Roberts 345

It is hard to tell in pictures,but yes there is an option for a pipe leading edge on the skeg. I wouldnt know if it would cause vibration or not.
Lookin at the pic's again he did beef it up with the 45% plates where its attached to hull and the heavier plate in the hull above skeg-rudder.
This one is the version B with extended coach house and less rake on transom. I noticed he has moved the rudder-skeg more forward than what is showed on plans, trailing edge of rudder is only a few inches from transom on drawings .
Tom

 

Noticed this one for sale in BC
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/boa/1081542844.html
Bit modified

 

LMAO!
Tom,
That's the same one that Brent & I were talking about on the other thread! As you can see, Evan Shaler revamped their skeg & Brent changed it to a pilot-house.
The couple that owns it moved it to Gibsons when they lost their work area. You can see the anomalies on the stbd bow, but there are not enough shots there to give you the true impression of the other challenges. I'm sorry to see that they have had to stop, yet, tried to make them realize that it would be better to start from scratch. The extra distance that they moved it would have made for one hell of a slog from Oregon.

In fact, those are the old photos from when Stephen Wandling still owned it. Later, I built a mid-ship cradle for it, as it wasn't well-supported, just about ready to fall over. I'd sure be interested to know why they chose Gibsons as the new location.

Mike

 

LOL
Ya Mike I had a feeling when I first looked at the photos. Skeg-rudder and pilot house looked like Brents style.
Tom

 

The further aft the rudder the better. It also makes a Says rig a simple option for self steering.
Rounded leading edges on anything are far less prone to stalling. This is also the case with keels . Sharp leading edges a can cause huge amount of turbulence in rough water.
Once one boat has been built and the designer has had the opportunitiy to correct offsets, then they should be accurate enough to eliminate the need for full sized lofting on future boats.
Brent

 

I saw this on Craigslist, and might go over for a look. Can you PM me with some more details about this hull?

Thanks!

edit -- OOPs - no Private Messages on this board it looks like. Email with more info if you like -- (ty5032 at hotmail dotta comma)

edit again -- Brent, feel free to send me any insight you have into this hull as well -- is it worth a look?

 

Roberts

Do I read you correctly? Does Roberts charge extra for a skeg that is not designed to fall off. Has anyone asked Roberts how much offshore cruising experience he has, or how many steel boats he has built with his own hands? A close friend of his once told me "None".
Brent

 

Well if you put the 45% gussets at the top I would think its not going to fall off or take a chunk of the hull with it?
But to awnser you question yes he charges for it, The saftey skeg from what pictures I have seen you run a shoal draft keel and the bottom is extended back to the bottom of skeg, thats not on the original plans you have to email them and pay extra for the plan option.
I guess its the same for spars and rigging. I did ask on that and the rudder shape and was told to study the plans more and come back with list of questions, I responded with one more question and I wont bother you again, that was on the detail polio that the plans referd to that were not there and explained to them there was not a top view drawing or note on the rudder. They did resond to that sent me one page from polio and explained the rudder. So I wont ask them any questions again.
Tom

 

cvzzr,
I spent a few weekends working on that boat, about a year ago, until I became too busy at work - working weekends to finish the "Island Sky" ferry - & the owner, Jason, had to return to Oregon for his summer work. When I left off, there was still a fair bit of work to do to straighten out the hull, however, Jason would have had to do some work to move it to the sunshine coast, so I'd hope that the work was finished, as he'd ground out a few of the seam weld roots, in preparation for back pass. In other words, I have no idea as to the boat's present condition. I'd describe Jason as a "straight-shooter", so I'm sure he'll give you an accurate assessment when you contact him. If you know a lot about working steel, it is "doable". If not for the fact that I would prefer something much larger, would I buy it? No, but to each his own. The asking price would not be a factor in my decision.

 

I have been building a Roberts 343 wood version and have had nothing but the highest regard for Bruce's plans and his responce to all my questions. I did not have to pay eatra for the roberts reinforced skeg; however, I was planning to reinforce it my way anyway. I welded a 1/2" thick plate, 14" wide X the full lenght of the skeg plus 6" extended further forward to the vertical 1/4" plate in the center of the skeg. He uses a piece of 2' x 4" tube steel welded from the aft section of the keel to the leading edge of the skeg. Make sure when you install this piece that it is level with the water line. This tube steel prevents any debris from breaking off the skeg and also protects the prop from pot warps and other various debris. I received both offset tables and the printed patterns from Bruce. I used the printed patterns and found them to be within 1/16" in accuracy which is about a pencil line anyway. What the hell, your only building a boat not an airplane. If an airplane wing is off by a 1/16" it could cause wing flutter which once it starts only takes about 10 second and the wing departs the plane. Planes don't fly for **** w/o wings. No such ploblems with extreme accuracy in boat building! I can't say enough good about Bruce and I am sure you will change your mine about him and his plans before you are done building. I will admit that he does like to get a little extra money whenever possible, but look how cheep he sells his plans compared to the other navel architects. If you have any more questions during your build, I will try to help in anyway I can. It is good for fellow builders to keep in touch. You can contact me at: ecflyer@netnet.net for direct e-mail. My basic boat is built after 2.5 years and engine is mostly installed, will be doing the final paint job in about a month. I can help you in finding cheep places to purchase materials in many cases and maybe you can help me too sometimes.
Have a Great Day!
Earl

 

I've heard people sing the praises of the help they get from Roberts and others say they get no help at all. All one can conclude is that it is a crapshoot which you will get.
No, boats don't have to be precision accurate. The ocean is never totally symetrical on both sides of the hull at any time. It is a rough generalisation. People who worry about 1/16th of an inch take forever to get a boat together, to no avail, and become their own worst enemy. They also tend to neglect things that actually do matter, while abosorbed in their foolish efforts to get things within a thou or two.
Brent

 

Daiquiri I have built a Euro 1000 complete to the blast and paint stage which was cut locally from the cd plans and everything fitted well I would be interested in sharing some of your experience in the fitout as you have done a great job on the 1200 and anyone else who has built a steel roberts cruiser as its hard to find anyone who has.
Regards
Dick.

 

P.M. me with whatever questions you might have. I'll do my best to help you.

First hint:
Now that the bare hull is ready, start thinking immediately about the plants, electric, hydraulic, sanitary, refrigeration, engine cooling and ventilation. Prepare all the holes for wiring and piping passage across bulkheads and cabin soles.
We had made a mistake to not have foreseen a few holes in some very nasty corners, and it was a pain in the back (literally) to make them afterwards, with all the insulation applied and some of the machinery allready in place.

 

I never had an electric plant except for solar panel , wind generator and alternator on the engine, and a disposable Chinese generator which I recently disposed of.
Sanitary? The Airhead type composter solves those problems.
Never felt the need for refridgeration.
I found a 12 volt fan under a cowl vent, pointed at my bunk , was the next best thing to air conditioning in the tropics.
Brent

.
never had hydralics.

 

There are not many things which can break, wear or fail in your boat, it seems. I like your point of view.

Too bad there are lots of persons who reason in quite the opposite way, something like "I pay, therefore I want". And they generally want everything, in their boats and elsewhere.