rustler 44 sailboat

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The Rustler 44 hull was once again designed by the great Stephen Jones and launched in 2007. The design brief was to create a yacht which was a fast bluewater cruiser that still had exceptional comfort yet maintained performance and she does just that. Built to take the worst of any weather and very well proven as fantastic long distance cruisers.

The Rustler 44 has a long fin keel and large skeg hung rudder, a feature commonly sought after in bluewater cruising yachts. Built to an incredible standard, all hand laid GRP, full length stringers and transverse frames are all laminated into the hull adding to her immense strength. On deck her layout has of course been well thought out and she has a substantial moulded bulwark and teak toe rail, ensuring you feel safe when moving round the deck. Her cockpit is aft and well-spaced with a bridge deck giving plenty of seating around the cockpit. The mainsheet control and traveller is aft of the cockpit keeping it out of the way yet easily controlled from the helm.

Her standard rig set up is a cutter rig with a slab reefing or in mast furling main. However, the choice is yours depending on your sailing preferences. She sails well with this set up and her staysail is great for when you are short tacking in a bit of a blow.

The Rustler 44 has wonderful deck saloon windows which come into their own when down below, where you can sit an impressive 8 people in her raised saloon and look out. Her chart table opposite is also raised providing a fantastic spot to be on passage. Her galley is forward and incredibly well laid out with oodles of worktop space making cooking a doddle. She has two spacious double cabins, one forward and one aft and each has its own heads. Her owner’s cabin is aft with a central island berth and plenty of storage. The beauty of building a Rustler 44 from new is that you can be involved in the design process and specify her layout to suit your needs and requirements.

And of course well known for being Princess Anne’s yacht of choice…

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Contact Details

Alan Baines Berthon USA Tel: (401) 846 8404 E-Mail: [email protected]

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Bluewater Sailboat – Rustler 44

The Bluewater Sailboat Rustler 44 is a welcome addition to the pantheon of traditional blue sea sailing yachts since it is strong, cozy, and wonderfully well-behaved.

The company has a history of building boats that go on to become design classics, therefore Rustler yachts have always had a unique personality. The Rustler 44, a fast blue water cruiser with remarkable performance and spectacular comfort, was created by Stephen Jones.

When travelling, accommodations are made to ensure safety and comfort. While sailing to the designated location, an elevated chart table provides a good view in all directions. The elevated saloon area, which provides a panoramic view once you enter, complements this. The 44’s interior maintains a light, airy vibe throughout; a large galley, two seating spaces, and roomy cabins make entertaining and harbor life a dream come true.

Looking for a used sailboat for sale? Check out the bluewater sailboat data and specs to make an informed decision. Ocean Wave Sail has data for over 10000+ boats that can help you select one to meet your sailing needs.

• Length Overall: 13.50m / 44ft 6in
• Length Waterline: 11.04m / 36ft 4in
• Beam: 4.20m / 13ft 9in
• Draft: 2.10m/ 6ft 11in
• Ballast: 4900kg/ 10780lbs
• Displacement: 13700kg/ 30140lbs
• Air draught: 19.6m/ 64ft 4in
• Sail area: 92.25sq m/ 990sq ft
• Water: 730ltr/ 160gal

Rustler Yachts stand out thanks to their premium construction and chic, functional Sailboat designs. Every surface, contour, and detail embodies quality. Many clients want to be engaged in the design process from the beginning so that they may personally shape the yacht’s specification, interior arrangement, and overall aesthetic. Rustler’s attention to detail, the fit, and the finish are as excellent as they can be.

The core of Rustler’s concept is a strong dedication to creating yachts that are really one-of-a-kind in terms of appearance, design, and performance.

The Rustler 44 is extremely powerful. Lay-up is done by hand, and layers of quadraxial rovings offer strength in addition to the normal woven rovings. For strength and to disperse rig and keel loadings, full-length stringers and transverse frames are laminated to the hull sides and bottom.  The furniture has a satisfyingly solid air because it is constructed on wood bases, a labor-intensive technique only used by limited volume manufacturers. All joinery is done by hand to Rustlers’ exceptionally high standards.

Balsa is sandwiched between the coachroof and deck, with ply or aluminium backing pads used for the bases of the winches, the sheet tracks, and other deck fittings. The superstructure moulding is fitted onto a flange on the hull, then bonded and through-bolted. It has an L-shaped up-stand at the deck edge. A massive teak toe cap-rail is placed on top of the up-stand to provide a robust moulded bulwark. The hull and the superstructure are both glassed to the structural bulkheads.

Safety is a top emphasis on deck. The deep, roomy cockpit is led aft where all controls are located. Even when sailing alone, all lines come effortlessly to hand.

