Chart table
At the helm
There are two helm options, twin wheels or a tiller. The latter is standard, but our test boat had the former, the pedestals of which exit the outboard sidewalls of the cockpit, aft of the seats. This sets the wheels really far back, giving a well-built man just a body’s width of room. The top of the pushpit does sweep around over the open transom to give some feeling of protection and there’s also a low guardrail to help keep a blundering helmsman on board, but there’s no lip or fiddle around the transom, so no second chances for loose change or mobile phones. The helm seats are on the sidedecks, so there’s also nothing to stop water on deck soaking your bottom. I couldn’t help feeling I would have sacrificed some cockpit seating for a little more room at the helm, especially if I was kitted out with full oilskins, lifejacket and harness.
Forward of the helm is the mainsheet, on a traveller, with a 5:1 purchase in two triple blocks, the lower of which has a jammer. Cleverly, there is a fine adjustment line led back to each helm. This line runs to a block attached to the end of the mainsheet inside the boom and back the other helm – similar to the routing of a German mainsheet system. With this setup, the helmsman controls the traveller as well as the sheet.
Design & construction
She was designed by Marc Lombard. Her beam is carried well aft, her bows are full and the stem is inverted. Like all yachts in the RM range she has a hard-chined, epoxy-impregnated plywood hull. On the 970 there are seven laser-cut plywood panels that are glued with epoxy paste and laminated at the joins.
The hulls are built inverted on a jig that holds the internal plywood monocoque, to which the hull panels are attached. The hull is then epoxycoated twice more before being faired and painted. The deck is foam-cored GRP and lined internally in plywood to offer the same insulation and noise-absorbing benefits of the hull. The furniture modules are built in La Rochelle by a separate company. The keel (or keels) are bolted to a galvanised steel frame that also takes the loads from the chainplates.
Sailplan
The tack fitting for asymmetric downwind sails is attached to the stem and taken through the optional 0.92m (3ft) bowsprit. The sprit works under compression along its length rather than being pulled upwards, which does away with the need for a permanent bobstay. A bungee cord keeps the tack line free of the anchor when it's not in use.
She can also be rigged with a furling staysail, which in turn can be replaced with a furling storm jib should the weather get really awful. Running backstays are needed to add extra support to the mast when you're using the staysail.
Deck layout
The cockpit is wide, but unlike most yacht builders, RM sets the genoa winches well inboard, either side of the companionway, which has several advantages: the Lewmar 45STs are at waist height, so winching is more comfortable and effective; it's safer as you’re not leaning outboard; and during a tack, you only have to turn from one side to the other, rather than scrabble across the cockpit.
Beneath the helmsman’s feet you’ll find a lazarette locker to port and a liferaft locker to starboard, which is open at the transom. There isn’t a big cockpit locker, although the large chain locker on the foredeck can swallow all her fenders with ease. There is a large technical area below decks, aft of the heads, for sails, a dinghy and lines but it's a shame there is no way to access it from the cockpit.
At the forward end of the cockpit seats the backrests are 35cm (1ft 2in) high, but this drops to 25cm (10in) aft. The good news is that the coaming tops are angled and winchfree, so sitting on them is extremely comfortable, even if there’s no bracing for feet on the seat below. At the forward end of the cockpit is a flip-up bridge deck which, as well as adding height (useful when you're using the Lewmar 40ST coachroof winches) also serves as washboard stowage.
Moving forward on deck, the nonslip texture is good and the walkthrough at the shrouds is a doddle. RM has done away with the genoa track, opting instead for a lowfriction ring, which has vertical and horizontal adjustment. A rubber pad to starboard on the window protects it, although there's no such patch by the portlight on the port side – I don’t know how much damage an untamed ring could do, on either side, if the sheet was flogging.
All of the hardware on deck is high-quality, low-friction Antal gear, which, like the rest of the boat, is simple, neat and tidy, and works well.
Living aboard
For all the great features on deck, the interior is no less practical, although some may find her a little sparse on detail. She has the whiteness of a minimalist’s loft apartment; were it not for a few splashes of oiled wood, our test boat would have been completely monochromatic thanks to grey upholstery and laminate floorboards.
