What can anyone tell me about the Easy Roller design?

I seem to recall the design is based on the very successful wood Let it Rides, but apparently tweaked somewhat to improve performance in waves (more rocker?).  Excellent performance on open water, but arguably no quicker than the latest generation Winder Tales and more expensive new, which may be why not too many have been built.  Another consideration is the build quality - several of the earlier examples are already looking tatty and it seems the majority of these boats have suffered annoying niggles.

won't get me spending twelve grand on one of those then!

No-one who owns one is coming forward!  Quite similar to the Let it Ride (& Heaven Sent in fact!) is significantly wider at the transom and much fuller in sections under the mast.  Let it Ride has a bit less rocker and in Mike Calvert's view is the quicker shape but the differences you are talking about are measured in 0.5-1.5cm here and there.  All were built deliberately light with lots of carbon and lead hence the cost.  I wonder if the worries over structural problems and tattiness are well-founded as I didn't think the older ones at the Champs last year did look any the worse for wear - Ross where are you??

Interesting that there really doesnt seem to be much discernable advantage in any of the present popular hull shapes in terms of results on the circuit whatever the pundits say, but it is probably more difficult to sail well than the CT, the very beamy transom likes being upright & it's sensitive to fore-and-aft trim.

If I were spending £12,000 on a 2nd hand boat I'd buy Business as Usual, but I like wood.

I agree with Andrew, I haven't seen any tatty ones either.
The are fast though aren't they? 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 inlands, 2001, 2002 (wood version), 2003 champs. Not bad considering the're not very common.
The're georgous hand made boats with carbon all over the place and more lead than you can shake a stick at. More advanced internal layout too.
For my money though, you can't beat real deal - wood is good!

OK I'm here now. Tatty indeed. Think you will find we all keep ours in top nic! Minds 4 years old this summer and had no structural problems with the hull at all. All the fittings still work a treat.

Like the Let It Ride I think it is fair to say they are for light to mid weight crews. If more than 23 to 24 stone sail a CT.

Considering the numbers built they've done pretty well on the circuit.

Main difference in my opinion is the internal mouldings, from a crews point of view they are just unbelievably easy to use and having a proper thwart (although lower than traditionally) is still usefull. 

Difficult to compare build quality as still not that old, but Ross' seems to be in perfect condition, but when you compare it to say Andy Dalbys boat it would appear that Easy Rollers in fact last better. At the end of the day it comes down to how well the owners treat them.

And sail them.....

Don't be mean to old Dobbie, he's not that bad with his boats. Think it was the previous onwer that 'Coopered' it :)

Ok so I was new to sailing in the class, not that you would have thought it with the amount of time I have spent around you guys at Salcombe. When I decided to jump ship from the Twelves I set myself a budget and started looking for what I wanted. Spoke to loads of people, including Linton,the person who had built my last Twelve and came to the conclusion that sod the budget I knew the boat I wanted - it had to be an Easy Roller and Will just happened to be selling part of his fleet! I know its an early exapmle of the design - its got EZR1 stamped on the transom!!

I knew the build quality would be excellent - and I haven't been disapointed. Will used the boat hard and I have continued to do so and apart from strings breaking nothing in the structure is looking shabby. Whilst nothing in the boat has broken, the driver (pardon the pun) has! Dooh!

Do I think I spent my money well, I think so and would do it again.

John

Including John's boat, there are three Easy Rollers in the Starcross club fleet and their finish still looks good.  I believe some of the earlier boats did have minor cosmetic problems with the gel coat, but these have been spray painted and look good as new.  In fact, I think this is how Kevin and Linton now finish the hulls, rather than plain gel coat?

just goes to show how wrong a cursory remark can be. looks like it could be money well spent after all! from the little i've seen of these boats, the quality and attention to detail looks excellent. not sailed one though - now, is there anyone out there willing to lend me their 12k roller for a test drive?

That remark is a bit like the time Jeremy Clarkson asked Jay Kay from Jamiroquai if he could have a test drive in his Ferrari Enzo.   The response :

"Yeah sure, if I can test drive your daughter"

But the real question is 'Can my daughter test drive your Easy Roller'?

can anyone highlight the differences between the current CT and the easy roller/let it ride designs.

lots of cash? they both seem as good or as bad in the right or wrong hands.

Why not pick up the phone and ask the lad himself! I am sure Linton knows the answers if not either Kev Driver or even the man who put pen to paper Phil Morrison!

Wider at the transom by about 6 inches, considerably flatter and fuller under the mast and without the distortion of the lower planks between the fine bow section and the rise-of-floor measurement point you see in the CT.