With a sweet sheerline, attractive overhangs, a modest topside height, and a relatively low cabin top, the Rustler 44 is a handsome aft cockpit yacht. In terms of safety and manoeuvrability, a long fin keel combined with a massive skeg-hung rudder offers a great deal of comfort. Interior design plans can be modified to meet owner needs. The cutter rig is the typical design above deck, though there are various possibilities.

This Bluewater Sailboat has a roomy, open-concept saloon that was stylishly created for comfort below decks. Eight people can pleasantly sit at the huge, exquisitely crafted saloon table. The inside of the Rustler 44 is roomy. Living in the harbour is ideal for parties because it has a galley and two seating spaces. While sailing, an elevated chart table provides good views, which are supplemented by views from the raised saloon area.

The housing is functional but stylish and created for people to live in safety and comfort while travelling. Large cabins make it comfortable to live aboard.

Performance

Every Bluewater Rustler is designed to withstand the roughest waves, to take care of her crew, and to motivate every yachtsman with blue ocean ambitions. Many Rustlers are used for long-distance trips because of their difficult weather qualities. The Rustler 44’s modern sail design makes it simple for two people to operate. Its excellent performance and comfortable motion when underway make long-distance passagemaking simple.

The Rustler 44 is a welcome addition to the ranks of traditional bluewater cruising yachts since it is strong, cozy, and wonderfully well-behaved. Excellent performance along with comfortable motion when underway will make long-distance travel simple.

Rustler yachts are designed to withstand the worst of the prevailing seas and always have a unique personality. Many Rustlers are used for long-distance trips because of their heavy weather characteristics. This elegant aft cockpit yacht has a lovely sheer line, attractive overhangs, a moderate topside height, and a reasonably low cabin top. A skeg-hung rudder and a long fin keel provide excellent safety assurance.

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Review of Rustler 44

Basic specs..

The Rustler 44 is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a long keel.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.10 - 2.20 meter (6.89 - 7.19 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Rustler 44 is 1.77, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Rustler 44 holds one CE certification:

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.1 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Rustler 44 is about 310 kg/cm, alternatively 1739 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 310 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1739 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

What is a Ballast Ratio?

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio) Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind: - Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15 - Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20 - Racers have ratios above 20 - High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24 Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 18.28

Maintenance

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 52m 2 (559 ft 2 ). Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Rustler 44 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

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• Sailboat Guide

Rustler 44 is a 44 ′ 3 ″ / 13.5 m monohull sailboat designed by Stephen Jones and built by Rustler Yachts Ltd. starting in 2011.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

SAIL AREAS: Main 536 sq ft/49.80m2 Yankee 587 sq ft/54.50m2 Staysail 180 sq ft/16.70m2

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The Rustler 44 is a 44.29ft cutter designed by Stephen Jones and built in fiberglass by Rustler Yachts Ltd. since 2011.

The Rustler 44 is a moderate weight sailboat which is a good performer. It is stable / stiff and has a good righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a bluewater cruising boat. The fuel capacity is good. There is a good water supply range.

Rustler 44 for sale elsewhere on the web:

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2010 Rustler 44 DS – Video Walkthrough

Posted Tuesday 4th June 2019

Grabau International  is pleased to share a new video walkthrough of the  2010 Rustler 44 DS ‘PEAT SMOKE’.

Fantastic single owner, blue water equipped example of the highly desirable and hugely practical stephen jones designed rustler 44 deck saloon. few yachts are built so well and her quality shows from every aspect and in every detail..

FURTHER BROKER’S COMMENTS:

With just one caring owner since new, and a hugely successful 2yr 37,000Nm circumnavigation under her belt, the time has come for PEAT SMOKE’s owner to pass her to her next custodian as he searches for his next project. PEAT SMOKE has been very well maintained throughout her ownership and was constructed with a fantastic ‘blue water’ specification.

Having returned to the UK from her world adventures in late 2013 PEATSMOKE returned to the Rustler yard in Falmouth for a re-fit over the 2013/14 winter. These works included:- • New Mainsail and Staysail fitted • All canvas work laundered, repaired and re-proofed • New Selden rod kicker fitted with new gooseneck bushes • New lazy jack system fitted • New running rigging fitted including main, staysail & genoa halyards. Mainsheet, genoa and staysail sheets, traveller control lines etc. • Engine fully cleaned and serviced, injectors removed and serviced, flexible oil pipes replaced, turbo heat shield replaced, Speed seal kit fitted on raw water pump. • General joinery repairs internally and externally • Re-varnishing in high wear areas below decks • Renovation of portlights and ports • Servicing of DuoGen unit • Updating Firmware of Garmin instrument system

OWNER’S COMMENTS:

We went to Southampton Boat show in 2009 to look for a boat suitable for a world circumnavigation. Our primary requirement was a boat which would keep us safe in waters we knew little about when we were a long way from home. Rustler was by far the most impressive of the boats we had short-listed. The Rustler 42 nearly worked but It didn’t have the walk in aft cabin my wife wanted, the Rustler 44 did and is easily sailed by two. Being custom built, it allowed us to specify exactly how we wanted the boat to work and include the equipment we needed for serious sailing.

