Yachting Monthly - April 2016

92 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com APRIL 2016

USED BOAT TEST The UK’s most comprehensive yacht tests

Compact and superbly

built, the Rustler 31 is

ideal for a two-man

crew, as Bob Aylott finds when

he steps aboard a 1981 model

USED BOAT TEST The UK’s most comprehensive yacht testsThe UK’s most comprehensive yacht tests

Rustler 31

A

n ocean-going cruiser that holds

her second-hand value better

than most of her contemporaries,

the Rustler 31 offers go-

anywhere performance on

a reasonably modest budget. Although

getting old, she is still highly regarded.

The pedigree of this Holman & Pye-

designed sloop is a bit like a ‘Heinz 57’

puppy – made from the best bits of similar

beasts in her class. The fi rst Rustler was

gorgeous, but as you look closer, the signs

of quality shine through: she has the bold,

positive lines of a thoroughbred yacht and

looks classic, rather than dated. Her deck

layout is practical, too: wide sidedecks,

solid teak toerails and grabrails running

along the cabin top to a spacious foredeck

with an aft- facing forehatch.

Performance

Alias is easily handled with a two-man

crew. Tricia took the helm as we motored

and manoeuvred through the creek, fl anked

with yachts moored on all sides. As Alias

pushed along comfortably at around 5

knots, the engine was reasonably quiet.

The wind was a Force 3 and by the time

we entered Carrick Roads, the mainsail

was full. Brian was predicting more wind,

but this boat can stand up to her canvas so

we unrolled the whole genoa, hoping for a

Force 4 or more by the time we arrived at

Rustler 31 – Performance on test

Point

of sail

Apparent

wind

angle

Apparent

wind

speed

Speed

through

the water

Close-

hauled

38° 16-20 knots 4.6-4.8 knots

Fetch 60° 16-20 knots 5.6-6.2 knots

Beam

reach

90° 16-20 knots 6.0-6.5 knots

Broad

reach

120° 12-15 knots 4.2-4.5 knots

Run 180° 12 knots 4.0 knots

built by Anstey Yachts in Poole in 1965.

She followed the designs of the North Sea

24 (which is 31ft, but 24ft on the waterline)

and the 28ft Twister. Also in her ancestry

is a sprinkling of Folkboat.

With those ingredients built into this

vintage yacht, I had high hopes for an

interesting day with her owners, 63-year-

old Brian Adams and his wife Tricia, 62.

I wouldn’t describe Alias as drop-dead