Warning! This will not only be one of the longer articles (maybe I should have published it on the weekend for „your long Sunday´s read) but this could as well trigger some serious buying-itches if you are looking for a compact, yet spacious, luxurious yet high-performing, family yet single handed sailing capable dream yacht. Because, frankly: The RM 1180 combines all of those demands – plus, she is a damn beautiful looking modern yacht! It´s around 9 a.m. yesterday as I walk down the pontoon in Kiel Schilksee marina, yes, that´s the one marina that had been hit the hardest during this year´s heavy storm. Being rebuild and upgraded with a higher breakwater (among other things) it was good to see this harbor restored to its full glory.
Kiel Schilksee, the former Olympic harbor of 1972, is full of interesting sailboats (and you may be happy to read that in the coming weeks there will be another full fledged sea trial of another very interesting yacht published, starting exactly from this location). But the RM 1180, our boat for today, is visible instantly from afar: It´s an RM specialty to have their boats painted in the most colorful way, many of which feature so extravagant colors like bright lemon-yellow, screaming green that would make look a Granny Smith apple pale or – as in our case – a wonderful strong blue. Which, after arriving at the boat and greeting her owner, is the motto of this yacht anyway: eAU POINT, the ship´s name, which at the same time is a nice little, clever pun exactly „on point“ with what this boat is all about.
RM 1180 – an old acquaintance of mine
I´m not a newbie aboard an RM. These yachts have fascinated me since I joined the business some 8 years ago. The shipyard in La Rochelle was among the first I´ve visited and also the designer of the boat, sadly recently deceased, legendary Marc Lombard. This particular yacht has been delivered almost two years ago. Which was a great surprise for me because she looked absolutely gorgeous – if the owner wouldn´t have told me, I couldn´t tell the age. Anyway, still considered new, we boarded the beauty and I found myself at home quickly.
For me it is customary to look around aboard, especially to check out how the boat is sailed. That´s the layout of the winches, the running rigging and steering of course. In this, instantly, the RM 1180 is different from the classic sailing yachts made for cruising. The positions of the winches, all lines and the clavier of clamps is unique. Aboard the RM 1180 there is a strict separation of steering and sails trimming. You can clearly see on the pictures that all four winches and every single rope are diverted to a central trimming position. Something we will be checking out later on the water.
The RM 1180, build by a small/medium-sized shipyard, can be outfitted adhering to many individual wishes and demand by the owners. In the case of eAU POINT, the most apparent of these wishes can be seen right there after boarding the boat: The cockpit area is empty. Like a dancefloor, the wide open space of the yacht, which comes with a significant width of just under 4.40 meters, is even more apparent and visible without a cockpit table fitted. Ex works buyers of a such a boat can choose between a permanent table, a removable option or – as in case of this yachts – without any table at all. We will later see how many advantages this is bringing to sailing the boat and roaming about – certainly an interesting choice also in case of my own new boat that I am currently having built: I won´t have a cockpit table neither permanently fitted nor removable as well. But back to the RM.
I board the boat and get acquainted with the localities, do a bit small talk with the owner and the dealer, Nils Schürg of Blue Yachting Bremen who sold this yacht two years ago. The owner is a very tall guy, which is a bit intimidating by the looks but has a very welcoming and charming attitude. I feel at home and welcome instantly. What really surprises me is the absolute cleanliness of the yacht. She looks like she had been delivered some weeks ago. Especially under deck, where of course some private decorations had been set up by the owner family, but compared to so many other boats, this is one of the tidiest yachts I´ve ever visited. A bit later a team of three journalists of the Palstek, a German boating magazine, arrived at last and we were able to finally cast off.
Sails up, ho! RM 1180 under canvas
The RM 1180 is an impressive boat although her bare numbers don´t appear all too big: With 39 feet length overall, which is 11.80 meters as her name suggests, she has a beam of 4.37 meters. Compared to other 40-footers that is quite something: The Oceanis 40.1 has „just“ 4.18 meters and even the new Hanse 410 measures 4.29 meters. This makes her a chunky lady when negotiating narrow marinas – I will come back to this later. The owner maneuvers her with ease out of her berth and after a few minutes we wind ourselves outside Schilksee: Ready to hoist the canvas!
