3. MAINTENANCE
3.1 Boat Care.
The RS Elite is made using infused polyester, glass and cormatt sandwich laminate. The boat should be
supported ashore on a recognised RS road trailer or moored safely and correctly on the water.
The RS Elite comes with two coats of antifouling paint already applied. It works well but will become fouled
in still water, especially in the summer months. It can be easily remover by scrubbing the hull with a sponge
or soft brush. Harsh scrubbing will damage the antifouling finish and reduce its effectiveness.
The RS Elite is designed to be self-draining through the bailers on either side of the cockpit. It is import that
these are kept clear, especially if the yacht is on a mooring, as it will allow the rainwater to run out and not
swamp it.
Keep your yacht drained.
Wash with fresh water.
Fresh water evaporates far more quickly than salt water; so if your RS Elite has been sailed in salt water wash
it off thoroughly. The fittings will also work better if regularly washed.
Hull damage falls into three categories:
SERIOUS – large hole, split, crack or worse. Don’t be too distressed! Get the remnants back to RS Racing –
most problems can be repaired.
MEDIUM – small hole or split, gel crazing. If this occurs during an event, sailing can often be continued as
long as leaking can be prevented by drying the area and applying strong adhesive tape.
CAUTION – if the damage is close to a heavily loaded point then a close
examination should be made to ensure joints and laminate are fit for the prevailing conditions.
Get the damage professionally repaired as soon as possible.
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SMALL – chips, scratching. This type of damage is not boat threatening, particularly as the boat is
built using epoxy, and therefore allows virtually no water absorption into the laminate. The owner,
using the correct RS gel coat, can repair this type of damage.
3.2 Keel and Rudder care.
The rudder is GRP with a foam core. It has two coats of antifouling on it so should be treated the same as the
hull.