The RS900 - 'our' fantasy dinghy!

For the 900 why not swift solo kind of skiff?

Single handed 3 sail that can have up to 2 crew. even better use the swift solo system for single sheet on main and jib, makes for super fast single hander with trapeze and wide racks on narrow hull.

Use the alto/4k/400 assy pole system for added speed

=GREAT BOAT

Originally posted by Gladys even better use the swift solo system for single sheet on main and jib

The funny thing is that system has been invented umpteen times before and always dropped. It doesn't seem to me that the fastest crews sail two handers by playing the jib exactly in time with the main, so I don't see why it should be particularly fast on a singlehander.

Originally posted by Gladys Use the alto/4k/400 assy pole system for added speed

I'm not sure you actually get extra speed out of that. In my days of pole kites on faster boats* I would normally either have the pole on the forestay or pulled back far further than is possible with the 4/00/Tonner system. In between was really rather unusual. The evidence seems to be that you're better off ditching the complication and putting a bit more rag on instead. After all the sprit kite was invented because folk had stopped pulling the pole back from the bow...

Originally posted by Peaky Originally posted by mike ellis Dont try and jumble them all together and ruin it. Dunno about that, these are all the same hull with 4 different rigs on. Seems to work well in all cases.

I'm very unconvinced about having the same hull shape working well at significantly different displacement and speed - especially displacement. I think you could make a boat that would work OK as a singlehander for someone of 16 stone or a two hander for two of 8, but even then if the righting moment is much different it all gets unbalanced....


*sensible length poles that is, not the silly short things seen on all pole kite boats that you're likely to see these days.

Edited by JimC

Lightweights possibly need a very easily driven hull - a bit 300ish perhaps but with a more modest rig and I'd go for a modern take on the needlespar to holt the rag(s) up. 

However it is tough as well if you are heavy.  Modern rig development allows relatively lighter helms to prosper in conditions that were the once the preserve of the big lads.

The Blaze, like several others, carries a wide range of weight well but guys who are easily 100+kg can only do well when it is howling - we thought we'd have a look at that ..... so here is HALO (Heavy And Large Option) - wing mast,  11.9m sail, 2.5m wide wings and all Blaze below so little 'new class' risk as hulls are always in short supply.... and you would have to be must be 100+kg or carry the difference in lead and no equalisation for lighter helms.  Early stage in development and we have to make sure the special stick stays straight and in the boat for sure yet - work in progress there !  It will be a seperate class if we go beyond the prototype stage.  Don't think we can look to smaller rigs for lightweights in this hull it just is not suited - that needs something a bit special as well. 

As for more sails - well ..... one thing at a time and no promises.

Mike L.

Originally posted by blaze720 Lightweights possibly need a very easily driven hull - a bit 300ish perhaps but with a more modest rig and I'd go for a modern take on the needlespar to holt the rag(s) up.  However it is tough as well if you are heavy.  Modern rig development allows relatively lighter helms to prosper in conditions that were the once the preserve of the big lads. The Blaze, like several others, carries a wide range of weight well but guys who are easily 100+kg can only do well when it is howling - we thought we'd have a look at that ..... so here is HALO (Heavy And Large Option) - wing mast,  11.9m sail, 2.5m wide wings and all Blaze below so little 'new class' risk as hulls are always in short supply.... and you would have to be must be 100+kg or carry the difference in lead and no equalisation for lighter helms.  Early stage in development and we have to make sure the special stick stays straight and in the boat for sure yet - work in progress there !  It will be a seperate class if we go beyond the prototype stage.  Don't think we can look to smaller rigs for lightweights in this hull it just is not suited - that needs something a bit special as well.  As for more sails - well ..... one thing at a time and no promises. Mike L. 12-31_100332_DSC01735.JPG">

Not quite sure I follow the logic of this one.

It's always O.K. to put a smaller rig on a higher volume hull, what doesn't
work is putting bigger rigs/rags up on low volume/flat planing shapes,
they just squat.

I also can't quite follow the logic of that sail pictured, three battens up
top where there's not much to support, yet only one where all the actions
going on, I would have thought the reverse might be more appropriate.

5 battens dont do much for sails over 7.5 sq mtrs and particularly not if
its only contract battening (hopefully yours is tapered carbon)been my
experience if you need to go full batten then six or seven especially if the
sails bigger than 8 or 9 mtrs. Then however heavy the rider, it's a very
fine line between size/area and benefit (upwind) and parasitic drag,
obviously downhill the bigger the better, hence the inherent efficiency of
the correct size upwind and additional area via a kite downwind imvho.

Another question.
That hull looks from the picture to be entirely a displacement style unit,
or am I wrong?

The Blaze features a shape/style of hull which really appeared only in the UK. The majority of rocker is well aft of mid length.