Our boat sports quite an impressive rigg. Her mast is a beautiful carbon-option off the price list. The big rod is made by Z-Spars and the two pairs of distinctively aft pointing spreaders (in heavy winds and much waves assisted by Dyneema backstays) are yelling „I´m a performer!“ at any potential contender. This also goes for the sails: eAU POINT carries a deep black performance laminate cloth, of which the mainsail we hoist at first.
What instantly surprises me, but it really shouldn´t, is how easy I can pull up the main. Apparently, this guy knows about real sailing and had invested in high grade mast sliders. None of the winches are electrified and this might cause a bit of frowning, but there is really no need to have one. I get up the main sail by just pulling the halyard, no winching is needed. This speaks for itself.
Wind is yet to pick up some speed. As we kill the engine after getting up the main there are merely 4 knots of true wind, the boat is more drifting in a conrolled manner than it is sailing. We talk a bit about which one of the light wind sails othe owner should get on deck – Code 0 or Gennaker – but making a wish and thinking of nice pictures I asked for the latter. The bright Gennaker colors should match this qonderful clear summer sky the most. He aggres and just minutes later the big blue blister unfolds in the wind.
A rhapsody in blue …
It´s always such a great feeling seeing a Gennaker fly! Nils steams around the boat in the rib, ready to take on us photographers to take some awesome pictures. And as the other guys are busy documenting the yacht´s interiors, I take my chance and jump over to Nils. He carries me all around the RM 1180 and I take pictures like it was my last chance to see her. 187 pictures I will have taken from her under Gennaker alone! And hell, this is truly a rhapsody in blue! Which, by chance, fits so nicely my last article …
RM´s specialy design-wise has always been a very own taste for balance, a very own sheerline and form of the coachroof. Not as overly pronounced like you can see it in the Wauquiez Pilot Saloon 42 for example, RM always keeps a lower profile but has strong references to the classic pilot saloon or raised saloon-boats. Marc Lombard – rest in peace, my friend! – has done a marvellous job balancing this boat. Her relatively high freeboard is nicely covered up by the rising sheerline – like a Puma ready to jump.
Suddenly, I am adjusting something on my camera, Nils yells, puts the lever to „full“ and the rib jumps to speed. „Look at this!“, he joyfully screams against the Yamaha outboard engine: „Just look at this!“ And there she goes: A nice little puff of wind has suddenly appeared, filles the sails and at an instant the boat heels a bit over but at the same time gains speed. It is fascinating to see, like a drag-race in the seas. How much does she weigh? 7.7 tons says the website. For an almost-40-footer full fledged cruising yacht, this is awesome!
Sailing the RM 1180
I get back aboard, now that wind is coming, I want to feel her at the helm with my own hands. The Gennaker is taken down thanks to the socket, quickly the overlapping Genoa unfurls. It´s still not an overwhelmingly great wind, but still. A breeze of 10 to 13 knost (and building) is enough for the boat to show some of ist potential.
Being a performance oriented sailor, our owner decided to go for some very high grade sails cloth. The garments are racing laminates, custom made by Bryt Sails, a sailmaker and thoroughbred sailor himself since 1980, based in Poland. I cannot see any faults or signs of „cheapness“, apparently, these guys know what they are doing. Once the full canvas is set, the RM 1180 heels and we head out into Kiel Bay area.
As the other journalists are steering, I take a closer look to the before mentioned special winch and running rigging layout of this boat. All lines are diverted back into the cockpit, there is no need to leave this area. A plus of safety in bad weather or high seas. But more than this: All of the lines are worked upon on one single location. Set underneath the lare sprayhood, centrally located right at the entryway down, this is the place for the sails trimmer.
Running through the jammers, you can pick up any line, be it a halyard, any sheet, reef or outhaul, put it on one of the four winches and take it in or let ot go at will. It´s a bit unusual as most winches are placed nowadays either far abaft at the helm stations so that the helmsman (sailing alone or being the only sailor aboard) can trim or, more classy, the winches are fitted onto the coamings along the full length of the cockpit.
