There is no way that anyone could ever overlook an RM moored even in the busiest and fully cramped pontoons: These boats are just as bright and colorful as you can imagine. And I don´t remember that I´d ever seen a plain white RM in my life. Since the special building technique of an RM yacht requires painting anyway, as an owner, you can choose any color you like, just stick your finger in the rainbow and the guys in La Rochelle have it painted.
In this, it wasn´t really hard for me to spot the RM 1380 during last edition of the Cannes Yachting Festival even though the especially at this boat show the pontoons and the berths were crowded with all sorts of fine yachts, themselves nicely decorated with colorful flags and all sorts of attention-grabbing elements: An RM in itself is always an eye-catcher.
Large cruiser for the whole family
You may have read my article a few weeks ago when I´ve tested her smaller sister, the RM 1180 under sails already. I called this articles „A declaration of love to the sea“ and I really mean it. These boats seem to be designed with just one thing in mind: To generate positivity, fun and a lush time for a whole family and a bunch of friends. These yachts aren´t „aggressive“ or, like others, saying „stay away, I´m a lone wolf!“
The idea behind an RM boat is to bring together people, make them smile and make them smile even more when they have the sails up and are underway. It´s a family boat, it´s a boat made to make you enjoy the best days of the year, turning the time aboard into the best time of your life. Everything is subdued to this idea, it seems. The friendly colors, the interiors, the sailing abilities.
Where other yachts have their emphasis or specialty in sailing perfromance, bluewater cruising or luxury comforts, these boats seem to have their „extreme“ in making the family having fun. There´s something for everyone: See the large cockpit (this time with a cockpit table, an option the owner of the RM 1180 didn´t take to widen the available space for more roaming freedom in the cockpit under sails), the mainsheet traveler and six (!) winches as an indicator for the sailing fun this boat provides and of course the large internal volume for the comforts.
But let´s stay on deck for a while. The RM 1380 features the same running rigging layout as the 1180 with six winches. Please check out the 1180 article where I´ve shown and explained how versatile sails trim options become with this set up but also, how easy and above all, how safe, sails maneuver become. The location of te winches, especially for working Jib sheet is really thought-through and deserves a closer look!
Signatures
RM also makes sure that even if you grow in boat sizes the concept never changes. It´s really not a big challange for designers to keep up a certain signature style or outward appearance whilst it is indeed a bigger obstacle I guess to stick to your style interior-wise. As for RM Yachts, these signature elements is surely that they try to the maintain a large liveaboard-quality of the boats, no matter the size. Any RM has almost the same sheerline and coachroof-style which produces the not only the signature appearance but also the special feeling when down below.
Deciding elemnts of course are the huge front windows. They give the boats an almost sportscar-like very dynamic look from the outside, underline the special and unmistakable RM-style but also provide huge amounts of natural light for the saloon. I´ve checked it myself when under sails: The view from down below looking up through the windows when sailing is absolutely gorgeous, especially when a colorful Gennaker is up!
But there are more of these signature elements. Design bureau of Marc Lombard and him being the „mastermind“ behind the modern RM boats, is a guarantee for vivid, quick sailing. This becomes clear when looking at the bow sprit for example. It is not just a somehow fitted elongation of the boat to have a light wind sail attached, ist design and and nicely done shape almost effortlessly flows into the hull: Made with attention.
Your off-world flat
The same attention to the essential things you need when cruising is apparent when you step down the short entryway ladder into the salon. As it is a fact in almost every French-made non-series production yacht, the appearance of the interior is keept sparse. This may also be due to the pretense of weightsaving as this approach is found in so many of the nice small French brands, like JPK or Pogo.
The saloon of an RM is kept predominantly in white, almost boosting the amount of natural light. With an RM, the only colorful spots the shipyard will build into the boats are the cushions and the – again, sparsely distributed – wooden elements. By that, of course, any owner has a much moire „whiter“ clean slate to paint upon, individualizing his own RM in terms of style, colors and materials.
A feature apparent in all RMs so far is a very big galley compared to the boat´s size. Of course, the RM 1380 is a big boat for sure, 45 feet is in my eyes the perfect size for serious cruising. You´ll need a nice galley for long haul cruising, as you know, just to stow away all the provisions and stuff needed. But again, it´s the size, the room available for the ship´s cook and the positioning that makes it special. Where many galleys on other yachts are sort of an „annoying compulsory“, in the RM – like in any family´s home – the galley is the center of the house, the source of goodfeel.
