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RS300 Buyer's Guide |
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rb_stretch 
Really should get out more 
Joined: 23 Aug 10 Online Status: Offline Posts: 742 |
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 Topic: RS300 Buyer's GuidePosted: 23 Jan 14 at 5:50pm |
I'm not sure that gear failure can necessarily be aimed at a boat that has complete freedom of choice about what gear you want to install or how you install it. If the boat was badly fitted (or refitted) out or the previous owner bodged some upgrades/replacements, it can hardly be the fault of the boat. A SMOD on the other hand, must use certain gear, so gear failure may possibly impact the reputation of the boat to a greater degree. FWIW, there a lot of Phantoms out there raced by big, heavy people, so any actual gear design flaws (of which I'm not aware of any) would get ironed out pretty quickly. |
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about a boat
Groupie 
Joined: 25 Oct 06 Online Status: Offline Posts: 60 |
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Posted: 23 Jan 14 at 2:30pm |
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A penny's worth. I have had more gear failure on my Phantom I have owned for six months than my 300 that I owned for 13 years. The 300 was probably a 1999 built boat and the Phantom was 2009 (and been lightly used!). OK loads are higher on moden day Phantom but go figure. For a good quality boat £3000 is not a lot of money and the 300 will last unless it has been abused. Get one, smile and enjoy.
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AlanH
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Joined: 17 Apr 10 Location: Scotland Online Status: Offline Posts: 84 |
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Posted: 07 Jan 14 at 3:41pm |
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In case you haven't spotted it, a few boats have an A rig, which is a little smaller at 9.25 sq m. The common rig which everyone uses is the B rig, ie B for Big, which is 10 sq m. You want a B rig unless you're really small. Boats with A rigs are cheaper, but the mast is not the same as a B mast, so you can't just buy a boat with an A rig then try to put a B sail on it. Apart from its sailing virtues, the 300 is a joy to own, requiring virtually zero maintenance, and costing virtually nothing to run, and cheap to insure. White sails last for ever.
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JimC
Really should get out more
Joined: 17 May 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 6660 |
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Posted: 07 Jan 14 at 12:22pm |
All well used gel coated boats get cracks in the gel coat in certain areas, and foot stomp places are top of the list. Its just inevitable and of no great concern. I've seen people get enormously troubled about this. However its pretty easy to tell (by pressing on the boat nearby and observing the movement) whether a crack is just in gel coat, which is little more than cosmetic, or whether its actually anything to be concerned about and affects the structure further down. I've seen plenty of gel coat cracks in older 200s and 300s, but nothing I'd ever be concerned about if it were my boat. I've even seen a *very* well used 300 with areas of gel coat which had departed completely, but no sign that the underlying engineering structure was bad. I don't know that its related to age so much as use, and in particular the force with which sailor's fairy footsteps have been hitting the deck. Of course you could spend a "happy" week with a dremel and lots of protective clothing, grinding out all the gel coat cracks, infilling with new gel coat then sanding and polishing it back, but personally I'd rather go sailing. |
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Ruscoe
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Joined: 12 Jan 10 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1514 |
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Posted: 07 Jan 14 at 12:10pm |
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I think Kev, you need to take what your club mate says with a pinch of salt. Lets not forget that the 300's, as James says are getting on a bit now (in the majority) so yes they may require a bit of TLC. But to be honest, i would not let it put me off. The boom is a wearable item, the leaks and bits are easily repaired at home, the sails last forever (white ones) pound for pound i don't think you would get much better value vs. smile factor. To my mind i would just look at the boat as i have described in my first post and allow for any remedial work in the price. You wont regret the purchase trust me! Not only that, you can spend £2500 and the boat will be on the money in terms of fleet competitiveness. No cheque book sailing like you get in other single handed fleets, where you need to worry about the latest Australian high module mast etc.
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yellowwelly
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Joined: 24 May 13 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2003 |
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Posted: 07 Jan 14 at 11:09am |
everyone's a expert down the club, on a forum.... we are all guilty. So to add my two penneth of nonsensical crap, the RS300 is without doubt the nicest RS boat out there. It is such a pure boat. (Except maybe the 200 which pips it for girlfriend and wife potential) As for build quality, they are pretty damn solid, and bang for buck, still represent good value and a low depreciation level. Really- compare them to a Solo of similar age. You could buy a boat for two or three grand, then spend another £200-£300 having it professionally overhauled with a bubble test/ cosmetic patch up, a good spruce up polish and a few new shiny bits (mainsheet block, tiller extension, new toe straps etc). Then you've got a boat in real terms which is worth way more than you just paid for it. Great boat, great class.... a seriously potent unstayed unarig nearly what, 20 years on? I'm fairly tempted to get another one, or a Finn. Edited by yellowwelly - 07 Jan 14 at 11:16am |
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Steve411
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Joined: 09 Sep 08 Location: Cheddar, Somerset, England Online Status: Offline Posts: 705 |
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Posted: 07 Jan 14 at 9:43am |
Or PM me.