Peat Smoke was bought with safety in mind first, the very solid lay-up and strength is easily evident, the sail system is fool proof and she has been tested in some big seas. The cutter rig is very effective and particularly if wind is forward of the beam she makes some impressive speeds. On a trip to Iceland during the summer of 2017 we averaged over 7 knots over three days in heavy weather. When leaving for the circumnavigation in Biscay we had sustained winds of over 50 knots which whilst not too comfortable didn’t prove any problem for the boat while making ground South.

Peat Smoke’s shakedown cruise was across Biscay to Spain in 2010 In 2011 we departed Islay and enjoyed a full circumnavigation, returning home in 2013. Since her return, we have been to Cornwall a couple of times and have enjoyed exploring the Scottish Islands, St Kilda in 2014 and in 2017 a trip North to the Faroes and Iceland.

We lived aboard Peat Smoke for two years very happily, in fact I wished we had the wood paneling at home, the galley is particularly good and storage space is excellent for a long trip. With the water-maker you are self-sufficient, the two lazarettes are enormous and great for all the extra kit needed on a long voyage. The Fleet Broad band allowed us to stay in touch and download weather when we needed it.

This boat is built for passage making and that is what see does best, keeping the crew safe and comfortable, when we bought her we could have had two larger “production” boats for the same price but it was never a contest for us. Sadly, as time moves on, we now find it less attractive to do long passages and we have decided to look for a displacement motor boat with more shelter. It will be a wrench, you get used to people coming up to you and saying what a lovely looking boat she is, we have been very proud to be her owner for a while.

BUILDER’S COMMENTS:

‘Powerful, comfortable and exceptionally well-behaved, the Rustler 44 is a welcome addition to the ranks of classic blue water cruising yachts.

Rustler yachts have always had their own distinctive character – the company has a history of creating yachts that become design classics. Designed by Stephen Jones, the Rustler 44 is a fast, blue water cruiser combining exceptional performance with spectacular comfort.

Every Rustler is built to take the worst of prevailing seas, to look after her crew and inspire every yachtsman with blue water aspirations. The Rustlers heavy weather characteristics are why many are sailed on long distance cruises. With a modern sail plan, the Rustler 44 is easily handled by two people, a superb performance combined with a comfortable motion underway will allow easy long distance passage making.’

PRESS REVIEW:

Rustler 44 – A Pure Blue-Water Cruiser from Britain.

The Rustler 44 is not a trendy boat designed to make the most of the new model year. Its a wholesome offshore cruiser that will be chalking up the blue water miles a generation from now with another circumnavigation on its dance card……

With long haul cruising designed into the 44, the designer and builder have ensured that the boat has plenty of convenient storage space for personal gear as well as all of the spares and equipment that cruisers need to carry with them…..

The quality Rustler builds into their boats is from the old school with finely detailed teak joinery work below deck that is varnished and hand rubbed and fine stainless steel detailing on deck. Teak decks give the boat an elegant look and provide excellent non-skid when wet.

For those looking for a serious cruising boat that will carry them far and wide in safety and luxury the Rustler 44 has a lot to offer’

Blue Water Sailing, Boat Reviews – Rustler 44.

Rustler 44 DS – Peat Smoke – now just £345k VAT paid – full details  here

Do you have a yacht like this to sell? Grabau International are always looking for new high quality cruising yacht listings both in the UK and internationally. For further information about our tailored brokerage services, please  look here  or feel free to  contact us .

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Exclusive: Elaine Bunting is invited aboard Princess Anne’s royal yacht in a remote harbour in Scotland

• Elaine Bunting
• December 6, 2014

Elaine Bunting heads for a rendezvous in Ardfern, a tiny hamlet on Loch Craignish on the west coast of Scotland, to meet up with the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence aboard their private yacht

As in any good intrigue, the rendezvous was remote and the instructions brief: wait at the chandlery at Ardfern Yacht Centre, inside if wet, outside if dry. Here I would be met by Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, or a policeman.

Ardfern is a tiny, remote hamlet on Loch Craignish on the west coast of Scotland, set in a wild landscape of raw splendour. It is where the Vice Admiral and Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal keep their Rustler 44, Ballochbuie , and where I was invited to meet them, an event unheard of in their 21 years of sailing here.