Not so on the RM 1180. A hint to what the use-case of this yacht is meant to be. A couple´s vacational dream yacht. Two people working the boat, running the business. As a team. Regarding the winch and rope layout, this really pays off. As we do some tacks, first the owner, then myself as well, demonstrate how easy tacking and changing the sheets is. No hectic, no running from left to right. It´s really fun! And so clever. Plus: When there´s really shitty weather, any tack worked from the protection of the sprayhood is a great plus, and also very safe in foul weather.
At the helm
Wind picks up some more speed. In a 13 knots breeze the yacht clocks out at 5, 6 knots. Remember, the boat is fully loaded and currently carrying six adults and one kid (I´ve brought my little son). As much as I liked the winch poistions for the trimmer, as much I apprciate the helmsman´s working place. View and sight over the deck of the RM 1180 is exemplary. Even through the large sprayhood we have no problems observing the other sailboats.
Sitting outside on the coamings the view of the helmsman onto any impostant part of the boat is free: Observing the tell tales, the Windex high above and also traffic in front of the yacht is great even when sitting. As the boat glides on, there are seldom corrections on the wheels needed. The wheels by the way are something special …
Onthe RM 1180 the black anodized (?) aluminium Goiot wheels are a true beauty to look at. The owner tells me that at first the shipyard had indvertently delivered the optional (and more expensive) Carbonautica composite wheels but the owner had already fallen in love with those aluminium wheels. Which are not only cheaper but also standard on the RM. Regarding the wheels, the feeling of the material is very nice, the ouside is a rubber-like material for better grip.
Standing behind the wheel, I get a feeling for the helm. I like the steering post which is supported by black steel columns. Perfect grab handles in heavy weather. The 7 inch chart plotter display is a bit small for my taste, I would have upgraded to 9 inches, but I also wear spectacles with 3.5 dioptre. Anyway, the smaller screen do their job. There is a bow thruster control right above the Diesel engine lever.
I sit down on the other side whilst the colleagues are steering and enjoy the view: When standing up and even when reclining a bit into the aft pulpit the view over the wide side decks and to the frontal quadrants of the boat sailing is exemplary. I could very easily imagine myself sailing this boat not just here in the confined area of Kiel Bay but on a multi-week vacation to through the Baltic Sea … awesome!
Impressive sailing performance
Even though conditions are spot on perfect for a press sea trial (even better for a sea trial with prospect buyers!) the data eAU POINT produces are promising. On a close hauled point of sail she squeezes out 6.5 knots in a 14 to 14.5 knots breeze. Bearing away a bit we can clearly feel a slight „dithering“, just as she would tremble in happy expectation. On a beam reach she is not much slower. Clearly, her chocolate wind angle, at least for today, is a nice broad reach where she is making above 7 knots.
Taking the helm myself I first of all notice the instant feedback from the boat to any slightest movement of the rudders. This is exactly what sets apart the modern hull design from classic displacement hulls. She is so nimble and light-footed on the helm that I wonder how much fun a regatta must be with her. The owner assures me smiling that an X 4.0 was easy prey for his boat on many occasions. We detect a bigger J just some 10 boat lengths in front of us and bring it to the test.
Only minutes later the RM 1180 had eaten away the distance and we surely would have catched her with ease, but we beared away instead as the owner wanted to show me how she would gybe. The RM is a fun boat, truly. Not being an all-out racer on the one hand but also not your classic heavy comfortable cruising yacht, she is a class of her own and I kind of hesitate coming up with similar boats of her kind, honestly. The owner tells me that, depending on the wave patterns, eAU POINT will start planning at a boat speed of 9 knots approximately.
A role model holiday cruiser
As I said, an RM boat is a class of its own. Neither an all out performer nor a luxurious cruising yacht. But in a sense, RM Yachts does manufacture true French boats. Excluding the big series production brands like Dufour, Jeanneau and Beneteau which are making boats predominantly for the charter and general user-market, smaller brands of which RM Yachts is only one example have circled in on a very distinct and defined small range of buyers. In this, a French boat is always easily identifiable: Good performance meets practical and „reserved“ style. This is best seen when going down below.
