Any Tips on buying 1980 Bruce Roberts 44 "C" (I think)?

[GrowleyMonster]

Looking at a fiberglass Bruce Roberts 44, a little rough around the edges, owned by a yard that took it over when PO couldn't pay bills. Needs a lot of work just to be a decent dock queen, such as a head and a place to sleep. Documentation is a little dodgy but if we buy, proper registration by the present owner will be a condition of sale. Engine appears to be a Westerbeke 4-107, starts instantly, runs smooth fwd & reverse, but the engine was recently installed by the yard, a pull from an old Morgan, and no guages hooked up. Engine controls are pretty whack but not a big deal, can get her to her new home with a couple pieces of string if I have to. Some issues with the steering cables which the current owner says he will fix. No soft spots, I don't think deck core is balsa. No evidence of leaks or termites. Has main and two jibs which I didn't unroll due to rainy weather. Boat is about 100 miles away. No gen or air. Very basic inside, no extras or even a proper berth. This is what I would call a sailaway project boat. I have not been in the water to have a look, but the owner will haul it if necessary. We have always liked the design and the roominess, and we think we can pick this up for a price we can afford, and put to rights (by our standards and for our requirements) for $10k or so and a lot of work. Unknown hours on the engine so it is kind of a wild card but it does run sweet at idle or in the corner or anywhere in between, nice faint barely visible gray smoke, no vibration to speak of, not even perceptible prop rumble. She will mostly be a dock queen and an occasional getaway on Lake Pontchartrain for the next two years, and then we will probably do some cruising with her. We like the space and actually don't mind the scantily fitted out cabin since the way is clear for us to customize and optimize accomodations for just one large sized couple. None of this "sleeps 23!" crap for us. Seriously. Talking bathtub country here, King berth, all that. Enclosure for cockpit for comfortable year round entertaining pierside. The kind of stuff we can't do with our two separate little bitty boats.



I know 44 Roberts covers a lot of territory since they were built all over the world by experts and by idiots alike, but anything I should know to look for if we decide to have the guy haul it out? Any things in particular that we ought to be looking for? Also, I am tentatively estimating fuel consumption a bit less than 1-1/2 GPH at 5kts on the engine, just as a wild ass guess. Anybody have any relevant empirical data? It is a fairly good size non turbo 4 stroke 4 cyl diesel very similar looking to the Perkins 4-108 pushing a fairly fat cruising hull so I know it won't just sip fumes and laugh at extra jerry jugs, but I am counting on being able to carry enough fuel to get her the 100+ miles to her new home, too, as winds can be very light and variable in our area this time of year. The yard isn't trying to flip the boat for a profit. They are trying to make room, and they need it gone, so we must move it or not buy it at all.


KNOWLEDGEABLE advice would be greatly appreciated, particularly from owners or past owners of this model.

[SFS]

This is just the barest of info, but I hope it helps:

1) As a general rule of thumb, diesels burn 1 liter of fuel per hour for every 10 HP being developed. You can do some calculations from there.

2) With some Google searching, you should be able to find fuel consumption tables for this specific engine. I do such searches before every delivery, as check of owner's (or previous owners) claims.

Hope this helps.