Design and Construction
The Cole 43 measures 43.5 feet overall, with a 11-foot beam and a 6.5-foot draft. The hull and deck are solid fiberglass, with lead ballast, a fin keel, and a skeg-hung rudder.
Her 43.5-foot overall length sits on a 32.2-foot waterline. At 20,986 pounds displacement, she has a displacement-to-length ratio of 280, a comfort ratio of 37.7, and a capsize screening value of 1.59. Those figures place her firmly at the steady, seaworthy end of the cruiser-racer spectrum rather than among featherweight racers.
The masthead sloop rig carries 765 square feet of sail, producing a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 16.1. This points to a boat designed to move in a breeze without being overcanvased for short-handed control.
Racing Heritage and Handling
The Cole 43’s racing pedigree sets her apart from many comfort-oriented 43-footers. The class regularly started in the Sydney-Hobart and contested handicap honours for decades.
Individual boats built substantial racing records. Ruff 'n' Tumble, launched by East Coast Yachts in Gosford in 1983, began life as an ocean racer and sailed four Sydney-Hobart races. As boatsales.com.au recounted, she survived the appalling 1998 edition after retiring when a giant southerly storm smashed the fleet.
Ruff 'n' Tumble later proved a wonderful coastal cruiser for her owner. Two people could sail her easily, and an experienced sailor could handle her singlehanded. That suggests her rig balance and helm remained manageable long after her racing career ended.
Accommodation and Tankage
A representative example such as Ruff 'n' Tumble can sleep five comfortably. Her refit opened the previously enclosed navigation area and stern quarter berth, bringing more light and space into the cabin. The modification shows that the original layout could be made to feel less compartmentalized without altering the structure.
On that boat, tankage comprised 500 litres of water and 250 litres of diesel, consistent with extended coastal and offshore use rather than weekend stays at the dock.
Ownership and Refit History
A boat of this age lives or dies by the way she was maintained during the quiet years. One owner bought his Cole 43 in 2009 after she had seen little use and spent several years on a mooring. His response provides a useful picture of what bringing a stalled example back to life can involve.
He removed the mast, renewed all standing and running rigging, painted the boat, and replaced the Perkins 4107 with a 35hp Kubota diesel. He also fitted a Seldon gas boom vang to a new boom, along with an Isotherm fridge, 240-watt solar panels, new batteries, new bilge pumps, gas alarms, LED lighting, and a new dodger. It’s a revealing catalogue of where age can affect these boats and what a thorough refresh may require.
Verdict
The Cole 43 has two genuine sides to her character: she’s a striking sloop with a Sydney-Hobart bloodline, yet she also made a convincing transition into a capable cruiser. Her solid GRP construction and lead-ballasted fin keel provide a reassuring platform. The survival of individual hulls in the 1998 storm also speaks to structural integrity under extreme load.
Buyers should nevertheless respect the boat’s age. These are 1980s yachts, and their rigging, engines, and soft systems are only as good as the most recent refit.
Pros
- Proven ocean-racing pedigree and decades of handicap competition
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck with lead ballast
- Comfortable accommodation for five, with adaptable interior space
- Manageable short-handed handling documented by owners
Cons
- The Perkins 4107 and aged rigging demand full renewal on stalled boats
- Long periods sitting idle on moorings can leave systems degraded before purchase
