You have dusted off your RS boat, Wednesday evening racing is back in full swing and you are looking forward to the summer of racing ahead. What better time to turn your attention to regatta prep for your RS boat?
Lets keep the water where it should be!
It is always worth checking and changing your bung and hatch sealing ring as these are service items and won’t last the lifetime of your boat. You will be surprised by the amount of water a leaky hatch ring or bung can let in, particularly when you consider your body weight moving around on the cockpit forcing air in and out of any leak points. The weight lifting from the cockpit floor sucks water in through a leak point!
Don’t let a UJ wreck your day!
For such a small piece of kit a universal joint can cause a lot of disruption to your day if it snaps on the water. Bend and move the tiller extension around to check if there are any splits or cracks forming. If you see some forming it’s worth changing the universal joint and if not, it’s a must have in the tool box as a spare!
Don’t be letter’d down missing your country code!
Are you heading to an international championship this summer? You will need to make sure that you get your sail letters purchased and stuck on early. RS Tera, RS Feva and RS Aero will use 230mm Sail letters and the RS Aero 7 & 9 will use 300mm letters.
Spinnaker Pole System
Worn blocks in the spinnaker system can scupper slick hoists and drops, these are particularly difficult to diagnose when concealed under a foredeck or spinnaker chutes, so it is worthwhile checking before arriving at your championships this summer, if you are in any doubt how the system works please just give us a shout.
Halyards
Equally devastating to your race can be a halyard failure or control line break, give these a good visual check, paying particular attention to areas which are commonly in cleats and look for any wear area around the cleated section. If you have a enough spare move your knots so the rope is cleating on a nice fresh part of the rope, if you are in any doubt replace your halyard and control lines with signs of wear for peace of mind.
Check out the RS Sailing Store for all of your pre-event preparation needs!
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