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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
Rosborough RF-246
What the published record establishes about this model, what owners report,
and the questions worth asking while a boat is still a listing. This page is about the
MODEL — a specific hull always gets its own homework.
A capable, tank-tough trailerable Loop cruiser whose value hinges on the individual power choice — avoid I/O and underpowered examples, survey the cored deck and bracketed transom.
The Rosborough RF-246 is a rugged, trailerable (8'6" beam) pocket cruiser with a working-boat aesthetic and a devoted following, and it has a genuine, documented Great Loop track record. Because the hull was fitted with a wide range of powerplants over its life — Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Mercury Verado, Evinrude, Volvo I/O, and various diesels — "engine reliability" on any given RF-246 is essentially the reliability of whatever is hung on that particular hull, so power configuration and its history are the single most important diligence items. Cored decks/cockpit sole and a full-width outboard bracket/transom are the areas where a moisture survey pays off. No widespread hull or single-engine defect specific to this model surfaced in the research.
How to read this: 🟢 Fact = confirmed against a document, spec sheet,
or owner. Everything else — Claim, Pattern, Question, Context — is not yet
verified: things to check, not settled truth. Sources are linked where published.
Great Loop fit
CONTEXT
Proven Loop cruiser with a devoted following
The design has completed the Great Loop multiple times — John Hauck completed it twice on a 2003 Rosborough 246, and owner Bill Webster ran the 2019/2020 Loop with a Bahamas side trip. It is repeatedly described as a capable, utilitarian Loop cruiser with an almost cult-like following. This is genuine confirmation the size and layout work for the route.
src:
Cruising Odyssey; Trawler Forum; BoatTEST
Air draft / bridge clearance
CONTEXT
Low profile is a strength, but rigging varies boat to boat
The low air draft is a selling point for this model, but published figures differ by measurement reference and rigging (one source cites roughly 12 ft, a brokerage cites 9'5" from the waterline) because some measurements reach the hardtop and others include antennas or overhead. RF-246s commonly carry optional extended cockpit overheads, TV/Shakespeare antennas, and davits that change the real travelling height. The app shows the controlling clearances; what matters here is that this model's actual air draft depends heavily on added gear.
src:
Cruising Odyssey; Curtis Stokes brokerage; TheCenterOf
QUESTION
What is on the hardtop, and what folds or comes off?
Because two RF-246s with the same model name can differ by a foot or more in real air draft, the height that matters is the boat in realistic cruising trim with antennas, radar, canvas, and any dinghy in place.
src:
TheCenterOf
Your move: Measure the actual air draft of this specific boat in cruising trim, and make a list of what can be lowered or removed (antennas, radar, dinghy, overhead) and how much each saves.
Fuel & range
CLAIM
Realistic cruising range roughly 250–265 statute miles with reserve
On a single modern 4-stroke (e.g., a 200 Yamaha), a boat test recorded best cruise around 3000 rpm / ~14 mph at 5.7 gph (~2.5 mpg) for about 264 statute miles holding a 10% reserve on the 115-gallon tank. Owner data on twin gas outboards runs closer to 2 nmpg at 13–16 knots and worse at 20+ knots. A single modern 4-stroke is the most fuel-efficient common setup; twins burn more.
src:
BoatTEST; Blue Heron owner blog; Crates Boats spec sheet; Soundings
QUESTION
Is this a single or twin, and what is the owner's logged fuel burn?
Range on this model swings widely with power choice — single vs. twin, gas vs. diesel — so a model-wide range figure does not describe any one hull. Diesel range data in particular is sparse (one aggregator cites ~220 nm but is unverified).
src:
BoatsNavigator (unverified aggregator); BoatTEST
Your move: Ask the owner for logged fuel burn at displacement/cruise speed for this exact engine setup, and confirm actual usable tank capacity.
Hull & structure
CLAIM
Cored deck and cockpit sole warrant a moisture survey
The deck and superstructure are foam-cored and listings describe the deck and floors as sandwich-core construction. At least one older Rosborough-built RF-246 was reported with a soft spot on the plywood rear deck despite an otherwise great hull. Cored decks and soles trap moisture where fittings or fasteners leak.
src:
Soundings; ECYS listing; Downeast Boat Forum
Your move: Have a surveyor moisture-map the decks and cockpit sole, paying attention to fitting and fastener penetrations.
CLAIM
Full-width outboard bracket — inspect the transom
The RF-246 commonly uses a full-width Armstrong bracket. As a general matter for any bracket-powered boat, the bracket adds leverage and stress to the transom, so transoms should be checked and are sometimes reinforced. Project-boat budgets for this model list transom, bracket/platform, and deck/cockpit work as separate line items, and repowering notes that brackets are costly and the transom may need minor mods. This is a general bracket-boat caution, not a documented RF-246-specific defect.
src:
Trawler Forum; Downeast Boat Forum; The Hull Truth
Your move: Sound and moisture-test the transom around the bracket mounting, and get any bracket or transom work quoted separately if a repower is contemplated.
CONTEXT
Hull generally praised as solid and well-flotated
Owners repeatedly describe the hull as 'built like a tank' — solid fiberglass with 100% flotation, unusual for boats over 21 feet. No widespread hull defect (blistering, cracking, delamination) specific to this model surfaced in research; the one cracked-hull story found was about a different boat (Ranger R-27), not a Rosborough.
src:
Trawler Forum
Handling
CONTEXT
Bounces at displacement speed, settles on plane
Owners describe it as a very good rough-water boat that bounces around at hull speed but cuts through cleanly once on plane without pounding. This matters on Loop segments and no-wake zones where you must run slow for extended stretches.
src:
Trawler Forum
QUESTION
Is this a post-2012 Eastern build with the revised keel?
One rigger reported that Eastern modified the keel on later builds to improve handling at speed. If accurate, early and late boats may handle somewhat differently, though this is a single secondhand account and not confirmed by the builder.
src:
Downeast Boat Forum
Your move: Ask the seller/builder the build year and manufacturer (Rosborough vs. Eastern), and note handling behavior during the sea trial.
Engines
The engines research — factory options, tested performance,
and the engine-specific questions our members' dossiers carry — is part of the
full profile inside the product. It travels with every dossier and survey brief
built on this model.