Photos: Paul Wyeth

Strictly speaking, a rendezvous is unnecessary in Ardfern. “Ah, you’ll be the journalist and the photographer,” a local man observed the minute we arrived. The plainclothes policemen stood out as conspicuously as we did. Villagers appeared oblivious, but being a member of the Royal Family is like having in-built AIS. “They are on board with the rigger”, “They’ve gone up for a coffee at the Crafty Kitchen.”

Sir Tim’s impending arrival was duly noted and pointed out before we met. After introductions he led me and photographer Paul Wyeth down to where Ballochbuie was berthed. As we walked down the pontoon, he chatted cordially about the Dorus Mor, the fierce tidal gate at the entrance to Loch Craignish that he and the Princess were intending to pass later that day at the start of a week’s cruise among the islands.

Sir Tim and Princess Anne are mad keen sailors and loyal Rustler owners. Their previous boat was a Rustler 36, Blue Doublet , which they kept in Ardfern for 20 years and sailed every summer. Ballochbuie was launched in 2012 from Rustler’s family-owned yard in Falmouth. That year was a busy one as Princess Anne is president of the British Olympic Committee and was a member of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, but when it was over they sailed their new yacht north. “It was our wind-down after the Olympics,” says Sir Tim.

In any year, free time is scarce. Princess Anne is famously hard-working, with an oppressive-sounding timetable of public duties: over 600 engagements a year, often three a day. Sailing holidays have, however, been sacrosanct, usually a week in early summer and perhaps two weeks later in the year when they explore further north or to the Outer Hebrides. Click here to see some of their favourite places in Scotland .

“It’s always been a bit of a negotiation. We decided a long time ago to do it in blocks and therefore it was worth keeping the boat somewhere it was nice to sail. It was much more sensible to pick a time slot to get away and keep it in Scotland, but we can only do that twice a year to any real extent,” says Princess Anne.

Their sailing sounds very traditional. Blue Doublet had few modern luxuries, not even an electronic chartplotter, and was anything but palatial. Sir Tim says he wasn’t able to stand up below and this was one of the reasons they began to think about a larger boat. “We wanted a bit more space,” he explains. “It was getting more difficult to live in,” agrees Princess Anne.

“There are lots of 44ft size boats and we had a great choice. We were hugely impressed with the build standards of Rustler,” says Sir Tim. “They are built to look after their occupants. They’re solid and they’re safe.

Princess Anne’s Rustler 36 Ballochbuie

“We looked originally at the Rustler 42, but then someone came along and had the same idea we had, which is when you are down below you can’t see out. He asked if they could make a version of the Rustler 42 that was high enough up so that you could see out and this ended up being the Rustler 44. It’s ideally suited to the west coast of Scotland: when it’s cold or blowing hard and difficult to sit out you can still enjoy the beautiful views and watch the sunsets or the otters swimming past from the upper saloon. This boat seemed perfect for us and we’ve been very pleased with her.”

The extra size of the new yacht has taken some getting used to. “Having a bit more power and, for me, I’d never sailed with anything other than a tiller, so learning to sail with a wheel was really quite difficult – I was never very good with a wheel,” says Princess Anne. “With a wheel it’s much more difficult to find where that balance is. So it was quite a steep learning curve before I thought: ‘That’s OK, we’ve got to have a wheel’.”

The other big decision, they say, was about whether or not to have in-mast furling. Blue Doublet was slab reefed. They chose a furling mainsail system but, says Princess Anne: “There was a very long debate on that. And the jury is still out.”

They also opted for a cutter rig. “We had a cutter rig on Blue Doublet as well, but because it wasn’t designed like that it didn’t work as well as we would have liked,” says Sir Tim.

“You couldn’t use them together; tacking was tricky,” says Princess Anne. “But this is designed to be a cutter rig and sails nicely. We are still finding our way with the boat and we have sailed with it cutter-rigged several times and we managed OK, though we’ve got to practise a bit more.”

Their new boat has electric winches, which Princess Anne says is: “a trade off with having bigger sails. They give you a bit more scope to control, and we thought we might be running out of puff,” she laughs.

“The other modern device we’ve allowed ourselves is a bow thruster, which certainly makes my life a bit easier,” says Sir Tim. “Put it this way: when we arrived at the boat she was facing bows in and we knew that the wind would be blowing in so we took her out, spun her round and backed her in which, with a bow thruster, was no problem at all.”

So who does which jobs aboard the boat?

“I’m the foredeck hand, if that’s what you mean,” laughs Princess Anne.

Ballochbuie

The name of the yacht, Ballochbuie , that has woodland associations. “It’s the name of a piece of ancient Caledonian forest on the west end of the Balmoral estate, which we’ve always loved,” explains Sir Tim. “It’s a beautiful part of Scotland and it just seemed like a very nice link between a boat that we love and a piece of Scotland we love.”