Cole 43: One Man's Boat

Few people who have raced or cruised in a Cole 43 would disagree with the widely held view that the still-striking sloop is one of local designer Peter Cole’s  better efforts.

When the first bunch of the glass reinforced plastic (GRP) yachts appeared in the 1980s, they were an immediate hit as offshore racers. They were regular starters in events including the annual Sydney-Hobart race and vied for handicap honours for decades.

Boats that had retired from racing were snapped up by cruising types and were soon seen in harbours around the world as their lucky owners safely completed circumnavigations.

Ruff 'n' Tumble, which was launched in 1983 by East Coast Yachts in Gosford, started as an ocean racer and in recent years has proved herself to be a wonderful coastal cruiser for owner Dennis Bonutto.

Bonutto has traced the yacht's history and discovered that she was originally owned by the member of the Middle Harbour Yacht Club who raced her competitively for 12 years before selling her to a bloke at Lake Macquarie who kept up the racing throughout the 1990s.

Ruff 'n' Tumble sailed in four Sydney-Hobart races and survived after retiring in the appalling 1998 race when the fleet was smashed by a giant southerly storm that claimed a number of yachts and the lives of six sailors.

Her third owner brought her south to Pittwater and apparently eventually lost interest in sailing. The yacht was moored there for nine years and wasn't looking too happy when Bonutto bought her in 2009. "I was told she had been sitting on the mooring for three or four years without moving very much," Bonutto told BoatPoint.

Bonutto was no newcomer to sailing. He cruised the world for 10 years in his own boats, a Swanson 32 and a Morgan 382, before settling in Asia and skippering various yachts for the next six years.

Soon after buying the yacht, Bonutto pulled out the mast and updated all the standing and running rigging. He also painted the boat and installed a new 35hp Kubota diesel. He then sailed her up to the Gold Coast and really got stuck in to a complete renovation.

The sloop now has a Seldon gas boom vang on a new boom, a new main sail and 150 per cent headsail on a furler, a new Isotherm fridge, 240-watt solar panels, new batteries, new safety gear, white and red LED lights throughout, new bilge pumps, gas alarms and a new dodger.

Below, he opened up the previously enclosed navigation area and the stern quarter berth to give more light and space to the interior.

With the boat back in top condition, he and his wife took to sailing her up to the Whitsunday Islands every winter for some serious warm-weather cruising.

But the couple always had plans brewing and Bonutto has always wanted to complete the circumnavigation he started years ago and spend a couple of years exploring the Med and northern Europe.

"So I've put her on the market so I can afford to buy another yacht somewhere in Europe and keep chasing the fun," he said.

Ruff 'n' Tumble, which can sleep five comfortably and which is easily sailed by two -- or even singlehanded by someone with experience, comes with 2.8 metre Force 4 rigid-bottom tender with both 8hp and 2hp outboards. It stores easily forward of the mast.

She carries 500 litres of water and 250 litres of diesel and what Bonutto calls "too many spares and extras to list".

Ruff ‘n’ Tumble is fitted with a Raymarine GPS, both VHF and HF radios, a Coursemaster autopilot and a Navico wind/log/sounder.

On the foredeck is a powerful Orca electric chain/rope anchor winch behind a custom-made heavy duty anchor roller. There is a near new Manson 45lb plough anchor with 200ft of10mm short link chain.