Laser2000 vs RS Vision

Originally posted by Blobby If RS did do a 500 there does seem to be some demand for a lighweights trapeze singlehander - say 12ft - 13ft long or so with a 9m2 carbon rig for those in the 45 - 65Kg weight range.  Could have a kite as well.

Now, that's a good idea! That Farr 3.7 you're going to export to Britain falls right into that category. I'll be your first customer

Now the first Vision is tried in the rough waters of western Norway. The user was happy: "We tried the boat in Force 6, and it took off like a rocket. We did not know the boat, so we often capsized. But we were surprised how easy it was to get it upright again. Unlike many other boats, it did not go completely upside down at once, but stayed on the side, which made it much easier to rise. We are very happy with the boat".

 

I would be very dissapointed if RS invented a 500 that was single trap/asymmetric as there are quite a few of these around already, 29er, 3000, 4000, BUZZ, ISO, not to mention all the fastsail classes which are pretty similar (if not faster) performance wise.  The market is crowded, it would only serve to split an already over divided section of the market.  Please RS, dont do it, we do not need more racing classes!!

The ease of the RS800 is widely documented and agreed.. You should try it!

Blobby..

A Vision will safely hold around 400lbs of rig tension (on the forestay) probably far more, but its unlikely that 99% of users would ever pull that amount on - even with gloves on that would hurt the hardiest of hands using the standard 4:1 purchase. Typically it will be used with less than half of that. The boat is easily up to the job as the design cleverly triangulates the rig tension via the shoud points to the bottom of the mast step, and the mast foot is 'slung' off the floor. The foredeck arrangement then spreads the load between the mast and the forestay. This avoids the need for any unslightly and often unreliable metal beams between the mast and the shrouds

Of course an RS800 would typically sail with at least this, even in less windy conditions.. but then you'd expect this in a high performance epoxy skiff.

NickA...

We would always consider the RS200 to be in a very different bracket to the Laser 2000, and indeed its only recently that the Laser 2000 has been promoted with any significant racing aspiration. The RS200 is much smaller and its power delivery/handling is in a different league - far from comparible.

There's far more people that want to hike and not trapeze than vice versa, thats why the market for RS200s and Laser2000s will always be significantly larger than RS800s and Laser 4000s, even though arguably an RS800 is an easier boat than the RS200 to sail.

Cheers