RS400 Vs B14?

   oh so you do take the kite down and pack it? we were wondering what to do when we capsize. haha
Havent sailed the B in a howler yet, i imagine its bloody fast.
The 400 is great in the breeze as its really easy to depower. we train and race in 30 knots and dont have any problems. where they are rounded and wide, as long as you enter the gybe with pace they are really easy to keep upright. upwind you just wind everything on (rig tension, kicker, cunningham, outhaul) drop the rig back and the boat becomes a dream in a sort of semi planing mode, its a joy.

as for light airs, the b seems actually quite comfortable, the trampoline things are like armchairs (probably not tight enough) and the crew can lie down, although mine does have a fair few compression marks on the foredeck. the 4 is sort of comfy if you are the helm, crap if you are the crew as you are squatting in round the mast under the kicker. the big plus is that it can roll gybe and tack far better than the B so that keeps the frustration levels down

the 4 is easy enough for the average size man to right

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Jamesd Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 01 Feb 08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 377	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jamesd Report Post Quote Reply Topic: RS400 Vs B14? Posted: 05 Jan 11 at 11:50pm
	oh so you do take the kite down and pack it? we were wondering what to do when we capsize. haha Havent sailed the B in a howler yet, i imagine its bloody fast. The 400 is great in the breeze as its really easy to depower. we train and race in 30 knots and dont have any problems. where they are rounded and wide, as long as you enter the gybe with pace they are really easy to keep upright. upwind you just wind everything on (rig tension, kicker, cunningham, outhaul) drop the rig back and the boat becomes a dream in a sort of semi planing mode, its a joy. as for light airs, the b seems actually quite comfortable, the trampoline things are like armchairs (probably not tight enough) and the crew can lie down, although mine does have a fair few compression marks on the foredeck. the 4 is sort of comfy if you are the helm, crap if you are the crew as you are squatting in round the mast under the kicker. the big plus is that it can roll gybe and tack far better than the B so that keeps the frustration levels down the 4 is easy enough for the average size man to right

alstorer Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 02 Aug 07 Location: Cambridge Online Status: Offline Posts: 2899	Post Options Post Reply Quote alstorer Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Jan 11 at 9:20pm
	The B is a bit of an odd one. In really light airs the crew goes forward- the foredeck is pretty strong (or reinforced, in the case of older boats)- many is the time I've trimmed the spinnaker whilst flat on my back with my head near the bow, which is surprisingly comfy. Goes fairly well too- certainly better than a lot of twin-string boats do. Becomes a work-out for crews in marginal/gusty conditions- when the helm can't hike it flat themselves, basically. Righting after a spinnaker-fueled capsize is a bit of a faff- if there's ever a time that the lack of a sock and downhaul is really a drawback, it is then. The submerged wing helps slow down inversion a little bit, and the board is pretty easy to climb onto. If you go over upwind it can be pretty easy for the crew to get onto the board directly- and at Thorpe Bay this year I managed it on a downwind capsize- we dug the nose in so hard* we nearly went over it, causing me to bounce/slide forward. First person there packs the spinnaker away, and then it's an easy scoop into a flat open transom cockpit. *not a normal occurrence- we were trying an impossibly tight reach from the leeward gate to the finish. Onlookers were somewhat relieved when we did capsize, as they though the mast/spinnaker pole/foredeck/whole boat was going to break... good times.
	-_ Al

funtimesailor Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 05 Jan 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote funtimesailor Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Jan 11 at 7:52pm
	What are both boats like in a breeze or a light airs? How easy are each at righting after a capsize?

