#rs – After three years of development testing four different hull variations and numerous rig, foil and layout options, RS Sailing will unveil what could become one of the most important new sailboats of this era at the Suzuki RYA Dinghy Show in London – the RS Aero.
In many ways you can think of the RS Aero as a 21st century Laser – with the most fundamental difference being ultra-light weight. A full size single hander that, amazingly, weighs 30kg - the same as an Optimist.
Every dinghy sailor can imagine how that changes the game. Sail the boat and you quickly realise you underestimated it. From the exhilaration on the water, to the sheer user-friendliness ashore, the RS Aero re-sets preconceptions: The rush as the boat accelerates - the ability to carry it up the beach single-handed – the convenience of youths or small women lifting it onto a roof-rack with ease.
Ultra-light weight means the hull form and rigs need not be extreme, so the RS Aero is utterly exciting without being hard to handle. Wide structural gunwales give a dry ride and make the boat quick and safe to right from capsize.
A three rig system, as per the Laser, has been envisaged from the start to cover the desired sailor range – RS Aero 5 (youths) – RS Aero 7 (women & light men) – RS Aero 9 (men). Racing will be separate – indeed some variation in event programmes is likely, especially for the RS Aero 5. All spars are carbon fibre, with a common top mast and boom for all sails and radically different stiffness lower mast sections. The hull is so light that even the Aero 5 has a higher sail area to weight ratio than most existing single-handers and retains the Aero's incredibly dynamic feel.
Two v4 pre-production prototype boats will be on the RS Sailing stand at Alexandra Palace. Final stages of the development process are underway, with every aspect of this simple boat having been examined, developed and tested for functionality over fashion, minimal weight, maximum strength and manufacturing efficiency. Perhaps the most remarkable achievement of the RS Aero is that despite being half the weight, built using epoxy resin and significant amounts of carbon fibre in the hull and all-carbon spars, the price will be close to that of a Laser.
UK roll-out of the RS Aero will take place first and a demo tour begins immediately after the Show. Orders are now being taken with a special launch price available on the first 100 boats – over half of which have already been reserved.
All through development, the reaction has been similar: Sir Ben Ainslie sailed an early prototype soon after the 2012 Olympics. Slightly nervous about going afloat due to his still bad back, he then couldn't be coaxed ashore until his next commitment forced him in. Giovanni Belgrano, head of Emirates Team New Zealand's Technical Team, flew straight back from the America's Cup finals to his beach house in Gurnard, Isle of Wight, where RS Aero development sailing happened to be underway. A few hours later his smile was back and he ordered two boats.
From weekend warriors to discerning professionals, the RS Aero re-ignites passion for sailing in its purest, least complicated form. With RS Sailing's global distribution network, worldwide success seems assured.
