Rosborough 18?

[chancewayne]

Hi, do you anything about these boats? I was thinking to get a cuddy like a Sunbird 20' so i could do some overnight trips in the cuddy. Maybe i'm fooling myself, are these cuddies are too small?
Anyway i realize the Rosborough is Tug type, hull displacement boat. Does that mean they do plane too well? Do think it is worth the money? Or is regular cuddy more fun to drive? I take it they are intended for rough waters?

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: Rosborough 18?

I know the Rosborough 246 will plane, I imagine the 18 will as well, even with very little power. The 246s are VERY solidly built boats, exact opposite of a Sunbird in build quality (I had one). Never looked at an 18 in person though, so I can't comment on the build quality of that model.

 

[chancewayne]

Re: Rosborough 18?

They way i look at it is much better to have about this size with an outboard motor mount. Newer motors are much better on gas, the I/O seem to take a lot more maintenance and in the end it the whole boat and engine will become worthless. At least with Rosborough it will have value for much longer. It looks like the cuddy is much bigger in the Rosborough too.


The 20' sunbird they want $5000 with the old johnson 140, which i think is only worth $1000, so the hull is really 4k. The Rosbourgh they want 6k for the hull only. I guess 2k more for the rosborough is worth it, considering the old johnson might have to be replace in few years and be worth very little. I would get something like a newer 4-stroke 60 hp outboard, would be plenty of power for the rosborough.
Mostly would be for calm lake driving, but i'd like to take a trip to georgian bay i guess i would be thankful for such a boat in the rough conditions. Or out to lake Simcoe.
what do you think? You'll have to admit the rosborough is bit unusual looking.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: Rosborough 18?

The strange look of the Rosborough is not so strange to a lobsterman working the north Atlantic. Google "Nova Scotia boat images" and the Rosborough style will seem normal looking. I don't recall seeing a single Sunbird during my frequent trips to the Maritimes...

I don't think Simcoe would be much of a problem for a Rosborough. Georgian Bay has potential to be a problem for any boat though...

I agree with you on the O/B versus I/O, but it's moot if you want a Rosborough 18, I don't think those were ever offered with an I/O. A 60 HP 4 stroke, or even better (IMO) an Etec would be a great power plant on a boat like that.

A friend of mine built a boat that's quite similar to the Rosborough using glass encapsulated marine plywood and stitch and glue assembly. Took him a year working during his free time. It's a Tolman Alaskan Jumbo 25.

If you like projects, a smaller version might be fun.

 

[Salty Dave]

I go out on Lake Ontario in my Rosborough 18, but I limit to days that are not very wavy. It is very rolly polly at anchor. Mine has a 60 merc and will do about 15mph - it was faster before I loaded a lot of gear on it. I like the fact you can sit in the cockpit and just put your hand out and touch the water. I don't know about taking it out on the ocean. I don't think it handles that well.