A bigger boy's foiling toy

The RS 600 begins a foil-borne resurrection . Paul Larsen reports from wintry Weymouth

Now that winter is officially upon us and Sailrocket is tucked away we had the pleasure of watching another Portland Harbour metamorphosis.

Linton Jenkins and the guys at Full Force have commenced a one month trial period for the new foiling RS 600. By all accounts and as can be seen here… it went pretty well.

Conditions were very marginal with only 6-8 knots of wind and not a knot more.

Talented local foiler and Moth National Champion Sam Pascoe took the helm and ‘popped’ her straight up. The RS appeared to sail extremely well with pretty much out of the box settings. Mind you, Sam can have a knack of making difficult manoeuvres seem pretty simple. Getting up on the foils in such light conditions is a very subtle endeavour. Just watch the end of the video (see below) when he sails out of the sun past the camera. It’s a progressive changing of gears involving weight placement, steering, sheeting and heel. A knot or two more wind would make it all the more effortless.

The RS 600 looked like an ideal platform which appeared well balanced and suited to ‘flying’ with a slightly longer ‘wheel base’ than a Moth and progressive change from non-foiling to foiling due to its relatively long, slippery hull shape.

The concept is fantastic. It is a clear demonstration of how other classes and yachting in general can benefit from developmental classes. The system seen here on the RS600 is a direct descendant of those developed on the foiling Moths. They are of course a bit bigger in area and much stronger for the heavier craft and anticipated sailors. The fact that at this stage the idea is to make them a ‘one-design’ set of foils is also a bonus as they can be made strong and with a sense of serving as good all-rounders. Another progression will be that the production version will have the ability to be raised and lowered from onboard making launching a lot easier. Currently most foilers are carried into the water on their side.

The bottom dropped out of the RS 600 market with the advent of the RS700 and the Musto Skiff but this will most likely revive interest in the class and especially the second hand market. The boat seen here was bought for approx £1,100 and the foil set will retail somewhere around £2K depending on what is discovered during the trial period.

That makes pretty outstanding bang for buck. Less than half the cost of a Moth in fact. Think about it… in this day and age you just don’t get a boat of this calibre sporting the latest trends for anywhere near this sort of price. Having witnessed first hand the rapid progression of the Moth boats and sailors I’m pretty sure that the 700 and Skiff guys and girls are going to have something to think about… in the shape of a rapidly shrinking RS 600 transom.

It will be an interesting class to watch as the tail will be wagging the dog and the class will be driven by an aftermarket manufacturer. Although RS will probably not sell many new boats initially, they will still be supplying parts and sails. The secondhand boats will become attractive no doubt but if the class begins to grow then that market may dry up a little. Mind you, about 400 were built so that could take some time.

The 600 looked great on foils and with its low freeboard and light weight it is as if this union was meant to be. Once up, the foils make a pretty boat look even better. It’s a very sleek package perhaps even elegant.

Linton is very aware of the perils of launching a product before it is ready and while he is keen to get the foils out there he knows the value of a good trial period will be handed on when the final product goes out the door.

This is a boat that the dinghy world needs. The Moth is a fantastic trail blazing craft but it’s also a very fragile, tweaky and ever moving target design wise. Although on a performance basis the Moth is still relatively cheap, it’s a pretty expensive proposition next to what we may be witnessing here. If you want to get Moth-style thrills and skiff beating performance in a robust, one design package at a fraction of the cost then look no further.

There won't be any at the Boat Show either as there isn’t the need to support a manufacturer and all the costs that need to be recouped in the launch of a totally new design. That expense was recovered by RS years ago...

I ask you… from a sailors perspective…what’s not to like about what’s going on here? I hope the sailors appreciate this opportunity and not only take, but maintain the opportunity that this class can offer. Performance doesn’t need to cost the earth. Enjoy the boat, enjoy the thrills and keep it cheap.

Recycling can work you know!

Paul.

See the video of this baby fly - here
To read more about SailRocket - click here
To contant Linton Jenkins - click here