So how are you supposed to choose your new boat colour....

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It is a fantastic boat that a lot of English manufacturers could learn from

[/ QUOTE ] Aren't there one or two contradictions in terms there?
 
Base boat is about £47k ex VAT or £55k inc VAT.

More expensive than an AWB, but then you're paying for engineering like the massive galvanised steel frame that takes and distributes the keel loads (just like an X-yacht).
 
Ah but that depends on what you've eaten, but reckon there is a colour there for whatever you eat! Just need to go for a Jackson pollock style /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Despite the high SA/D they are not tender because of their width which gives them very high form stability. I did a test sail on the RM1200 and I was really surprised how directionally stable they are and how they accelerate in the gusts without leaning.
 
Provided neither you, nor anyone else, will ever scratch it or expose it to UV then blue is very attractive.

If you cannot guarantee either of these then go for white. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Ugggh. Sorry, just changed my mind. Looks nice until you see the hard chine (just about tolerable) and then the twin keels (why why why????).

If you want shallow draft go lifting keel for god's sake.

Here's a sexy little boat (Young 8.4, kiwi design) that would sail the pants off the RM. The other day we were running deep with a gennaker on and in a gentle puff of wind (no more than 12-15 true) we accelerated effortlessley onto the plane and next thing the log was reading 11,12,13,14. Upwind she'll sail at windspeed i.e. in 7kts true we can beat at 7kts. Currently for sale here in NZ (by a friend who is moving abroad) for just NZD$50k! Includes bulb keel and carbon rotating wing mast. Now THAT'S an exciting boat.

Other similar designs exist with lifting keels too. So why go bilge, honestly?

wt_141.jpg


sailinga_186.jpg
 
Several reasons really.

1. Simple engineering robustness. The only lifting keel I would ever entertain grounding at any kind of speed would be the Feeling/Southerly/Ovni swing keel. Straight daggerboard keels are just too vulnerable. None of the above perform like an RM.

2. Taking the ground. You don't have to worry the nature of the surface, it just needs to be flat. Feeling/Southerly get around this by having a proper ground plate. On the Ovni, you just have to be prepared to touch up the bottom where it scratches or be even more vigilant with electrolysis.

3. Twin keels are angled out which means the leeward keel is vertical at around 10 degrees heel and therefore operating at maximum efficiency. This is why Open 60s have daggerboards like this. It's no coincidence that Marc Lombard is also one of the top Open 60 designers.

4. Small benefit of not having to mess about with lifting mechanisms to go shallow. I figured this means I'll use the benefits of the low draft more often.

5. For those boats that use straight daggerboards you usually need beaching legs. Yet more faffing around.

Having scoured the market the only other realistic alternative within a similar price range are the Ovni, but their smallest boat is now 36ft.

Chines are not to everyone's taste, particularly in photographs, but many David Thomas designed boats (eg. Hunters) that are built in GRP (therefore no need to have chines) have chines because of the performance/accomodation benefits they give. My old Hunter 707 was a classic example of this.

The other benefit of chines, that Ovni's rely on, is the additional directional stability they provide, particularly for beamy boats.

Anyway like all boats they are a compromise, I just find the RM compromise fits my needs better than any other boat on the market. "Wild Thing" looks exciting, but it's definitely not a cruising boat....


Note: Actually just realised that some of the other french makes eg Full Circle 's Jeanneau SO35 have a swing keel that retracts into a stub. Similar benefits to Feeling/Southerly approach I imagine, but main point being that it is swing keel, therefore better for hitting the putty.
 
Fair enough. I just have an aversion to grounding and believe that boats are meant to float and never intentionally touch the bottom. And that there is enough deep water in the world to achieve that OK, you might need to use your outboard to go ashore intead of rowing but in reality the difference between drawing 1.2m and 1.8m has never stopped me doing anything!

Anyway, enjoy the RM. When is delivery? I'll be interested to hear how you go.

And yes you are right WT is not really a cruising boat in her current guise although that could easily be changed. And you could actually now get her for NZD$45k (about GBP$17k) which seems a lot of boat (and fun) for the money!
 
To answer the question, find your local steel fab workshop or industral spray painter and he will have a ral colour chart.
 
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