A fortnight ago, the first boat in the new design was delivered to Brombachsee in the south of Nuremberg. "The hull weighs around a quarter less than before, while the construction is stronger," says shipyard manager Christian Schepers.
This benefits not least the sailing characteristics. Because some of the weight saved is transferred to the lead keel as additional ballast, the rigidity is also increased. In the absence of class regulations, the shipyard had a free hand in the modification. As new moulds were necessary anyway, the yacht manufacturer from Nettetal on the Lower Rhine also increased the deck step and the very low freeboard to 40 centimetres.
Despite the measures, the lines of the RW 9.9 remain beguilingly classic. In fact, the lines resemble those of an L-boat (see class portrait in YACHT classic 1-2015). Shipyard founder Rolf Wefers had previously described the 9.9 as a modern version of the inland keeler - and connoisseurs suspect that a disused L-boat was once the inspiration for the construction of the first mould.
Originally, the RW 9.9 was laminated with polyester resin using the hand lay-up method. From now on, however, all future boats will be built using vacuum infusion - except for the deck and cockpit, which are of course still planned as the finest woodwork. The base price for the 9.9 in epoxy construction is 59,800 euros - 3,000 euros more than before.
Information about the shipyard can be found here , to RW 9.9 here. And if you have the new YACHT 18 in front of you (on newsstands from Wednesday, 19 August): The cover picture also shows a boat from RWN, the RW 29 S.
Jochen Rieker
Herausgeber YACHT