The saloon is a small step up from the galley, reducing the headroom to 1.80m (5ft 11in). The table has two flip-top lockers in the forward section, one with storage for four bottles inside, but nothing aft of the mast support. There’s an option for a cupboard in the aft end. When not in use, the leaves are held securely down by paddle latches on the underside of the leaf. However, for those with chunky thighs, like me, as you slide along the seat it’s easy to catch your leg on the sharp part of the latch. Like much of the boat, the table has grey-painted wooden fiddles.
The table adds some visible wood to the interior, which you really wouldn't know is made of wood – what you see is mainly white epoxy, white Formica and white paint, though the galley and chart table surround are painted grey.
There are long, wide hull windows (1.16m x 0.15m, 3ft 10in x 6in), which offer an excellent view out when you're sitting in the saloon.
Ventilation up forward comes from a large deck hatch above the forepeak berth. it’s a little too easy to flip this past vertical, allowing it to hinge back and hit the large (1.2m x 0.77m) forward-facing coachroof window. I’d be tempted to take the option of extra opening hatches overhead to increase the amount of ventilation.
The windows are huge and let in loads of light, but in the summer sunshine, the UV sun screens for the outside of the windows would be essential if you wanted to escape the worst of the sun’s glare down below.
At 42cm (1ft 4in) high, the seats in the saloon feel a little low, but beneath the forward cushions you’ll find ventilated, hinged locker lids with soft closures, while behind the aft cushions are the water tanks. There is stowage in cave lockers behind the seatbacks and space on top for small items, but it’s not compartmentalised to help keep things in order. A few dividers on this surface would have worked wonders.
Headroom in the main cabin drops to 1.66m (5ft 5in) at the entry to the forward berth. It isn’t really a separate cabin, just a 2.44m (8ft) wide berth accessed through a large aperture in the forward bulkhead. There’s an option for this to have a zipped fabric divider which would prevent sight, if not sound, of the forward occupants. Having said that, I know many children who would love to make this large, cushioned space their own.
The heads has an air of utilitarianism about it, not helped by the gaping access hole into the technical area and the watertight access panel for the seacocks. It’s possible to have the large opening covered with a zipped panel.
As mentioned earlier, the only
access to the otherwise excellent technical space is via the heads, whose door I can see getting scrapes and bruises from dinghies, sails and anything else you wish to store in there. It’s a crying shame that you can’t access this space from the cockpit, which would make getting gear in and out so much easier.
On the opposite side, to port, is the aft cabin. The berth is narrow at 1.34m (4ft 5in) but it is a separate cabin. This boat had optional portlights opening into the cockpit for a little more light. There’s a deep, fiddled shelf outboard and a two-tone shelved locker forward. Under the berth you’ll find the calorifier and more stowage. The forward-facing chart table has a high fiddle around it and measures 72cm x 46cm (2ft 4in x 1ft 6in). For the most part it's only 4.5cm (2in) deep, but on the outboard side it falls away to a depth of 36cm (1ft 2in). There is a handy cable port to allow cables to enter or exit the table cleanly. There’s access to the water pump beneath the navigators feet, next to which you’ll find a handy foot brace. Outboard of the nav seat are some good bin lockers and a no-frills switch panel, with gauges for battery and water tank status – the fuel tank is translucent and the level can easily be seen from the technical room aft. There is more stowage under and behind the navigator.
Galley
The galley worktops have good, deep, stout fiddles to stop things sliding off. There’s also a nice splashback behind the twin stainless steel sinks. Outboard are three deep lockers, and like the rest of the lockers on board they have softclosure mechanisms. Although these lockers are admirably deep there are no shelves, so stowage is limited – she is made of plywood so it wouldn’t be beyond the scope of any owner to add their own, but should they have to?
Aft is the well-gimballed stove, and forward is the top-opening fridge. Anyone who has sailed with a topopening fridge will know it’s almost impossible to stop water running from the sink area down into the fridge, filling up the seal. Good to see the fridge surface here is raised up enough to adress this common problem.
There’s neat access to the bin from the worktop, but it makes it awkward to put larger chopping boards flat on the surface, as the bin lid sits proud of the worktop. Stowage is generally good, but there is no cutlery drawer.
Maintenance
Access to the yacht’s systems is excellent; most of these can be found in the technical area aft of the heads and behind the engine. There’s good access to all sides of the engine and the batteries in front of it.