Devotti Single Hander

I didn't mean to kill free speech and have been Pm'd about this from this
and the RS100 forum, so I'll post to both and everyone can have their say.

Just bare in mind that my views reflect my age, fitness, sailing venue and
what I want out of a boat. Anyone interested in these should try both
boats, because they both move the game on in singlehanders and are
both fast although not RS700 quick on the same point of sail....

I am a 46 year old 90kg plus sailor who sails in the wild and windy Solent
and these are my views given what I want from the boat and how both
boats felt to me on a given day.

I sailed the prototype 100 just after it became public and the hull seemed
great, but the rig still needed plenty of development.

Having seen the D-One at the dinghy show I have wanted to sail it since
and finally did so last week. Ended up being the perfect test, apart from
the weather, because both boats sail in the harbour at Hayling and RS
were at HISC doing some mast work. I had a great sail in the d-one
courtesy of Rodney and with the help of Adrian, which I thoroughly
enjoyed.

After I left the D-One I went round to HISC and Nick Peters was still
there, so I took the 100 out again in identical conditions. Great
opportunity and probably the only person lucky enough to do that so far.

12-17knts of breeze, raining!

D-One. Very nicely built, stiff and light, although I don’t know what both
boats all up sailing weight is so couldn’t compare. It feels a much bigger
boat than the 100. It has also come from a very different concept and
hence the 'finn like' nature of it with the mast so far forward. With the
wings it feels quite wide and it is easy to start thinking that there is more
hull under you than there really is. Stable at rest. Main was still a pre-
production as were a few other details on the boat.

I have only been sailing lasers, fevas and keelboats this year, but have had
a 300 and others in the past. I had two capsizes, both as a result of not
respecting the fully battened main. To me this aspect dominated the
boat.

Rudder is narrow and fully balanced, so very light and doesn’t load, but
also therefore doesn't provide any weather helm. Grilled Adrian about the
settings to make sure I could get it going well on all points and avidly
read Tim’s blog.

The boat does truck upwind nicely with loads of mainsheet and about a
span down on the track. The mast is far forward, so the hull has to have
volume forward. That means that it can snub small chop and push some
water forward. It is a direct result of the volume and it is not a problem,
but it feels as if it could be a fraction faster if it didn't do this.

Headroom is fine provided you release the main and keep well down in
the gybe. Boat tacks, but needs a deliberate technique to avoid irons.
Gybing was fine, but I suspect will be a challenge when it really blows and
gybing in a big wind will need some very snappy technique.

Main was not the final production version and control lines were fine but
have been improved a lot in production. For example the track
adjustment came to the edge of the wing, which meant you had to shuffle
back to use it. This is now different. All in all very nice and well thought
through.

Kite is big and therefore a little intimidating. However, launch and drop
were really easy. Massive chute mouth so no snags at all.

I was heading back when Nick Peters from RS appeared on shore with the
100 and it was too good an opportunity to miss, so I hung around and
then we sailed around together for about 30 mins. Take into account that
whilst we are probably similar in weight, Nick Peters is a better sailor than
me and knows his boat backwards.

We had one tight starboard beat and bit by bit I caught him. I would say I
was sailing the boat well at that point and it was only tiny little bits here
and there, so the speed difference up wind was not dramatic. Because the
boat was still the prototype, the wings on the starboard tack were right
out and on port slightly further in (problem with the fitting). On the next
port tack, I don't think I sailed quite so well and was fiddling a bit more.
The leverage was less and I didn't catch him. However, when racing, I
would have to have the wings in and I suspect that any advantage I had
on the first beat could disappear. I tried bearing away slightly and hiking
hard. The boat did feel as if it was planing upwind, but whilst it felt
quick(and I know Mike L will jump in here) I was losing height and in this
instance would have been slower to the mark.

Off the wind it was hard to say, but they seemed pretty similar for speed.
Both boats are really quick when reaching. Nick Peters then popped the
kite and I did the same. The 100 appeared quicker which surprised me. I
had the main sheeted over the wings and the kicker off, letting the top
twist out. The kite was up to the knot and believe me, it is very quick, the
100 did seem quicker. It may have needed a bit more breeze as it has a
larger hull shape to get going.

So, boat on boat around a course, a well sailed D-One may be faster than
a 100, but I don't think it will be by much and only time and results will
tell. However, what is certain is that both boats are fast. As I said, in
favour of the 100, I should have had the d-one's wings in, but in favour
of the d-one, Nick Peters is a better sailor and he knows the 100
backwards.

The battened main was a key part of the D-one experience for me. It sets
very nicely (see Tim’s blog) and I suspect that in a blow it can become a
bit of a beast.

Getting onto the 100 it did feel less intimidating, which I think was down
to the more compact size, the semi-battened sail and the centreboard.
Again control lines are well laid out and fall to hand, it tacks and gybes
quickly and easily which is probably down to the mast being further back
and more rocker in the hull. That is not to say the d-one doesn’t, at all, it
just needs more thought and technique. The 100 felt stable and I guess
the finer entry made it slightly smoother upwind. Once the kite went up it
accelerated really quickly and felt pretty controlled.

So which boat?

Well that is for everyone to have their own opinion and choice. The RS100
is quick, balanced and a very nice sail. It is closer to what many are used
to and therefore perhaps more of an all rounder. A laser sailor would be
able to step into it straight away and go.

