74 http://www.yachtingmonthly.com NOVEMBER 2015

from 60º or further aft that her delightful

performance shone. With the wind on the

beam, we were approaching double-figure

speed as I took advantage of the 2ft waves

and bore away to surf. I could have played

on the helm for hours. Under engine she

made 5.9 knots at 1,800 RPM.

At the helm

She was quick and easy to sail. Her large

stainless steel tiller – forward of the

cockpit-width mainsheet track – puts

both the genoa winches flanking the

companionway and the coachroof winches

within reach of the helm. The steering

was a little too stiff for my liking, so we

disconnected the autopilot to see if that

was the culprit; it wasn’t. It didn’t lessen

her responsiveness but there was an ever-

present friction on the helm. It did mean

it was possible to haul on the mainsheet

with two hands without her making a

bolt for freedom. Sitting on the coaming

or on the deck outboard with legs resting

comfortably on the coaming comes so

naturally, the mainsheet traveller adjusters

to hand aft, the genoa winches and car

adjustment lines within reach forward.

Anyone keen to play the mainsheet can

sit with room to spare aft of the helm. It’s

both a practical and comfortable layout.

Design & construction

She’s available with a single T-keel or twin

L-shaped keels attached to galvanised

steel frames inside the hull. Our test boat

had twin keels and a single rudder, which

supports the hull when she dries out.

When I first saw her in the flesh I thought

RM had moved over to GRP, such is the

quality of the finish on her plywood hull.

The joins in the planks (which make the

double-chine hull) and the monocoque

NEW BOAT TESTNEW BOAT TEST

Y

ou have to hand it to the French

boatbuilder RM – it’s a rare

company in the conservative

yacht-building industry that

dares to be genuinely different.

Instead of the usual, gently rounded white

GRP hulls, RM makes hard-chine, epoxy-

impregnated plywood yachts in a variety of

colours from off-white to shocking green,

pastel blue or bright tangerine! It takes a

less reserved type of person to opt for a

Kermit the frog green hull, someone who

is less traditional in his or her outlook,

someone who doesn’t necessarily need all

the comforts of home when they sail. If

that sounds like you, read on.

Performance

We were blessed with 16-20 knots from

the west as we set out from Lymington.

Now, I don’t always look forward to such

breezy conditions, but with a broad hull

beneath me and Technora sails on a

carbon mast above, it had the makings of a

great sail, and it was. We had two reefs in

the mainsail and six turns of the headsail

furled away. On the wind, in gusts of 25

knots apparent, I could feather her up and

maintain speed, but it was with the wind

interior are bonded with epoxy fillets,

and on the hull these are reinforced with

glassfibre tape over the chines (a Kevlar

sheath to the hull is optional). The hull is

then faired and sanded before being topped

with the GRP foam-cored deck. It makes a

stiff, light and, to be blunt, slab-sided hull.

Sailplan

Her sail plan is powerful, yet versatile. She

has a removable inner stay to fly a staysail

when the breeze gets too much for the 135%

furling genoa. The staysail requires running

backstays to support the mast, but without

the inner stay these can be taken forward

out of the way to the chainplates. There’s

also the option for a bowsprit, which leads

the tack line via a couple of through-eyes

in the tip of the sprit to an eye on the stem.

This tack line can be adjusted from the

cockpit and means the tack can be attached

at the pulpit and then taken forward,

negating any bowsprit gymnastics through

the open pulpit. The genoa tracks could

have been a bit longer for when the genoa

is furled, but perhaps we should have been

RM 890

While glassfibre

boats try to be

wooden inside,

Graham Snook test the

RM890: a wooden boat

with a modern interior

RM890 – Performance on test

Point

of sail

Apparent

wind

angle

Apparent

wind

speed

Boatspeed

Close-

hauled

30° 21-25 knots 7.3-7.5 knots

Fetch 60° 20-22 knots 8.1-8.7 knots

Beam

reach

90° 19-21 knots 8.6-9.4 knots

Broad

reach

120° 14-20 knots 7.6-8.5 knots

Run 180° 8.2-16 knots 7.3-8.0 knots

PHOTOS: GRAHAMSNOOK.COM

The broad cockpit

is well laid out for

sailing short-handed