The RS ''Elite'' class is a 24-foot

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

(7.3 m) class designed by

Phil Morrison Phil Morrison may refer to: * Phil Morrison (yacht designer) (born 1946), British yacht designer * Phil Morrison (director), American film and television director * Phil Morrison (driver) (born 1977), British race driver * Phil Morrison (baseba ...

. Built to meet the requirements of the Hayling Island Sailing Club, the class has a start at

Cowes Week Cowes Week ( ) is one of the longest-running regular regattas in the world. With 40 daily sailing races, up to 1,000 boats, and 8,000 competitors ranging from Olympic and world-class professionals to weekend sailors, it is the largest sailin ...

and events around the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Fleets can be found at the Royal Burnham Yacht Club in the UK, as well as at Falmouth,

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to ...

Cowes Cowes () is an English seaport town and civil parish on the Isle of Wight. Cowes is located on the west bank of the estuary of the River Medina, facing the smaller town of East Cowes on the east bank. The two towns are linked by the Cowes ...

Hayling Island Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, east of Portsmouth. History An Iron Age shrine in the north of Hayling Island was later developed into a Roman temple in the 1st c ...

and

Lymington Lymington is a port town on the west bank of the Lymington River on the Solent, in the New Forest district of Hampshire, England. It faces Yarmouth, Isle of Wight, to which there is a car ferry service operated by Wightlink. It is within the ...

. Outside the UK, the class can be found in locations such as the Caribbean, Guernsey, Holland, Norway and Sweden.

Performance and design

The RS ''Elite'' draws , and adheres to one-design principles. The keel is moulded on to vertical stainless-steel struts. The boat has a "long sloping transom" and almost parallel sides, a maximised waterline length, and the boat is designed for speed and control. For racing it is a ''no-

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A His ...

'' boat: crews’ knees must stay inside the boat at all times. There is a full-length alloy tube kickbar down the centreline of the boat, which occupants hook their feet under. The mast can be erected by hand and is made from carbon fibre. The non-overlapping

jib A jib is a triangular sail that sets ahead of the foremast of a sailing vessel. Its tack is fixed to the bowsprit, to the bows, or to the deck between the bowsprit and the foremost mast. Jibs and spinnakers are the two main types of headsail ...

is self-tacking on a single line, which is led to a 4:1 purchase. There is no crew weight limit, but the class rules specify that it must be sailed by between two and three crew members, although the number can be more or less than that with special dispensation from the race committee. In handicap racing the RS Elite sails off a

Portsmouth Yardstick The Portsmouth Yardstick (PY) or Portsmouth handicap scheme is a term used for a number of related systems of empirical handicapping used primarily in small sailboat racing. The handicap is applied to the time taken to sail any course, and the ha ...

of 938.

References

External links

* RS Sailing (Global HQ) - http://www.rssailing.com * International RS Classes Association (IRSCA) - http://irsca.rssailing.net * UK RS Association - http://www.rs-association.com * UK RS Elite Class Association - http://www.rselite.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Rs Sailing Keelboats Boats designed by Phil Morrison Sailboat types built by RS Sailing