Robber 3e

[sailingjeff]

Hi,

Does anyone have any info / opinion on a Robber 3e or Elizabethen 23 as a first time boat ( dinghys previously ). I want something with a fin / lift keel that is fun to sail and these seem to fit the bill, although they are quite different.
Any help gratefully received.

 

[sailorman]

Hi,

Does anyone have any info / opinion on a Robber 3e or Elizabethen 23 as a first time boat ( dinghys previously ). I want something with a fin / lift keel that is fun to sail and these seem to fit the bill, although they are quite different.
Any help gratefully received.

unless you are experienced the Robber will be to say the least a steep learning curve. they were designed to the quarter ton rule to race.
the Lizzy would be less demanding boat to sail.
both have about the same head room

 

[Ecosse120]

Sorry got no experience of either but an alternative to the Robber 3e would be an e-boat, these are basically 23 feet dinghys with a lifting keel. nearly 10feet wide and four berths... Oh and very little headroom !

 

[paulingreece]

Hi, i qwned a Robber 3E for a couple of years, Very quick boats, and can be a handfull some times, build quality on ours was very good, with no problems in all the time we owned her, some have inboards and some have outboard wells, if you google there should be lots of info on the net.

Paul.

 

[ianfr]

I had an E23 for three years (2008-2010) and loved her.

Pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/iankfrench/Eloisa

Excellent sea boat, forgiving, etc. Only problem is headroom, unless you go for the Mk II.

If the sails are trimmed correctly, they will sail in a straight line with little or no weather helm. The drop keel needs inspecting every 3 - 4 years for wear and tear, everything is simple and easy to fix.

Only sold her to get a bit more headroom, and an inboard.

Regards

Ian

 

[Kelpie]

Jim Mottram sails a Liz23 all over Europe, singlehanded. He is not a spring chicken either! He's had quite a few articles published. Nice guy, too.

 

[Piddy]

I sailed a Robber 3e for a few years - cruising it to Brittany and back.
It's a bit sensitive to weight and quality of sails if you want performance but in a light condition is a great fun boat to sail.
Headroom is limited and I suggest it's not a boat full of creature comforts for SWMBO but I have fond memories as it was the first family boat I was allowed to cross the channel in with my mates.
IIRC they were built in Burnham on Crouch by Adrian Jardine either as Juxtamarine or BEBS - can't remember which.
I've seen one in Cowes that has a few age related issues - hairline cracks around the stanchions and so on but no more os than any other boat of the 70's.

 

[FullCircle]

Robbers are fun.
But I motored one back from Calais with a noisy 5hp two stroke flat out for 6 hours, which was very noisy indeed.

Good value at around 5k for a nice one.

 

[Simonpk]

I'm a little biased, I'd throw a GK24 into the mix.

 

[Dipper]

I crewed on a Robber 3E in club races for several years. Very beamy and responsive. it will definitely fit the 'fun to sail' part of your requirements.

Once we took it to Cherbourg and Alderney. It was cramped below for 5. We had to make a hasty exit from Braye Harbour when the wind picked up to Force 6 to 7 but I was quite surprised how the boat handled the conditions. Mind you, the skipper was very capable (apart from predicting the weather!) and we had half the racing crew on board.

 

[Ian_Edwards]

My father had a Robber 3E and we sailed it out of Pwllheli in the 1970's, "Robber E" was her name. She always reminded me of a big Enterprise dinghy with multiple chines. I recall her as being beamy and very fast, she'd plane readily, but somewhat of a hand-full if the wind piped up, needed reefing early and as you'd expect, went very well in light airs if you were careful with the weight on board. Haven't sailed the Liz, but they look a much more conservative boat, which is probably easier to handle with a family crew.

 

[ghostlymoron]

No experience of the Robber. The Elizabethan is a very pretty boat - she looks like a scaled down Liz 31 - and sails well although you will get wet when going to windward. The main drawback is the lack of space and limited headroom even for sitting. I should spread your net a bit wider Hurley 24/70 would be high on my list. Inboard engine (usually), good space and headroom and sails well.

 

[sailingjeff]

robber 3e

Thanks for all the responses, I think it may be a case of whats best for all of us so it will probably be the Elizabethan, but I will look at the Hurley also now.
However, I live in hope of somthing faster !

 

[apward]

Robber 3e every time

Something faster indeed! You'll not find a much faster boat for the same money you'll buy a Robber for. We have three robbers in my club and plenty more still cruising and racing around the SE. If you're a sporty person, then Robbers the way to go. Easy to maintain, fast, and simple to sail. You'll have fun beating the competition in PY racing.

When checking one out, look for deck compression at the foot of the mast.
Walk away if its got an inboard 2 stroke engine.
If you're a racer, go for an outboard engined version, always the faster boat.
If you plan to motor, inboard is better. But then if that's your plan look at something different.

The Robber is a fantastic sailing boat in many ways.

www.sailingmiles.com

 

[Quandary]

Another quarter tonner, a bit more comfortable and bigger than a Robber is the Trapper 300, the hull was designed by Bruce Kirby as the Canadian entry for the 1/4 ton cup at La Rochelle; if you need a lift keel the TS 240 is a bit smaller and the only one I ever raced on was showing some osmosis blisters INSIDE the hull but it was a wet boat and only used for racing so never dried out. You are comparing apples with cabbages in your original choices, the Trapper may be somewhere in between but closer to the Robber in performance and there are quite a few of them about. Ruffian 23s are another tough quarter tonner especially good in strong weather but most of them are in Ireland or Hong Kong and they are much smaller than the 26' Trapper 300. One advantage the Trapper 300 had for me was that it had a bit of standing headroom for cruising but I was just about able to tow it about allowing for use all year round, the main irritation I recall was the way the hull narrowed to the stern making it necessary for the helmsman up on the coaming to sit right forward in front of the mainsheet track or slacken off the top guard wire.

BTW I once considered buying a Robber and somewhere buried in my archive I have a faded blue print of the boat sent to me by the builders, if anyone needs it I might be able to hunt it out.

 

[GrumpyOldGit]

Try looking at an Eygthene, 23 ft and immense accomodation on a potentially potent quarter tonner, also family friendly and contain a diesel inboard !

 

[sailingjeff]

robber 3e

Well I was thinking faster than an elisabethan rather than faster than a robber ! but ultimately it would be mainly for cruising. I was after somthing which would sail well to windward ( rules out anything with bilge keel ? ) have some accommodation for weekends and to be fun to sail.
I singled out these two mainly on looks and price. The E with a sensible hat on and the R with a view to being more fun, but I dont want to scare my family off either !
I wonder form the comments, if the robber might be too much of a handful. How much I dont know as my experience is with a sadler 34 and a Beneteau 323 + laser, enterprise and wayfarer.
Racing is not really an option as we are too far away from the coast, that will be saved for the dinghies.

Does anyone have any more experience of the cruising version / cruising one especially in heavier weather ? Not that that is what I am planning, but you never know if you might get caught out.

Thanks

 

[Krystof]

Hello mate
can you please contact me regarding the blue prints of the Robber 3e
My telephone number is 07925599480 or at krystofdvorsky@seznam.cz
Many thanks
Kind regards,
Chris