Hi all, as I am negotiating to get rl34 I would like to hear some comments regarding this boat. I planing to sail from Sydney to Brisbane. Is it possible to sail solo, any good Anchorage along the way as she has swing keel so it's possible to come close to shore.
Good yacht, well built. Of course you would have looked through the rlyachts.net site for details;
www.rlyachts.net/index34.asp
www.rlyachts.net/tips-RL34.asp
Also
sailboatdata.com/sailboat/rl-34
www.facebook.com/groups/1221397887928902
Would do a complete service on the swing keel and its mechanism before your trip - unless the seller has soundly done this recently.
For Syd-Bris see here;
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/Passage-Planning-Sydney-to-Brisbane?page=1
We sailed an RL34 (Calypso) in the Gippsland Lakes for several years, so only have experience in sheltered water. As r13 says, they are a good boat although ours would not point very high into the wind. I'm not sure if this was a rig or design issue (or my lack of skill). I found it OK to sail single-handed but 2 up, with 1 of my young sons on the jib sheets, was fun.
Some things that might help based on our experience. Calypso had a furling headsail and this definitely made single-handing easier. She was quite tender and sometimes we found ourselves heeled right over when hit by gusts, before someone could ease the main sheet. She also had a very rudimentary, clumsy reefing system that made reefing the main a slow process. Setting up a good reefing system with lines back to the cockpit would make single-handing more pleasant. She was wheel steering and the area behind the wheel was cramped and uncomfortable after a few hours. Some kind of self-steering, either wind vane or autohelm, would again make single-handing more enjoyable. All that aside, the ability to lift the keel, nose up onto a beach and step off into a couple of inches of water is great.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Kinora
