RS Zest

The RS Zest is built around a nervous first lesson. A thwart gives a beginner crew somewhere to sit instead of scrambling, the 6 square meter mainsail roller-furls and reefs when the wind builds, and the polyethylene hull shrugs off a clumsy landing on the boat ramp. At 3.59 m it has room for two sailors, such as a parent and child, yet is small enough to sail alone once you are confident, which suits a beginner with no regular crew. Training centers use it widely, so it may well be the boat you learned in, and buying the one you already know shortens the step from lessons to your own boat. If racing matters to you, check that a club nearby runs a Zest fleet.