Bruce Roberts Roberts 36 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

The Roberts 36 is a hard-chine design most often built in steel, though aluminium is also a documented option anchor. Manufacturer records confirm the hull can be built in multi-chine steel or aluminium, and the pilothouse variant may instead use fiberglass. One surveyed steel pilothouse example named Zen was described by a surveyor as one of the best-built steel boats he had seen anywhere, with an interior finished with professionalism and attention to detail. Displacement runs about 14,750 lb in fiberglass or wood and 18,000 lb in steel, with a fixed ballast of 6,275 lb. Draft depends on ballast: 4 feet 0 inches with lead, 4 feet 9 inches with scrap steel, while a separate reference places loaded draft near 5 feet 5 inches and another at 1.45–1.55 m dependent on load — sources differ on the figure. The length-to-beam ratio is 3.34 and the immersion rate about 251 kg/cm, giving a predictable, heavy-volume hull rather than a featherweight racer.

Rig and Handling

The boat is normally cutter or ketch rigged, and the manufacturer notes the cutter or ketch arrangement as standard with a junk rig also possible anchor. A long keel with cutaway forefoot gives her a predictable character: one owner's extended 37-foot conversion, Alcazar, was reported to have a comfortingly solid but not heavy helm and to be very predictable when sailing or berthing. Under way, the same boat sailed at a steady 7 knots with brief surges to 8.5, and motored at 6 knots with a marinised 40 hp Perkins above a Volvo saildrive. A different owner's boat, Ppalu, logged a best day's run of 166 nautical miles and completed two transatlantics plus a Mediterranean and Caribbean cruise. The capsize screening value is 1.79 and the sail-area/displacement ratio 15.16, figures consistent with a modest-powered offshore cruiser.

Accommodations

Full headroom is featured in all layout versions, and the boat's volume supports serious living anchor. References list six berths in two cabins as standard, while one owner report cites seven berths and another conversion sleeping seven to nine. The Alcazar refit achieved 6 foot 6 inch bunks throughout after raising ceiling height for men over six feet, and moved the heads athwart the engine near the main hatch. A junk-rigged former Minerva 3 even carried a bath — a feature its owner claimed no other yacht possessed. The pilothouse Zen surveyed as a very well laid-out interior with a great deck and comfortable cockpit, underscoring the plan's flexibility across deck and coachroof variations.

Known Issues

Documented defects are narrow. The steel pilothouse Zen drew a surveyor's main recommendation over a very slippery deck, the only recorded structural or safety caveat in the sourced record. No other widespread fault is attested.

Refits and Ownership

Owners have treated the Roberts 36 as a blank canvas. Will Blackie's Alcazar received a gentle hull extension to 37 feet, a safe center cockpit with roomy stern cabin and practical stern deck, an extended boom to carry a full cockpit tent, and a Cornish three-point block-and-tackle mainsheet that removed the traveler for family simplicity. Emily Wiltshire's Tarasana (ex Minerva 3) has been owned nearly 20 years on the Queensland coast. Sailor Aleixo Belov built a Roberts 36A in the 1970s–80s and circled the globe three times aboard her. These accounts show a design that rewards long-term, hands-on custodianship.

The Verdict

The Roberts 36 is a proven, adaptable offshore hull whose hard-chine steel or aluminium body and long-keel pedigree suit owners who value passage-making over polish. Her multiple rigs, full headroom, and willingness to accept radical refit make her a perennial candidate for the serious cruiser on a budget of time and steel.

Pros