Cornwall LivingIssue #90
Modern classics
With more than 30 years’ experience, Rustler Yachts makes traditional cruising yachts for the discerning sailor, right here in the Cornwall.
As with a Morgan car or a Rolex watch, a Rustler Yacht is an investment for the future. Hand built, bespoke and combing a unique mixture of traditional methods and cutting-edge technology, a Rustler Yacht comes from a pedigree that has become a design classic.
“we never forget that yachting is supposed to be fun”
Established in Falmouth in 1985, Rustler Yachts moved to its current site between Falmouth and Penryn in 2000. Experiencing steady growth since then, the company now employs over 45 people, many of whom are highly skilled crafts people. All of the yachts are entirely hand built, to the highest specifications, and represent a modern tradition of fast, retro-styled yachts that are a charm to sail.
Rustler Yachts has an enviable reputation and a loyal client base, with owners often returning to upgrade or to buy another boat. Placing great emphasis on quality and craftsmanship, customers are encouraged to be involved throughout the build process, ensuring that the end product is exactly what they want and because of that, each Rustler yacht is unique.
Chatting with Sales Director, Adrian Jones, he explains the buying process: “Typically, we will first meet a customer about two years before they commit to commissioning a new yacht. We show them around the production facility, and almost certainly take them for a trial sail. We try to get to know them, and how they intend to sail (and where), and then start to build an idea of how their own boat would be specified.” At Rustler Yachts, commissioning a boat is much more like a partnership than a typical customer-vendor situation.
Adrian continues: “Once ordered, we offer as many visits as the new owner can manage. Some boat builders don’t appreciate owners visiting as they are afraid that it can distract from the production process – we take the opposite view. The closer to the ‘build’ of their boat the owner is, the better the relationship they have with it. This also means that the Rustler team, the guys and girls who actually build the boats, get to know who they are building for – and that means a lot.”
The build team works across three different specialities in the climate controlled factory: engineering, composite and joinery. They all work alongside each other, and know that each discipline is as important as the next. The team covers all age ranges, and as Adrian says: “they are the real stars! We try to make the factory as flexible as possible, and it is, I think, a pretty cool place to work. Personally I still get a kick out of raw materials arriving at one end of the factory and a beautiful yacht emerging from the other!”
The last twelve years has seen the Rustler range grow into a diverse collection of beautiful boats, ranging from a 24ft dayboat to a 57ft world cruiser. So, whether you are a keen day sailor wanting to explore the Cornish coastal waters, a blue water yachtsman or an experienced ocean mariner looking for something to take you across the Atlantic, the choice is yours. Newly commissioned yacht designs are the work of renowned, British boat designer, Stephen Jones, who has built a close relationship with the team in Falmouth over the many years he has been designing Rustler yachts.
Each year the team build about five yachts over 37ft and six or seven smaller boats, giving an idea of the amount of work that goes into each one – every piece of engineering, moulding and joinery is carried out by Rustler staff, in the Falmouth factory, making a Rustler yacht Cornish, born and bred. Solid design, build quality and flexibility of build process are at the heart of what makes these yachts special. They are by no means at the less expensive end of the scale, but that is because they are constructed with the very best of British craftsmanship.
It is clear that everyone at Rustler is passionate about yachts, and this is an enthusiasm that is shared by their owners. The yachts are built for real-life cruising, prioritising comfort and safety at sea, while at the same time being deceptively fast with easy motion. “Above all, we never forget that yachting is supposed to be fun, and we believe that also includes having your own boat built!” concludes Adrian.
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know, the brand is the choice of royalty? HRH The Princess Royal recently upgraded to a new Rustler 44 from the Rustler 36 she owned for 20 years.
RUSTER YACHTS LTD
01326 310120
"we never forget that yachting is supposed to be fun"