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BOATOWNER’S BOAT REVIEW
Below, inside the companionway is a well-appointed, albeit miniature
salon.
Forward is a stout, solid-teak arch that transfers the
compression load of the deck-stepped mast to the keel. The
Rob Roy offered two different layouts for the forepeak.
Standard was a Porta-Potty on the centerline, facing aft,
with shelves port and starboard behind extending up into
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(square footage), displacement
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■ Modifications you have made or would like
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■ Quality of construction
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The fiberglass hull is a modified sharpie design with rounded
bilges, stub keel, centerboard and kick-up rudder.
the bow. Our boat has the alternate layout: a low-profile
Simpson-Lawrence marine head to port, plumbed to a flexible
holding tank under the forepeak sole; and to starboard,
a “child’s berth,” about five feet long, extending up into the
bow. We’ve modified this berth with plastic storage bins
and chocks to hold our anchor, gear and provisions.
The cabin has good storage under the sole; underneath,
behind and at the foot of each settee; under and behind the
stove and sink and in the forepeak. The centerboard is
almost completely contained under the cabin sole—shaped
like an “L” laying on its back, only the short leg of the “L”
protrudes into the cabin in a small trunk just inside the
companionway.
Under the bridge deck there is room for a mediumsized
cooler (some boats had a custom-installed cooler in
this space). One side of the sole here is an open teak grate to
allow drainage of wet weather gear to the bilge; the other
side was intended for battery storage (we relocated our battery
to the shelf under the cockpit sole). The main electrical
panel is below a removable companionway step – out of the
way, but impossible to see without removing the step.
Ventilation is excellent via four opening bronze ports in
the salon and galley, the companionway and a foredeck
hatch. Our boat also has a solar-powered vent fan located in
the coach roof just forward of the main mast.
No doubt about it—the Rob Roy is a boat for two.
Cockpit space is adequate for two adults, but a stretch for
any more—the canoe stern, outboard well, tiller and traveler
take up a lot of otherwise useable seating space. The
cabin is snug, but would be cramped with addition of the
occupant of that “child’s berth” forward. But by not trying
to cram more berths into the layout, the Rob Roy uses its
available space wisely for comfort and storage for its
intended crew complement.
Fiddlestix is a light, responsive boat. She’s initially tender,
heeling quickly to about 15 degrees but then hardening up in
a solid groove. The boat begins to be overpowered at about
15 knots of wind; taking in the first reef on the main brings
her back under control. Fiddlestix wants more relief at
36 September 2010 SOUTHWINDS www.southwindsmagazine.com