Roy 43 Buyer's Guide
The Roy 43 is a Frers-designed centerboard sloop from 1984, built by Nautivela in solid fiberglass with a masthead rig and a 49 percent ballast ratio. For a buyer on the used market, the appeal is the variable draft and the moderate-racer hull; a survey must lean on the boat's own condition rather than a known defect list.
Layouts on the Used Market
Roy 43 boats on the brokerage market share the same centerboard sloop configuration from the 1984 design, with a solid fiberglass hull and deck and the 49 percent ballast ratio carried throughout the production run. The 43-foot-5-inch length and 13-foot-6-inch beam give a roomy footprint below, though the builder leaves tankage and berth count undocumented for the model.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The 5/8-inch sheet diameters specified for jib, genoa, mainsheet, and spinnaker leads are the baseline a buyer should expect; any re-rigged boat should match those dimensions rather than lighter line that could overload winches. The 865 square foot sail plan on the masthead rig is original to the design and worth checking for age-related wear.
What to Inspect
The centerboard trunk and pivot deserve close attention, since the board delivers the boat's 5.4-to-9.4-foot draft range and any seized mechanism removes the model's chief advantage. The solid fiberglass hull and deck mean no cored-panel rot to chase, but the large 602-square-foot wetted surface area makes bottom condition worth verifying. The long 108.8-foot mainsheet and 95.7-foot spinnaker sheet at 5/8-inch diameter are specified leads anchor; check that replaced running rigging matches those dimensions rather than lighter line.
Buyer's Takeaway
- Inspect the centerboard trunk and pivot for free movement
- Verify bottom paint history given the large wetted surface
- Confirm sheet diameters match the 5/8-inch specification
- Survey the solid fiberglass hull for impact rather than core damage
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeanneau Sun Sun Odyssey 43 | 43.34' | $ 110,144 | 63 | 7 |
| X-Yachts X-43 | 42.42' | $ 263,766 | 42 | 17 |
| Saga 43 | 43.25' | $ 160,750 | 34 | 5 |
| Swan 43 | 42.78' | $ 92,753 | 15 | 2 |
| Contest Yachts 43 | 42.65' | $ 185,506 | 13 | 4 |
| Baltic 43 | 43.34' | $ 144,926 | 9 | 0 |