The d-one is a different concept. That main holds a little bit of fear in big
winds and seas and demands a different technique. The boat is built
beautifully. Any Finn sailor should buy one without thinking as should
good sailors who want something different. It is therefore perhaps more
of a challenge, but there is nothing wrong with that.

PY guess is both boats about the same say 980 to 1000 when in proper
race modes, d-one possibly or possibly not edging it by 10/20.

Anyone considering both should definitely sail them and not rely on
others views!!

Tim

Having sailed it for a while I have realised that my rake is incorrect by
approx 20-30cm too far upright.

This means that I should have been pointing like crazy if I had the correct
settings.

(Yes, more rake can increase pointing, but reduces power)

I wonder if the demo was setup with too little aft rake. (

No idea, but Adrian has been racing the boat so I assume as a good Finn
sailor will have set this up OK)

Having struggled last week to point (consistently) as high as a 400, this
incorrect rake position would have a drastic effect on that point of sail.

This would make the rudder dig in a little bit more than you were
experiencing on the demo I would suggest.

( there was no steerage or immersion issue that I felt, but a function of a
narrow balanced rudder is that they do't generate much helm weight,
which is down to personal preference. My Megabyte had the same style of
rudder and was fine, it just means that you can't let go.)

I have found that I need to sit quite a way back, certainly behind the
spinnaker blocks on the wings, while beating upwind, which TBH surpried
me.

(That probably explains controls on the edge of the wings. I was getting
fully forward to immerse the bow.)

"That main holds a little bit of fear in big winds and seas and demands a
different technique."

hmmm....I am seriously not worried about this at all ( and I weigh less
than you )

(I guess I am thinking of where I sail. which can be very lively!)

The kicker does not need to be used downwind (apart from on a reach)

As for going deeper the trick is to let the kicker right off and pull the
boom and traveller in so as to achieve the same air flow as the
kite.....therefore making a nice "slot"

It looks wierd (especially when the mast inverts) but you know what? It's
really fast.

"Any Finn sailor should buy one without thinking as should
good sailors who want something different. It is therefore perhaps more
of a challenge, but there is nothing wrong with that."

hmmmm probably true, however I think that the D-One would be more
forgiving than a Finn.

(Sorry I have no Finn experience and was meaning in comparison to the
100)

The Italians have (weight equalised) raced a 75kgs fella and a 110kgs
fella and still achieved a fair race, so thats where the comparison to a
Finn ends....IMHO.

The "fully batterned main" is very controllable, let the traveller off and the
mainsheet and the kicker and you have "nothing", it really is very very
easy.

This is completly different to a "stayed" mast with rig tension (and fully
battened main) where the power remains, with the D-One it just does not
happen.

(there are still battens in the sail, so more on off power than a semi.
Again, more of an issue for where I sail than other venues.)

Simon

It's nice to see how much the professionals like the D-One with Andy Rice of Y&Y, David Henshall of DSM and now Manon Borsi of Voile et Voiliers all very impressed.

http://www.voilesetvoiliers.com/chantier/article/2322/d-one- mieux-qu-un-nouveau-deriveur%E2%80%A6

http://devoti-one.co.uk/devoti-one_suntouched3_007.htm

http://www.devoti-one.com/news/d-one-under-test-yacht-yachti ng-magazine

As I have said before 'don't knock it until you've tried it.

For a test sail just email me at rodney@devoti-one.co.uk

Rodney

Edited by rodney

Originally posted by Inland sea Is that a smaller sail she is using in the Video?

Well spotted!

Yes it's a 10.3M2 semi battened rather than the 11.0M2 standard fully battened main.  Works well for lighter sailors and most women.

Interestingly a 78 Kilo sailor has been faster than big Luca (115 Kgs) around the course, in a healthy breeze, with both using the fully battened main.  This has certainly shown that the boat with its weight equalisation works well but I am guessing that some of the lighter sailors or some of those regularly sailing in heavy conditions will choose the semi battened option!

Rodney

Edited by rodney

Originally posted by SimonW99 Rodney I did point out that the test boat was a prototype, that my skill levels were not of the Ainslie variety and that Nick Peters is a better sailor. It was not my intention to suggest this was a speed test, but it was really interesting to just compare the boats as someone who is pretty core market and will hopefully race one or the other over the next year. There are differences between the boats and as I said I think they both move the game on. Interesting that the production mast is a little softer and that a Semi- battened sail is available, which is possibly attractive given where I sail. I assume the affect on PY will be pretty minimal?

Simon,

The point I was trying to make is that conclusions were drawn which were based on unsound input.  To get the best out of a D-One one needs to spend some time in the straps - my guess is that, after a few weekends out on the water, the average sailor will find 10-20% more performance out of the D-One.  That is not to say that you are not a good sailor!   We will be running a number of coaching days to accompany the regional open meetings and Nationals next year to help owners to get the best out of their D-Ones.

The semi battened sail is not much smaller than the standard sail and is certainly easy to use.  Why not come again and try it?  No speed testing though please as we can accommodate this in an arranged way with a helmsman of our own choice.  We are more than happy to run a speed testing program with RS as I am sure that it will be interesting to all to see the results  .  I am not sure if NP reads this thread  but if he doesn't please tell him to email me on rodney@devoti-one.co.uk to organise this.  It would be best, I guess, in fairness to do this when RS have finalised their sail plan. For the record I think that the RS100 is a nice little boat and will find its place in the market as will the D-One.

Speak soon,

Rodney