This boat does not need nor want an overly exaggerated interior concept. Everything is practical, there aren´t many materials, colors or forms. It´s French: All those nice little brands share this attitude, which I like. Be it JPK or Pogo, be it the one-offs of Finot-Conq or smaller (sadly gone) brands like Offcet. In the RM, a very down-to-earth approach is apparent. Look ar the joinery: No frills. Indeed. No frills.
The layout of the RM 1180 is a classic. Upon coming down the just 3 stairs of the companionway, you´ll find a galley to the portside, a nav-station vis-a-vis and the most part of the interior is occupied by the saloon. The volume is breathtaking the least, boosted of course by the big skylights and the interior measurements. Now, standing inside the RM 1180, the true consequences of having such a wide boat with such a high freeboard are instantly apparent: This is a dance hall!
To port side a large dining area with a large U-shaped settee around a nicely manufactured massive wooden table is arranged. I´d say that easily 4 adults with much room, 6 or even 7 could be seated here and enjoy a nice evening meal or a game of Monopoly. The table integrates elegantly the mast stand which is painted white. It kind of blends in into the predominantly white interior and therefore doesn´t really appar to be there. A clever way to hide this „obstacle“ otherwise placed in the middle of the salon.
Vis a vis a short 2-seater settee may be nice to enjoy a last drink before going to bed or read the newspapers in the morning. I haven´t tried (shame on me!) but I reckon a grown up man cannot recline here to sleep, otherwise this would make for a great off-watch but fast up again location to take a nap when heeled to starboard side. What I loved though was the nice and decently sized navigation station housing the electronics, main switch panel and a dedicated chart table.
I´ve often written about my preferences and the never ending discussion between L-galley and the longitudinal galley set-up. For boats on a long haul journey I´d prefer the latter just because there´s so much more stowage. But for weekend or week-long vacational sailing, of course, having an L-shaped galley is much more beautiful. The one on the RM 1180 is exemplary. It´s more a U-shaped galley with lots of tabletop working areas to prepare even multi-course meals, two very large cooler/freezer drawers (and thankfully the pro stainless-steel drawers, not the home appliance fridges!) and a two flame stove. Even in rough conditions, the ship´s cook will always find a secure position to wedge himself into to prepare the crew´s food.
A family boat
Let´s stay inside for a while – up there the wind is shifting wild and is stuck between 13 and 15 knots true anyway – and focus on living comforts. The RM is a „young“ boat. I can´t help myself, but I cannot imagine an Oyster-style sailor being happy aboard this boat, and vice versa. The fresh and modern approach, the clean, honest design, the simple and neat lines make me envision a happy family aboard the RM 1180 sailing during a Sabbattical through the Caribbean. And indeed, apart from the fact that Kiel is not Saint Lucia, the owners of eAU POINT are a family!
Comfort-wise, this boat is available as a three cabin boat or – as in our case – fitted with two thorough cabins with a storage room that can be turned into another guest berth. What I like the most about the RM 1180 is the fact, that the shipyard offers just this one layout: One bathroom, three/two cabins. The owner´s cabin in the front is on the first glimpse huge. Just like a cathedral. This boat has its most volume (and thus standing height) in the forward part of the hull – you remember the rising sheerline? This can be seen here inside this cabin.
Whilst the owners in their front cabin enjoy so many cupboards, shelves and racks, the guests or kids in the aft cabin have a huge dedicated closet that indeed will take on clothing for long, long trips! What I loved about RM´s aft cabins are the multiple porthole windows of which many can be opened. This makes the cabin more light suffused and appear much brighter and bigger. The space between hull and ceiling is perfectly used to add some more trays here and there. So many windows, so much fresh air – where other boat´s aft cabins are just dark sleeping caves, this one is really inviting. Not the least a produce of the enormous width of the boat´s hull.
