Not seen at the show

iGRF. I presume you mean "should come out from under the forestay" as in come our from hiding under the forestay.

I'll indulge GRF a bit  .. while the fun lasts at least .....

The bows on this length/type of boat tend to be rather narrow relative to the size of opening that you really need for asymmetric work.   If you place the forestay far enough back to still provide a proper decent sized opening in front of it you lose at least 400-450mm of boat length.  IF it were single-hander with just the main to consider you might well position the forestay behind it or on the 'bar' – of course.  However you might also want a jib of a decent enough size and certainly in proportion to the overall rig.  Crew boats mostly have relatively largish jibs as well .  You could of course have a very small aperture for the spinnaker 'up front' ... it has been done before but that can quickly become the real road to madness, much gnashing of teeth etc and mangled spinnakers.  (mind you great if you supply the sails of course ....   )

Based on experience in other classes we therefore opted for a LARGE opening and to still accomodate a decent sized jib .... key hole surgery may be all well and good in an operating theatre but is not necessarily the right approach on the front end of fastish dinghies - when you MUST raise/drop the sail in a hurry.    Regardless of where you place that aperture 'size' really is important – but it is not something you can compromise on really.

PS - The boom in one of the photos is not carbon (but is in the other ...) - give us a break this is a development boat and we are assessing both !! ... btw -  the boat does not have a single centimetre of 'faux' carbon anywhere yet - I know a terrible 'fail' on our part... However if it helps the builder sell more I am fully prepared to rapidly change my opinion on the sticky patterned fablon stuff ! ....

Edited by Cirrus - 06 Mar 18 at 3:56pm

Already been done.

Pub chain shabby chic.

It may be camera angles, but that foretriangle looks quite big?
I have to agree with GRF, I suspect the downside of the chute being behind the forestay might outweigh the extra jib area, around a typical course where launch and retrieve is randomly port and starboard?
I would agree that the RS400 set up is not perfect, the chute could be bigger.
Also how big is the kite? Those turning blocks are a long way back.... And cleats?
I guess the sprit is relatively short, not coming behind the mast when retracted?

The 400 is an obvious comparison. clearly a carbon mast is going to be a nice improvement.
Surely in this Dane Age, a carbon rudder stock could be cost effective?

I like the lack of a thwart. Looks like off the boom sheeting is an option, I suspect without that, it's going to be hard to get the weight forwards enough in a drifter?

Communal toe-straps though? I hope this is not the final version?

What is the thinking with the jib cleating/fairleads on the deck? It's very tidy but why has everyone else moved it to the floor?
How does the tank buoyancy compare to the 400? It looks like a higher floor so actually self draining, smaller side tanks so it floats with the plate reach-able?