RS500 (Again)

"Did you want to change it back to the V3000 forum then. "

  We're all guilty of the occassional bit of promotion aren't we.

Really, though, I think it's nice that LDC take such an interest in the forum.  It means they're reading the comments (favourable and otherwise) of non RS owners too!

.. but it was starting to look like LDC were running it.

I specifically asked Riki for a response to my question so I don't think RS can be accused of 'muscling' in there. Looking back it seems to me that RS in the form of Riki mostly just responds to questions / enquiries. I'm glad that they're paying attention. Even so, they often they leave it to others i.e. The question asking about the location of the demo centre wasn't answered by them. (Unless of course they are posting using other names which would be misleading and I hope theyre not doing that).

I guess there's a fine line between regular posting and being seen to hijack the thread - I'd certainly not want to do that.

Of course the contents of these forums are important to us - as I write this, this thread has been viewed over 9000 times, albeit perhaps by a fraction of that number of unique visitors, but nonetheless its important to me that whats written about is true, fair and accurate. Theres always rough with the smooth, but we can take that on the chin, the frustration comes through posts from un-informed or inexperienced posters who pass a very public judgement about things which they don't fully understand. Thats their perogative, but also ours to respond aswell. You're right though Hector, theres some wise owls on patrol here, so these things tend to be self regulating. However we know for a fact that nearly all of our customers research their purchase online before committing, so you can bet your bottom that a good proportion of RS500 buyers will have trawled through this thread during their research. For this reason, we take it a little more seriously than most others on here!

From my perspective I read the forum because I love sailboats and all the things that go with it. I'm a fanatic just like you. Not with any hidden agenda or wearing a marketing hat. I do, of course, love RS boats and all that they stand for, so I'll always be totally biased

Happy to answer any question or query regarding our boats.. hopefully without being seen as 'muscling'!

I had my first sail in a 500 today and have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The rig feels to stiff (but i do currently sail a 29er) and the boat felt a little heavy in the water compared to the V3000 we were racing against but otherwise it had a lot going for it. Nice and stable, comfortable to sail and everything worked fine.  

Performance wise it seemed to be pretty much the same as the V3000 in the F2-3 that we were racing in. It pointed slightly better and the larger sail plan helped when the wind died but the lighter weight and more response rig of the V helped it in the puffs. Net result after a 2 1/5hr race round the cans on the River Medway was that we would have crossed the line together if Tony hadn’t chosen to drop it 10yrds from the line. It was a good fun race though!

Any way the point of the post. What sort of crew weight are people currently sailing the 500 at. Hannah and I are 120kg between us and although we feel perfect in the 29er we felt as though we would struggle in the 500 in a good F4-5 and up. We were fully powered up today and although I’m sure it will depower nicely it’s a lot of sail for small people and the rig just doesn’t feel that responsive!

Ian

Im not planning on switching as such. The 29er is still just about as close to our perfect boat as is currently available and the 500 falls short in a lot of areas.

Nowhere near as responsive in any respect.
Heavy both in terms of sailing sensation and dragging it up the beach afterwards
Much slower
Plus several things were annoying, battened jib getting caught on mast, everything getting caught on kicker turret, Cunningham a pain to reach for both hem and crew

However

It was more comfortable, I’m not getting any younger.
Having a cleat for the main made it easier for me (Hannah still doesn’t like playing the main)
I suspect the fleet has an average that is in double figures making opens more appealing
Centre board made launch / recovery and weed clearing during a race a doddle, especially as it is so stable... and being able to lift the board slightly also made two sail reaches nicer

Plus our 29er needs new sails and we could buy a nearly new 500 for the same money (as in our boat plus the cost of the sails)

But the real reason for the question was I’m just curious.

Ian