I mentioned it, RM Yachts thnkfully did not join the battle for the most toilets on a boat. There is one and one only bathroom. It is positioned on ist classy location just right of the entryway down. Again, it´s kept in plain white without frills or exaggeration. There is a nicely sized shower. I would have put the large mirror a bit more centered, it appears a bit offset, and also, the door opening to the inside may be making the enrance into the room a bit complicated for XXL-sized people. Of course, this bathroom features a massive wooden Teak grating: Just as if they could read my mind!
Let there be light!
A motto that is kind of a thread woven into the whole boat is natural light. It seems as if the designers had invested much more thoughts than usual into the question of how they can manage to incorporate as much natural light into the boat as possible. By far the most amount is let through via the large frontal skylights. A reminiscence to the classy pilot saloon or even deck saloon concepts, these are just fantastic!
I mean, in harbor it is nice indeed, but when outside under sails, maybe with this colorful large Gennaker up, the sight from down below is breathtaking! Next to the large frontal windows two portholes can be opened to support ventilation of fresh air. The saloon is also blessed with long, uninterrupted coachroof side windows and hull windows. Now, on a day like today with so much sunlight reflected off of a dark blue water surface, the rich reflections and playful game of the whole spectrum of natural light inside the boat is a treat for the eyes. Now you understand, why this yacht does not need an exaggerated „design“ inside: The plain white is the canvas onto which nature projects its fascinating cinematic movie of prism effects.
Well, there´s always a downside to everything. I don´t know if having so much window surface could be a disadvantage in really hot areas like the said Caribbean or other places with high temperatures and lots of unblocked sunlight. Of course the glass of the windows is tempered and fitted with UV-blocking properties, but I can imagine that so many windows could also have some annoying parts – even if this is only keeping them clean and spotless from salty residue.
Light-footed, nimble: Just pure fun!
As wind picks up once more I again jump over to Nils on board the rip to shoot some pictures of the RM 1180 under standard sails. The guys at the helm are apparently having fun and Nils does his best to drive me all around the boat, while she is showing off her all of her tempting, beautiful angles. And a beauty she truly is indeed!
At the end of our trip today I will add another 270 pictures to the already shot ones – back at home, writing this article, I´ve spent nearly two hours going through the raw material, selecting the best shots for this article. Which is not as easy as it sounds: The choice is so hard! Even now this article contains as many as 40 pictures whereas a normal walkthrough/sea trial article rarely has more than 30. It speaks for the boat.
I particularly like the shot of the stern of the RM 1180 as seen above very much. It shows the principle design of the yacht: You may know, or not, that RM Yachts is the only serious production company manufacturing the boats with plywood. In this, I´ve already made a dedicated article about the special cold-molded plywood-Epoxy hulls of RM Yachts. What I want to point out here is the fact that these are hard chined boats – as you clearly can see. And of course, how big the owner is in comparison to the guy at the helm! With him in relation, the RM 1180 appears to be a small dinghy, but she´s a decent 40 footer, believe me!
Also noticable is her light-footed behavior. Same as earlier today when the unexpected puff set her Gennaker to boost-mode, I can now clearly see and witness how she copes with some gusts. In that case, she will heel – just slightly – and spring to life, instantly accelerating. There is no pressure on the rudders whatsoever which says a lot about how well balanced her sailplan with the hull design is. I can see Marc Lombard smiling up there …
One of the most spectacular angles is her bow cutting through the waves. The picture above may be a bit misleading as the fish-eye lens effect does make her bow appear more extreme than it is. It is an inverted bow but just so slightly, very subtle. It is sharply formed in ist entry, like a cutting knife, and it gets a bit wider when reaching the top where the slim, aggressive bowsprit is fitted. Isn´t that a beautiful boat?!
And so it happens that just by sheer coincidence a very special boat sails past us: A King´s Cruiser 33, the very same boat that marked my entry into this crazy wonderful world of yachting. I am standing in awe, smiling and waving to the couple sailing by graciously. This Pelle Petterson-designed IOR-classic is a beautiful and nicely sailing yacht too – but the difference between this Finish eye-candy and our modern RM couldn´t be bigger. 50 years of hull design and development in yachting.
