Earlier in the year, RS Sailing promised that they would "drip feed" us videos of the RS Aero. I had never hear of this concept of "drip feed marketing" before, but I guess it makes sense as they ramp up production to meet the customer demand for Aeros. Keeps all of us interested through the months we are waiting for the boats better than a dump of all the information at the launch would do. I guess.
True to their promise, RS Sailing released a video about the sails of the RS Aero today, over two months after their previous spotlight video on foils.
Jo Richards, the designer of the Aero, explained some of the thinking behind the design of the RS Aero sails and talked about the roles of the three different rigs, the RS Aero 5, 7 and 9.
Key points….
Three rigs for sailors of different weights and for different conditions. But no hard and fast rule about if you are this weight you need this rig.
Having said that the suggested match of rigs to sailors is...
RS Aero 5 - kids from 77-120 lbs
RS Aero 7 - 120-170 lbs
RS Aero 9 - 165-220 lbs.
Dacron is better than Mylar for an unstayed carbon rig that has a lot of difference in bend in different conditions and different points of sail because it stretches better to accommodate the different mast bends.
Sails are about a square meter more area for a boat of this size than you might expect. It's comfortable to sail upwind but the extra sail area and lighter hull weight give "electric" downwind performance.Hmmm.
As someone who fluctuates in the 190-210lb range, it sounds as if RS Sailing would definitely recommend a 9 rig for me.
What else?
Wonder when we will get the next drip feed?
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
6 comments:
Correction: the video says 165 - 220 lbs for the 9, so the overlap is only 5 lbs. Which is right where I happen to fall. Don't really want to have to splurge for two rigs, but I guess it would be nice to have options.
The overlap is because it doesn't always come down to weight. As a Laser sailor you will know well that fitness plays a big part. :)
Well spotted Chris. Have corrected my original mistake that said the lower end of the weight range was 155lbs.
Good point Bruce. I think it may still be true that someone as heavy and unfit as me would be better off in an RS Aero 7 in stronger winds.
I would be leaning towards the D-Zero if I was looking at changing from a laser to a new class.
Tell us more Anonymous. What do you see as the main advantages of the D-Zero over the RS Aero? And, by the way, do you know if the D-Zero is going to be available in North America?
I also have same question as Tillerman what's the main advantage of D-zero over RS-AERO.
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