Comparison- Rs400 and 59er experience

Originally posted by tgruitt 59er because 400's are complete dogs to sail, so there!

good job in the cherub BTW!

You a light weight peron though?

I wouldn't say the 400 is a dog, just an old fashioned design and build with a pole stuck on the front. Good OD racing.

I can't comment on the 59er as Ive never sailed one, so I feel abit left out on this thread. But I can confirm that the 400 is NOT a 'dog' to sail....you just need to be agressive on the bearing away (much more than Im used, and definately more than Cherubs).

The 400 in my mind fills the Merlins weak spots admirably and deserves its position as the number one heavy weight SMOD hike out boat of the last 10 years.

Originally posted by damp_freddie Originally posted by tgruitt 59er because 400's are complete dogs to sail, so there! good job in the cherub BTW! You a light weight peron though? I wouldn't say the 400 is a dog, just an old fashioned design and build with a pole stuck on the front. Good OD racing.

 

Not lightweight, about 12 stone actually!

I usually crew a Cheub and a Merlin and after sailing the RS400 I am glad I sail a Merlin, the 400 is no where near as good as a merlin. Anyway i digress. 59ers are good fun and make me smile, 400's make me grimace due to rubbishly painful decks and stupid jib sheets that are behind you when you tack! Who designed that!

Having sailed both boats. i think they are both very nice boats to sail. I dont see what tgruitt is saying at all the 400 is a very comfotable boat to hike out of and the jib sheets being behind you is easy enough to get used to infact i dont understand why other boats arent like that its easier! A well set up 400 is an absolute dream to sail. does nothing wrong helm is completeley light (my helm regularly let go off it to prove this). One point mr damp you say you were feathering it in the gust that is not the fastest way to sail them at all! keeping it flat and playing the main lots is by far the fastest!
The 59er is certainly a little livelier but it is a skiff! I have sailed it in light and windy (and gusty conditions) and i think it wld provide good racing in a fleet but not as close as the 400 which has some of the best sailing arround.

Hi Calum-

I can actually say I did a travellors just along the road from you at DBSC c1999-2000. Bit funny in wind agin'  tide ISTR and some nasty hard bits just under the surface! But lovely views in your area and some top sailors.

Anyway, it was the biggest travellor I had been at, sailing at L&Lsc's 'muddy puddle' before. Some good teams headed up, others played out low and fast.

It is (despite your other observation on a different thread) a displacement boat up wind and will have good VMG taking the apparent lift rather than pushing water, or going lower, out of the wave form to plane. All this is no bad thing in a well produced OD.

I won a club race with some chap who had a top ten overall as crew at the previous years nat's and he just hiked like a soling and told me to pinch in the gusts. We trucked the other 400s.

Actually a more relevant-interesting comparison would be RS400 to MRX.

any chat on that one?





Edited by damp_freddie