Roberts Spay 38 Ketch
Description
The Bruce Roberts Spray 38 is a compact, seaworthy bluewater cruiser from the iconic Spray series, scaled down from the larger Spray 40 while retaining the timeless proportions inspired by Joshua Slocum's Spray. Designed in the late 1970s by Australian naval architect Bruce Roberts, it's optimized for long-distance voyaging, coastal exploration, or liveaboard living with a focus on simplicity, strength, and forgiveness in heavy weather. Over 100 have been built worldwide, many by owner-builders, earning a reputation for crossing oceans on small crews. The ketch rig is a favored configuration (alongside sloop, cutter, or yawl), dividing sail area for easier handling, better balance, and reduced weather helm—ideal for short-handed sailing. The mizzen mast steps forward of the rudder post, allowing full use of the cockpit without interference.
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 40.42 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 15.42 ft |
| p | 37 ft |
| e | 12.08 ft |
| p2 | 18.16 ft |
| e2 | 8.66 ft |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40.42 ft | 15.42 ft | 37 ft | 12.08 ft | 18.16 ft | 8.66 ft | - | - |
Documents
Sails
Roberts Spay 38 Ketch - MAINSAIL
| Luff | * 37 ft - (11278 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 12.08 ft - (3682 mm) |
| Leech | * 38.28 ft - (11668 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 38.52 ft - (11741 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 5.25 in - (133 mm) |
| Area | * 230.36 ft² |
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Roberts Spay 38 Ketch - JIBSAIL
| Luff | * 34.61 ft - (10549 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 21.13 ft - (6440 mm) |
| Leech | * 29.17 ft - (8891 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 115.11 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 17.75 ft - (5410 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 11.97 ° |
| Area | * 307.18 ft² |
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Roberts Spay 38 Ketch - JIBSAIL
| Luff | 40 ft - (12192 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | 20.5 ft - (6248 mm) |
| Leech | 36.5 ft - (11125 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 120.69 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 18.61 ft - (5672 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 3.92 ° |
| Area | * 372.18 ft² |
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Roberts Spay 38 Ketch - GENOA
| Luff | * 41.1 ft - (12527 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 25.49 ft - (7769 mm) |
| Leech | * 38.19 ft - (11640 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 150 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 23.13 ft - (7050 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 3.97 ° |
| Area | * 475.33 ft² |
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Roberts Spay 38 Ketch - STAYSAIL
| Luff | * 16.1 ft - (4907 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 11.06 ft - (3371 mm) |
| Leech | * 14.17 ft - (4319 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 110.05 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 9.53 ft - (2905 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 5 ° |
| Area | * 76.71 ft² |
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Roberts Spay 38 Ketch - MIZZEN
| Luff | * 18.16 ft - (5535 mm) |
|---|---|
| Foot | * 8.66 ft - (2640 mm) |
| Leech-AftHdBd | * 19.74 ft - (6017 mm) |
| Tack Ang | * 88 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | * 19.84 ft - (6047 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 4 in - (102 mm) |
| Area (no Roach) | * 81.73 ft² |
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Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.