RS400 buyers tips

The 400 has a slot gasket: well worth checking before buying. Not a pricey thing to replace, but it is very fiddley and worth avoiding at this time of year!

Foil edges (like any boat) get hit on the bottom of lakes...

Sails: mains last 5 or 6 years at the top of the fleet (shroud wear needs protecting against). jibs about 2 years - but they are the cheapest to replace. Spinnakers: 1, 2, 3 or 4 years - it all depends how many reaches you need to hoist and drop on: windward / leeward courses are MUCH kinder for hoisting.

The decks used to have cracks in them: but kevlar(?) was added and these should be OK now (and all 4xx boats affected were upgraded). Floor where the crews are should be OK (unless the crew was particularly clumsy!). Floor where the helm is should be checked: but again, that would be OK if he / she is not too heavy.

Look at buying direct from LDC: great after-sales care and their prices are not very expensive. If you are lucky, you might get things like a nicely polished boat and a new rope pack, so when you bring your new craft to the club everyone will admire it!

Cheers, Chris

RS400 1288

Seen this a few times, this is usually a problem because the steel rod for the ram is at the wrong angle. basically the bush in the ali plate doesnt line up well with the hole in the deck. well that is one reson for the problem. if the ram seems stiff even without much load on the rig this is probably the case.

as for the masts breaking. there are new brackets for the spreaders to replace the turnbuckle types that use to seize up. dont offer any more support to the mast. the reason the masts break is that the main is eased too far downwind in stronger breezes. (with the help of a bit of corrosion). the end of the boom never really needs to be much further out than the gunwhale at the back of the boat.  this acts as a backstay. you use the kicker to twist and set the sail.