Adjoining to portside a huge dinette with the U-settee. A testament to the idea of this boat to gather families or friends, to be a connector, a communications-enhancer and catalyst for creating memories. A large dining table and space to fit a party of no less than five adults easily, I am sure, with a bit of cuddling and a poof, you´d be able to invite seven or even eight people over for dinner.
Best thing about any RM´s saloon, as I said before, is the sheer endless amount of natural light. Mainly because of the large front windows which allow a constant influx of healthy sunshine, there are also two opening skylights, huge side-windows in the coachroof and windows in the hull. You can be sure that the inside of an RM is never really dark, even during a night, moonlight will enter the saloon. This creates a unique kind of opaque atmosphere and I really have to think hard to come up with another yacht that has so much emphasis on „light design“.
Of course, like in any boat, there are compromises. In the RM 1380 one of these lesser „useful“ places or spots in which you can see that the designers maybe thought really hard but struggled to come uo with a solution is the 3-seater settee vis-a-vis the dinette. I love the navigation table and skipper´s area, but the settee – although surely a great place to take a nap or even sleep whilst sailing on a starboard tack, it is a huge sofa! Also, the little corner it has at the forward bulkhead doesn´t really have a function. But, what to do with the available volume instead?
The crux with high-volume hulls
This is a „problem“ or let´s say a challenge faced by any interior designer. You can clearly see their struggle on the big, big units. I´ve roamed a Nautor´s Swan 65 a few years ago where this „crux“ was very apparent: The designers fit elements into the huge amounts of volume that is created by the modern hulls and it appears to me that they do it just to „fill up“ the space. I mean, who needs four freaking variations of dinner-tables, coffee-corners and breakfast „meeting points“? I´ve already seen Chaiselongues in front of chart tables! Are they really thinking that a girl will put herself laying down here whilst admiring „her“ skipper doing the logbook? Well, as I said, this is just a „problem“ in the really big boats, but you can also see at least small beginnings even in the RM 1380. Take the fore cabin:
Thois owner´s cabin has everything you´d be looking for: A lot (!) of volume, full standing height and stowage. Of course, a separate en-suite bathroom and the island bed that so many people love in their yachts. On the other hand, who needs hull windows which do not provide an outside view? You see my point here? I love hull windows in boats, but for my taste they should make me able to look outside when laying in bed. That´s the luxury: Waking up next to your beloved and then start into your new day by admiring the gorgeous anchorage. But windows that high just provide natural light. That´s a pity.
Looking from outside, it´s clear that the windows have to be placed well above the waterline for safety reasons and also in a way so that the general appearance of the boat is not disturbed. I mean, there are lots of boats where windows appear to be placed randomly, on different heights, sometimes in different sizes and forms, which looks awful. Lombard design did a wondeful job to maintain a coherent and beautiful design – but the price is that those nice hull windows only provide a view outside when you are standing in your cabin.
Speaking of cabins: Look at this aft cabin! Ist size is enormous and the headroom is absolutely stunning! Here we can see the nice sides of modern hulls creating interior volume – where on other yachts, especially more traditional or on dated models, the aft cabins are dark caves rarely providing standing height in front of the berths to get dressed or undressed, there is barely headroom at all. This cabin apparently is a cathedral! No guest will be feeling cramped or „downgraded“ when getting offered this cabin for sure.
Choose your eye-candy …
Now, did I like the boat? Sure! An RM, as I said, is always a nice view and great boat to look at. Their special and one-of-a-kind approach to utilizing cold mold-building technique with epoxy-covered plywood is something special, the team of Marc Lombard Yacht Design for sure does a wonderful job keeping alive the spirit of Marc Lombard hinmself, who sadly passed away last year far too soon.
For me, the 1180 would be more than „enough“ in terms of size. The 1380 is a big boat that will make your family cruising and even the long haul on the Coconut Route a once in a lifetime experience for sure. If you choose to get an RM yourself, feel free to let go all restrictions and old, dusty customs: Choose a fresh Granny Smith apple green, a wonderfully lush Aquamarine or even a cheeky Pink? Why not? This is a boat that can handle it for sure.
You may also try these related articles:
Sailing the RM 1180: Marvelous!
How the RM is build – at the shipyard in La Rochelle
Talking with Marc Lombard about yacht design