So many great details …
A great day under sails aboard the RM 1180 draws to an end. The colleagues have to return to their office in Hamburg, Nils Schürg has another appointment further up north and even though my small son also got his turn in holding the due course a the steering wheels of eAU POINT, somehow the tempting smell of fish´n´chips smoldering out of one of the many restaurants at the quayside made him a bit hungry. We turn around the yacht and head for her home port.
I use the last remaining time to open my eyes for the smaller details, of which the RM has many. The sprayhood for example: This part has not just been tailor made to fit exactly the size of the cockpit, cover the winches and trimmer´s area and leaving enough standing height and space to safely grind the winches, it also comes with a dedicated grab handle: How cool is that? So many other sprayhoods are getting dirty by the sweaty, greasy fingers of them sailors seeking some safe hold. This is nice!
I also love the Wichard fasteners, fitted by the owner though, not by the shipyard. Other than the usual standard clips, which I frankly hate, those work easy, smoothly and open/close the reeling as light as possible. I make a note to myself that I will fit these on my Omega 42 as well! Have I mentioned that the RM 1180 may have the wides entryway down I´ve ever seen on a sailboat? It is really wide, but narrow enough to grant a safe passage in heavy seas. I say so because right there underneath the steps of the companionway, another nice detail is found.
The light concept of a boat is truly a huge thing, but often neglected. I´ve seen boats you can´t sail at night because there is no idea how to illuminate the interior without blinding the eyes of the crew, waking up everyone else. Location, strength and color of lights is so important (maybe I do an article about this). Well, anyway, what I loved about the RM are the two single LED red-lights. I am sure they are illumunating the entrance area just as much that you will see where you place your foot but not get blinded.
Could this be the perfect holiday cruiser for a couple?
A few minutes later eAU POINT is back in her berth, the land lines are securely fastened and the owner, not after sacrificing to Poseidon, offers a cold beer to us. Burned by the relentless sun and of course having forgotten to bring some own water for the hours on the water, the beer is puuting out the flaming throats and is refreshing our hearts. We are happy: This was a near perfect sailing day, certainly a perfect day for shooting pictures of this wonderful yacht. „The only box left unchecked was the appearance of some Dolphins“, I said and all agree. So, what is this, RM 1180?
She is a fast cruiser, as promised by RM´s marketing division. Although today´s conditions were merely light, she showed at least some of her potential and even in this, squeezing out 6 to 7 knots of a breeze that unsteady and light is quite something. She offers so much space, both on deck and – much more so – below so that I´d say she is a perfect match for a family seeking the sensations of active sailing, combined with the comforts of modern cruising in a very modern, no frills-ambience. Yes, she is a pretty perfect cruiser! „Well, what about that plywood-thing?“, some of you may ask.
If this is a concern for you, you definitely should check out my article on the shipyard visit with a full description of the production! When taking out the fenders for mooring I made a picture of the more than a man deep anchor chain locker. You can clearly see the massive crash box-like safety bulkhead. The plywood skelleton as well as the boat´s sheathing ranges from 20 millimeters to very thinck 40 millimeters (for example around the rudder trunks. The plywood is soaked and hardened with Epoxy resin and the whole hull gets a „wrap-around“ with GRP. This makes this boat not only comparatively light, but also stiff and safe at the same time. It would be interesting to check out impact resistance of both blunt and pointy crashes with such a boat versus various GRP production boats …
In the end, there are hundreds of RM yachts travelling the world, visiting the most beautiful places of our planet. Epoxy hardened plywood is in no way inferior or unsafer as GRP, I am sure. Well, and so a wonderful day ends. As we part and say Goodbye, the owner grinds his hands says: „Well, guys, that was so much fun – I might go out for another turn today.“ He smiles and waves. Back at home, flipping through more than 500 pictures, I dem the last one seen above to be the one picture depicting the character of the RM 1180 best: Fancy and Fresh!
Thanks to the owner of eAU POINT and Nils Schürg of Blue Yachting Bremen for this awesome sailing day!
You might as well like to check out these related articles:
At the RM shipyard in La Rochelle: Where the magic happens
Talking to legend Marc Lombard about his visions of RM Yachts
Exclusive look: Launching the RM 13.70