The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site

Rustler Yachts: Maybe There’s Hope Yet?

In my last piece I remarked on the current state of production boat building, and wondered where the builders (and the market) for honest, well-built cruising GRP (fiberglass) yachts had gone. In a world of identikit models destined for the charter market, built to a price, are there yards out there that have been successfully bucking the trend?

To find at least one answer to that question, I didn’t need to look too far: just down the hill from our home in the Cornish port of Falmouth, where Rustler Yachts have for some years been building a range of attractive cruising yachts that embody most of the qualities that seem to have fallen by the wayside elsewhere.


Login to continue reading (scroll down)

More Articles From Rustler:

  1. Rustler Yachts: The New Rustler 37
  2. Rustler Yachts: Maybe There’s Hope Yet?
13 Comments
Oldest
Newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
richard s. (s/v lakota)

hats off to these folks…caliber yachts out of fl, a brand of similar ilk to this one, bit the dust as a result of the great recession…maybe they didn’t market their boats strongly enough ? cheers

richard (home base tampa bay, but lying today at marina key, bvi…overcast all morning, almost no breeze, 8o degrees)

Colin Speedie

Hi Richard

They’ve done very well by refusing to compromise on what they believe works at sea as opposed to in harbour (amongst other things). I’ve just passed a Caliber yacht here in the anchorage at Carriacou, and – who knows – maybe they deserved to survive, too.

Best wishes

Colin

Dick Stevenson

Dear Colin,
You have done a great service to all American sailors planning to visit European waters. They will not have to endure the feeling of ignorance that yours truly experienced when we ventured across the pond. I believed I could carry on at least a knowledgeable conversation about boats and boat manufacturers, but quickly learned that I was woefully ignorant of the quality manufacturers whose products rarely grace American shores and never get to our boatshows.
Great article and, as usual, I learned a lot.
My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy

Colin Speedie

Hi Dick

If I’ve done US sailors a service in this regard, I’m only too happy to have down so. Quality endures, wherever you are, and I’m sure many of your compatriots will be only too happy to show me US made excellence when we visit your waters next year, so it will haves been well repaid. And judging by the next comment from Ben, maybe Rustler are making efforts to become better known in the USA – which they deserve to be.

And thanks, as always, for the kind comments.

Colin

Ben

I delivered a new 36′ to Annapolis boat show in 2013. What a sweet little ride she was. Got a chance to speak with the builders, I mean sailors who build the boats. Glad to see them making some good decisions. Thanks for sharing.

Colin Speedie

Hi Ben

good to hear they’re making themselves known in the USA, especially as I’ve always thought they would appeal to the American market. And it’s interesting, isn’t it, that they are indeed sailors (like the Boreal team) who build boats they’d want own themselves, not bankers who are just looking for the next dollar. I’m sure there’s a moral in this….

And for what it’s worth, I think the 37 is a much better boat than the 36, nice though it is – have a look next week and see whether you agree.

Best wishes

Colin

Marc Dacey

Colin, you may not have received any “consideration” from Rustler Yachts, but that’s a fine piece of marketing material you’ve written! Like the best examples, it informs just enough to make the reader wanting more.

Colin Speedie

Hi Marc

I am unashamedly enthusiastic about any business that turns out an honest product that is fit for purpose. As John will attest, I am equally down on dishonest products that are simply ‘sheep in wolves’ clothing.

The difficulty is finding those products to enthuse about…..

Glad you liked the piece – thanks for saying so.

Best wishes

Colin

Justin C

I’ve long aspired to a Rustler 36. My current boat is a baby of similar ilk, a Trintella 1a. The R36 has always seemed to me the logical “step up”, sea-kindly, and correctly laid out with not even a nod to the marina ‘caravan’ of the mass produced European yards (and I can stand upright in one!!!). OK, I agree, not as fast as an Adventure 40, but, the displacement, and where the mass is situated, I’m certain an R36 can give the A40 a run for her money in the comfort-at-sea stakes.

Thank you so much for this post on yard I respect so much.

Oh, BTW, I took a look at a 42 at a boat show a few years ago and found the engine housing/galley just too close to the bottom of the companion-way steps and banged my knee *really* hard. I didn’t damage the boat but it put me off the 42!