboard enjoyment. The boat is up for sale now, but I thought you might like to see a couple of pictures. Kelly Bonds

FROM THE DRAFTING TABLE
Design Close Up by Robert H. Perry

Without a doubt, Bruce Roberts is the king of the stock plan designers. There are a number of reasons for this. Roberts' designs are always beautifully presented by the draughtsman. They are profusely detailed and leave very little for the amateur builder's imagination. This is definitely a positive statement. Lastly, Roberts' boat plans cover a wide variety of sizes and types of yachts. There is something for everyone.

The Roberts 44 was intended as a fast cruising yacht that could be built by an amateur. The lines reveal a relatively short waterline of 32' 10", rather full ends, longish overhangs and a gentle, sweeping sheer. The displacement to length ratio of the yacht is 339.

The interior of the Roberts 44 will appeal to all of us who have thought about living aboard at one time or another. The designer has provided large open areas with careful attention to the galley and after stateroom. Roberts has also been considerate enough to provide two excellent sea berths. One is a pilot berth in the main cabin, the other a quarter berth located in the passageway. The forward head is quite large, and it seams that a separate stall shower would be rather easy to design into this arrangement.

Having worked in an office which specialised in stock plan designs myself, I am very aware of the quantity and complexity of problems facing the home builder. I feel some designers have exploited this market and have led many naive home builders down the garden path into debt and frustration.

Indeed, the best way to avoid this pitfall is to deal with a designer, like Roberts, who has extensive experience in this field. He has established his credentials and gained a wide following. Some home builders projects turn out "children" that only a mother could love. It is therefore wise to choose stock boat plans from a designer who has answered all the frequently asked questions many times. The art-science of designing yachts for amateur builders is as demanding, if not more demanding, as designing yachts for the buyer of the finest custom yacht. Bruce Roberts has my endorsement.