RS 21
RS Sailing · Jo Richards · 2018
Updated
The RS 21 is a 6.41 m planing racing yacht designed by Jo Richards and built by RS Sailing, first launched in 2018. It races in Sportboat.
Length
6.41 m
21′ 0″
Beam
2.22 m
Draft
1.34 m
Displacement
0.7 t
Sail area
24 m²
On the podium
Where a RS 21 finishes when she goes racing.
0
Wins
0
Seconds
0
Thirds
9
Starts
Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.
Read from 9 starts by 1 boat between 2024, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a RS 21 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Κύπελο Βορείου Αιγαίου & Πανελλήνιο Κύπελο Sportboat 2022024
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
—
Not enough data yet: 7 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 2 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a RS 21 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the RS 21 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.74
39°
Beam reach
9.13
90°
Broad reach
12.85
135°
Downwind VMG
9.35
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a broad reach in a strong breeze, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage downwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short to windward in light air, giving away time it never gets back. A planing hull rarely rewards a drifter: there is not enough pressure to get anything out of it.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 4.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots it gives away time on the upwind — the rating asks more than the boat returns.
How fast is a RS 21
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.00 | 4.11 | 4.62 | 4.74 |
| 52° | 4.58 | 5.90 | 6.54 | 7.06 |
| 60° | 4.83 | 6.07 | 6.79 | 7.59 |
| 75° | 4.98 | 6.27 | 7.20 | 8.61 |
| 90° | 5.33 | 6.73 | 7.80 | 9.13 |
| 110° | 5.40 | 7.01 | 8.78 | 11.27 |
| 120° | 5.26 | 6.88 | 8.83 | 12.66 |
| 135° | 4.74 | 6.42 | 8.02 | 12.85 |
| 150° | 4.01 | 5.82 | 6.99 | 10.79 |
| Run VMG | 3.47 | 5.05 | 6.06 | 9.35 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 330 kg.
Rigging
RS 21 rig and sail dimensions
A RS 21 carries 7.80 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.03 m boom, a forestay 7.45 m above the deck and a 3.35 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 7 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 37 to 40 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.