{"id":72370,"date":"2018-12-26T21:28:08","date_gmt":"2018-12-27T02:28:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=72370"},"modified":"2023-05-19T07:56:28","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T11:56:28","slug":"rs21-2019-keelboat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/sailboats\/rs21-2019-keelboat\/","title":{"rendered":"RS21: 2019 Keelboat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n RS21: 2019 Keelboat<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

A s finely crafted, enjoyable to sail and otherwise perfect as the RS21 may be, there is one problem. For it to become the next popular keelboat, yacht clubs and sailors beholden to ancient local fleets must step up and embrace change. Today, there is a better boat to set the hook deeper into these sailors, and that boat is the RS21. This a club racer first. A one-design second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the RS21 is a high-tolerance one-design keelboat, its list of potential uses is long. It\u2019s ideal for athletic match racers and team racers. It\u2019s a weeknight beer-can racing machine that comes from the factory fitted with all the hardware necessary to switch between asymmetric and symmetric spinnakers. RS Sailing promotes this 21-footer as a \u201cteam boat,\u201d meaning everyone can and will be involved in the sailing, and they\u2019re right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s elbow room for a crew of four or five, and the right amount of strings to pull. Jib-tack height is adjustable during setup, using a purchase system that\u2019s covered by a Velcro flap to prevent the spinnaker from snagging the forestay turnbuckle. The jib has hanks, and with the cutout foredeck, a less-than-nimble bowperson can easily go forward without fear of falling overboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a large recessed hatch, and when it\u2019s open, one can behold the beauty of the boat\u2019s cored vinylester laminate. The core material is recycled plastic that provides a noticeable amount of panel stiffness for its weight. It\u2019s not an excessively thick laminate, Tom Rich says, but it\u2019s solid to the tap test. Should the boat be totaled in an unforeseen disaster, it can be ground to bits and reused as material for the next boat. A Torqeedo battery is accessible through the foredeck hatch, and there\u2019s room to store rolled sails inside. There\u2019s even a pre-installed through-deck fitting for wiring mast-mounted electronics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Selden carbon rig (aluminum boom) is easy to tune from the turnbuckles, between races, as with other keelboats. Both the jib and main halyard exit from the mast and hook into fine-tune purchase systems, which allows draft adjustments on the fly and eliminates struggles common to horn cleats. The cunningham and vang are not led outboard, but each is reachable from the legs-in hike position. Jib leads are 2-to-1, with adjustment stops on short transverse tracks. All-in-all, the judges say the RS21\u2019s simple front-of-the-boat layout won\u2019t intimidate inexperienced crews, but the ability to easily play with sail shape will appeal to more advanced tweakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judges also agreed on one thing after several hours of sailing in midrange wind conditions: The boat is not dumbed down or too difficult. It will reward acute awareness of weight placement, an understanding of what mode is best for the moment and, of course, smooth boathandling. \u201cThe balance of the helm is really nice,\u201d Greg Stewart says. \u201cIt never wants to wipe out, and the [North] sails are good. It\u2019s built well, and I would recommend it to anyone. I\u2019m scratching my head to come up with anything wrong with it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"RS21\" <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n Block-and-tackle halyard adjustments at the base of the mast make fine-tune changes easy.<\/span>\n Walter Cooper<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

For efficient boathandling, control lines and sheet angles are good, and the center pod is an unexpected asset. Critics will pan the fiberglass structure and its \u201cgranny bar\u201d as ugly, but it does serve purposes, primarily to house the Torqeedo electric outboard when it\u2019s stowed and raised (when stowed, a fiberglass panel door lies flush to the hull). The pod also allows the RS21 to use a split mainsheet so one crewmember can take over from the helmsman. The stainless-steel grab provides an excellent balance point for the helmsman when crossing the boat, which senior club members will appreciate. The youngins\u2019, no doubt, will use it to put extra energy into every roll tack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RELATED: New Boat: RS 21<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cockpit ergonomics are excellent for a boat this size. There\u2019s comfortable upright sitting against lifelines, with beveled corners in the deck. \u201cIt\u2019s got the low freeboard, the reverse bow, the chamfers forward and the chine back aft, so it definitely has the look of a modern boat,\u201d Stewart says. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how stable it is. When we put four guys on one side deck and tried to heel it at the dock it barely moved. I felt that same stability when sailing. It feels like a big boat more than it does a dinghy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allen agrees, adding, \u201cI liked it a lot. All the adjustments and everything were handy at the mast, and the backstay and everything else were nicely led.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUpwind, when the crew weight is in the right spot, it makes a huge difference on the load on the helm,\u201d Allen says. It\u2019s like a Viper in that it has the same feel. But with the RS21, if you\u2019re racing it, you want to be dead flat or have a bit of weather heel. It has a fine groove, and when you\u2019re in it, you know it. Downwind sailing is easy with this thing when the leech-twist profiles match.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sailing it may be easy, but the true challenge, Rich says, will be selling a $40,000 boat to yacht clubs. \u201cIt\u2019s a problem with the demographics of the clubs themselves,\u201d he says. \u201cThe members who can afford these boats are older, perhaps too old for these types of boats. Is it too sporty or too wet for the 60-year-old member?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps, but it\u2019s right on target for next-generation members groomed in performance boats, so it\u2019s a question of whether senior members are willing to invest in the future of their club fleet by giving younger members a reason to belong, beyond the bar, the ballroom or the pool.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A boat to spark the next keelboat racing revival<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Dave Reed","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"20181226","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"160","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"The target market for the RS21 is club sailors and grassroots one-design racing, but it will make an excellent boat for match racing and team racing.","_yoast_wpseo_title":"RS21: 2019 Keelboat %%sep%% %%sitename%%","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"56VTB7CW2XGWKLWBGGD7IORTS4","arc_website_url":"rs21-2019-keelboat-year\/","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"right-sidebar-full-header","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_targeting":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[160],"tags":[173,1529,298,1045,164],"class_list":["post-72370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sailboats","tag-boat-of-the-year","tag-boat-of-the-year-2019","tag-keelboat","tag-rs-sailing","tag-sailboats"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}