Jamesd Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Far too distracted from work Joined: 01 Feb 08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 377	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jamesd Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Jan 11 at 5:00pm
	I have both :) We have only just got a B, we wanted a new challenge from the 400 but to keep the 'grunt' aspect of the 400. and the B was the obvious choice (we also wanted to take it to mr craig but he sold his just before we bought ours :( never mind). having never sailed one (nick craig offered to lend us his for a weekend but we didnt bother) we decided to go for a cheap one to see if we liked it. We bought one with a carbon stick (pretty essential to be competitive i reckon) for 1400 quid which i thought was a bloody steal! dont think the hulls particularly good but its ok to learn in and i have no idea how to rig it as it came unrigged. however its actually quite an easy boat to sail, but we have sailed 4s at a reasonable level so i guess its quite an easy transition. they are noticably faster than the 400, so good fun in that aspect, however im not a speed freak and i still prefer the close tactical racing that the 400 provides. the two downsides that i can see are that with the B, the crew does everything so they do have to know what they are doing whereas with the 400 you can pretty much drag anyone along and the daggerboard does make sailing near a beach arse clenching. The 400 is a great boat and really good to sail. the fleet racing is great with brilliant competition and also they are one of those boats that you dont have to look hard to find someone to race which is great.you can get a 4 for about 2-6 grand but i think about 4-5 is good if you want to be competitive outside of club racing. the B are either cheap (2 grand) or expensive (6 grand). The 400 has a great bunch of people sailing them but from what ive seen of the Bs they seem great and helpful. IMHO if you want a great boat for blasting up and down the B is a super boat for the job, if you want slower but more tactical, close racing id go for the 400. I personally favour the 400.

funtimesailor Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 05 Jan 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote funtimesailor Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Jan 11 at 1:09pm
	currently based down Penzance but will be relocating (somewhere) near/on the east coast. i would love to race competativly. fleet size isnt an issue as long as its a good group of people. but to start with some club sailing and idealy on the sea. thanks for the advice so far!

RS400atC Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 04 Dec 08 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3011	Post Options Post Reply Quote RS400atC Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Jan 11 at 12:07pm
	Perhaps the major difference between the two is the size of the kite, an extra 10sqm on the B14. The B14 looks a lot of fun, but I think its going to require serious crew commitment, whereas a lot of club RS400 sailors do fine with whatever crew they can get on the day. I sail the RS400 mostly with my wife at club level, I don't think we would cope with a B14, but if I were teaming up with a younger stronger person I'd love one! There is also the issue that the B is a dagger board which can be a problem where I race, not just launching but finding the tide is a bit lower than you thought halfway down a kite leg! Whichever you go for, you really want to be racing one design as much as possible IMHO, you will learn to get the most out of the boat much quicker. I would go for whichever I felt I was going to fit into a local fleet better, it's the people you race as well as the boats. On that basis I would consider other boats if the fleet was better locally eg Laser 4000 perhaps. Some bargains around in RS400's lately, be aware there is a vote pending regarding updating the sails a little, but this should not influence things much.

alstorer Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 02 Aug 07 Location: Cambridge Online Status: Offline Posts: 2899	Post Options Post Reply Quote alstorer Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Jan 11 at 11:26am
	Where do you sail, and what do you want from the boat? I'm biased towards the b14 (and I'm sure if you head over to the class association forum a test sail can be arranged), but if you're after big single-class fleet racing, or race on a small pond, the RS400 is perhaps more suitable.
	-_ Al

winging it Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 22 Mar 07 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3958	Post Options Post Reply Quote winging it Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Jan 11 at 10:59am
	the RS400 slides under Hunts pn cutoff like a stealth bomber, and suits the pit reasonably well, but given the choice I'd be sailing a B14 at Grafham.
	the same, but different...

chrisg Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 23 Mar 07 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 893	Post Options Post Reply Quote chrisg Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Jan 11 at 10:46am
	I had the same question about a year and a half ago. Depends what you want from the boat, where you sailand who you sail with really. I chose the B14, but thats not to say the 400 isnt a great boat, with a big following and excellent class racing!

funtimesailor Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 05 Jan 11 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote funtimesailor Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 05 Jan 11 at 10:44am
	Im looking at getting back into sailing and the two boats i like the look of are the B14 and the RS400. So the question is which one would you own? Cheers!