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Steve411
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Joined: 09 Sep 08 Location: Cheddar, Somerset, England Online Status: Offline Posts: 705 |
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Posted: 07 Jan 14 at 9:37am |
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Hi Kev,
I have to say that I think there's some scaremongering going on about not buying boats over 5 years old. My boat was built in 1997/8 and has been raced pretty hard continuously since 2002 onwards. The only hull cracking is internal behind the mainsheet takeoff point (where you put your feet when tacking). It's cosmetic and I've re-gelcoated. It can get worse and need professional work doing - you just need to check the area to see if there are hairline cracks only or deeper cracks that might need some work. Masts can crack low down where the gnav bars roll up and down. This is due to the huge amount of kicker we use. If there is cracking then it's terminal I'm afraid. I've never seen a mast mended adequately that has had cracking here. As a result, most owners put protective strips on the mast. I'm still on my original mast, as are most owners, so it's not a huge problem. There are 2 issues with the alloy booms. They grow a permanent bend over time at the gnav pivot point (due to kicker loads). It's not an issue unless there is cracking on the underside of the boom at this point - in which case it's terminal. The gooseneck jaws need to be inspected to ensure the rivets have not worked loose and cracks have appeared joining up the rivet holes in the boom. If they have there's an easy fix - replace the rivets with bolts (probably should do this anyway to prevent movement) and put a robust backing plate inside the boom and bolt to the jaws. I only replaced my original alloy boom last year so they generally have plenty of life in them. Very few boats yet have the carbon boom and there's no speed advantage of having one. A good sail is nice, but it's not strictly necessary. A new sail is only worth the expense when you have stopped making some of the more obvious errors, which may take a few months. And because the sails are largely laminate they hold their shape extremely well (especially the older white ones). I often use a 2006 vintage sail held together by tape and it performs well still. (I recently measured it against a new sail and it had not stretched at all). I guess what we're saying is that 300s have their little issues like every other boat on the market. However, the hulls are pretty bullet-proof as Ruscoe says, they're epoxy and are not subject to rig loads so last really well. You don't need a new boat to go fast - boats in the early 300 numbers remain competitive. If you contact me via the yahoogroups forum (sign up at www.rs-association.com ) or the RS300 Class facebook page I'll drop you my contact details if you would like to chat things through. We'll also be at the Dinghy Show.
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Kev M
Far too distracted from work 
Joined: 05 Dec 11 Location: Landlocked Online Status: Offline Posts: 346 |
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Posted: 06 Jan 14 at 10:42pm |
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I was having a chat with one of the other club members I was on duty with on Sunday about 300s and it wasn't encouraging.
He had one a while back and was all doom and gloom about hulls cracking, masts cracking and booms falling apart. I knew about the leaky bit from Russ's post but didn't think that constituted full on cracking. Apparently it's not advisable to buy any RS over five years old because they all have the same flaws. I'm guessing the truth is somewhere in the middle which is fine, i just hate surprises and don't want to buy another boat that is going to cost me five hundred quid in repairs within twelve months again.
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Successfully confusing ambition with ability since 1980.
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tmoore
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Joined: 01 Nov 07 Location: Wales Online Status: Offline Posts: 880 |
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Posted: 26 Dec 13 at 2:13pm |
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Kev,
Boats are like houses, only worth what someone is willing to pay. Second hand 300's were £2.5 -3k when I bought my first one (365) in 2007. Resale values have historically been good on 300's because so few were made and demand is high.
No real difference between the new and old sails in terms of performance. Have heard that the newer (black) ones don't last quite as long but are 30% cheaper so to be expected. White sails are very tough, I used to use the original ones from 365 and 410 when I was club racing (10+ years old). As mentioned, they can split along the seams, particularly if you fall on them/ spike them with the tiller extension so it always nice to have a spare if you want to go to events. One thing I forgot, a carbon tiller extension is needed for the 300 as ally ones are much more heavier to flick around the back. Most 300's these already but if not then budget to make the change, just remember to let go if you miss the toe straps. . . |
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Landlocked in Africa
RS300 - 410 Firefly F517 - Nutshell Micro Magic RC yacht - Eclipse |
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