Recognise this?
- Thread starter Graham_Wright
- Start date
WF36
Well-known member
Bruce Roberts Spray 40 ?
Graham_Wright
Well-known member
I think it is a Spray but it is (allegedly) 47' overall.
I assume it is ketch rigged although that is a big mizzen!
I assume it is ketch rigged although that is a big mizzen!
ProDave
Well-known member
There is one like (or very similar to that) in our harbour. Are you looking for a specific boat?
Poor photo, I didn't go out to photograph it but found it lurking in the corner of another photo so cropped it from that.
Poor photo, I didn't go out to photograph it but found it lurking in the corner of another photo so cropped it from that.
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Porthandbuoy
Well-known member
Is that a cannon poking out of the starboard quarter? 
Tranona
Well-known member
The basic design has been shrunk and expanded from 23' to over 50' bruceroberts.com/Spray-read-the-truth.htm
KompetentKrew
Well-known member
Indeed looks very Bruce Roberts.
Supertramp
Well-known member
Certain it's a Spray replica with an aft cabin/poop deck and I think it's in Muirtown basin. There used to be another black one there, smaller, no aft cabin and well equipped for sailing.
ProDave
Well-known member
The one in my photo may well have come from Muirtown but that is not where I photographed it and if it is that one not where it is now. It is possible there are 2 of them this close to each other.
rotrax
Well-known member
As an aside from the disscussion about the lovely boat, First Mate and I met Bruce Roberts in a Costa del Sol Hairdressers in Feburary this year.
He was a very sprightly senior citizen.
He was a very sprightly senior citizen.
C08
Well-known member
I had a bizzare telephone conversation with the Bruce Roberts yacht design company. about 20-30 years ago.
I was interested in building a Spray so I called about buying some plans for a steel 40ft Spray. Whilst talking about nthe build process I asked "Bruce" a question and he replied rather tetchily " I am ..., (f I orget the name he gave) and there is no Bruce Roberts it is just a design and trading name. He gave me all the prices and order info. I was about to make the order when my welder friend was badly injured ar work and consequently the Spray weld up was off the agenda. I have been puzzled about this since then?
rotrax
Well-known member
AFAIK, he sold the company and his designs and is enjoying retirement.
Graham_Wright
Well-known member
I'll come clean. The boat belongs to my son and for a special birthday, I wanted to have made a sweat shirt with the name, Northern Spray, and an outline of the boat as a background.
It is meant to be a secret.
I thought it would be easy to find an original BR sketch but that has been impossible. The length 47' seems to be in error.
It is meant to be a secret.
I thought it would be easy to find an original BR sketch but that has been impossible. The length 47' seems to be in error.
KompetentKrew
Well-known member
The naval architect Bruce Roberts started out in Australia with a company bearing his own name. At some point he took on a business partner, to whom he sold his share of the business when he decided to move to the United States.
The Bruce Roberts company in Aus continued selling his designs and I assume that, for some time, it did so with his blessing. At some point Bruce's ex-partner sold the business to someone else - Bruce appears to have been incensed when he discovered that someone else was now selling his designs "without his permission".
I don't know exactly when it happened, but it has already history when I stated using this forum nearly 10 years ago - I think Australia has now stopped using the Bruce Roberts name, but for a time you could google him and find two sites, one for Bruce Roberts Pty and one with his face on, a distinctively 90's style website which he still uses today. The "real|" Bruce Roberts has a screed on his site about "stolen" and "pirated" boat designs and he says you shouldn't buy from the other site because you won't be able to consult with him if you do.
So the person you spoke to was probably feeling a bit beleaguered about this, knowing that he would've been badmouthed had managed to you speak to the "real Bruce".
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Tranona
Well-known member
If you had a clear profile photo of the boat out of the water that can be scanned and an outline drawn on the computer to print on the T shirt. I did that for an outline on a switch panel. otherwise call Bruce Roberts as there will be a profile of th45 at least in the study plans.
C08
Well-known member
Thanks for clarifying that.
ProDave
Well-known member
A slightly better, but still pretty rubbish picture of Northern Spray.
KompetentKrew
Well-known member
His site refers to a Spray 475 and he offers plans for Sprays of various sizes. Also it's non unknown for home / small builders to add a foot and then register the boat with model name +1.
Several identical photos are shown on the pages for the Centennial Spray 45 and that of the Spray 460.
Maybe see if you can get the t-shirt guy to recolour and work with this:
ProDave
Well-known member
But Northern Spray is different, see pictures above.
KompetentKrew
Well-known member
I looked at @Graham_Wright's pic before posting - it's a little small, but I couldn't spot any significant differences. Maybe he'll find something closer on Robers' site though.