A Boat Owner’s Insights – Bruce Roberts 65 Review

In this edition of “A Boat Owner’s Insights,” we get an in-depth look at the 1998 Bruce Roberts New York 65 Steel Cutter currently listed on our Boatshed Seattle website (link below). This is a true expedition charter sailing vessel with ample adventures and nautical miles already under her belt. From the remote northwestern coast of Greenland to the Northwest Passage of North America, she has proven herself capable and fully equipped for safe and comfortable world voyaging.

 

Bruce Roberts 65 Review

What inspired you to buy a 65-foot offshore steel sailboat?

We wanted to deliver Alaskan sailing vacations out of Seward, Alaska, and had the opportunity to purchase her there. She is an ideal charter boat – stable and spacious with many system redundancies that make operating in remote areas much more comfortable.

What have you most enjoyed about her?

A few things come to mind. We enjoyed her spacious salon area for relaxing while on anchor. The well laid-out galley, with its ample room for provisions and table wares definitely made it easier to cook meals every day for six guests and three crew! Also, the deck layout with the dodger-style enclosed area above the companion way made it comfortable for passengers to enjoy the scenery while not being in the way of the helm or the running rigging. And we really loved her aesthetic appeal. She has a lot of presence on the water and looks (and sails) great. We were really proud to take her out and show her off. We slept well at night because of the peace of mind allowed by her redundancies – one being the manifolded fuel system, which makes it easy to isolate bad fuel from the delivery side.

What notable destinations has she traveled to?

She was built in Ketchikan, Alaska in 1998, so our visit with her there last summer marked the completion of her circumnavigation of North America, via the Panama Canal and the Northwest Passage. In 2015 she sailed up to 79 degrees north along the west coast of Greenland and completed the Northwest Passage. We met her prior owners in Greenland that year. We sailed her all over the Alaskan coast including Prince William Sound and the Kenai Fjords. Notable destinations and trips include crossing the Gulf of Alaska, going into the ice from Holgate Glacier, and squeezing through the tide-dependent entry of Taz Basin.

What has impressed you most about her performance?

She points well, even in light air, and has a sizeable rudder – she’s more nimble than you would think for a boat that displaces 100,000+ pounds. We sailed her upwind in some pretty narrow channels. As you would expect with an expedition boat, she’s also quite content in stronger winds and bigger seas.

What additions to her are noteworthy compared to similar vessels?

This boat is well-equipped right now to go sailing, with no major outfitting required. We sailed her down from Alaska to the Waterline dock in August. Twin engines make her a standout in her category, for sure. We added a safety skeg per the designer’s specifications in 2017, and this stiffened her up and added more ballast lower down, with no decrease in speed or turning moment. Not all Bruce Roberts designed-boats have this addition.

Why are you listing her with Waterline Boats?

We chose Waterline Boats / Boatshed because of another purchase we made through Boatshed in Port Townsend. The broker, Brian Moretti, worked very hard to answer our questions and make the sale easy and transparent. When we decided to sell our beloved steel cutter, it was a simple decision for us to call up Brian and have him handle the listing. The exposure and foot traffic of the Lake Union location was the clincher for us to keep the boat on the sales dock at Waterline Boats.

~~~~~

For complete listing details on this proven, capable vessel, including 200+ large format photos as well as videos and 360 Virtual Tours, please view our Boatshed presentation here:
https://porttownsend.boatshed.com/bruce_roberts_new_york_65-boat-256236.html

Our “A Boat Owner’s Insights” series is just one other method by which Waterline Boats / Boatshed makes the process of buying a boat a more informative and enjoyable one.