RL 24 History

Around 40 years ago, a keen yachtsman and professional boat builder named Rob Legg began toying with the notion of a new concept in sailing craft. Rob wanted a boat which had sleeping accommodation for at least 4 people, was fast, safe and exciting to sail, was simple to rig and handle and yet could be trailed easily behind the average family car thus giving access to sailing waters all over the country.

The idea wouldn't go away and finally Rob drew out the lines of a boat he called "Tiki". He built her in ply in the late 1960's and "Tiki" thus became the prototype and forerunner of what has become arguably one of the world's most versatile trailable yachts, the RL24. After some years of sailing and refining "Tiki" on most of the waterways of the eastern seaboard of Australia, including the Gippsland Lakes, Rob was persuaded to begin manufacturing the RL24 and in 1973 or thereabouts, the first fibreglass examples of the class emerged from the Sharkcat factory on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

They were an instant hit with the sailing community and numbers quickly multiplied particularly in Queensland and Victoria. Always on the look-out for opportunies to improve the boat, Rob introduced what has become known as the RL24 Mk.2 in early 1976.

This version of the boat had the cabin moulding modified to lift the cockpit floor thus giving much more space in the quarterberths. Equally as important was the widening of the cockpit coamings which, by eliminating the dreaded "gunwhale bum" was an improvement appauded heartily by all RL24 sailors.

In 1977, Rob set up his own boat building operation named, not surprisingly, Rob. Legg Yachts Pty Ltd. To celebrate, this courageous move, the company released a new model of the RL24, (the Mk.3) which had 100mm added to the hull freeboard and a new interior furniture moulding.

The result was a huge improvement in the boat's accommodation while retaining its exceptional sailing and handling characteristics. The first RL24 Mk. 3 appeared at the RL24 National Championships held at Barmera on Lake Bonney in South Australia's Riverland district in January 1978.

Since the introduction of the Mk.3, there have been no further modifications to the hull design. However, the cockpit moulding was changed in the late 1980's to allow the outboard motor to be retracted into the hull more readily and an alternative "sports" interior moulding without icebox or stove bench was introduced to cater for the club racer with no cruising ambitions. At about this time a drop keel configuration was also offered, the instant improvement in overall performance being such as to make this a very popular and widely accepted option.

Towards the end of the 1980's, Rob retired from his business. Unfortunately, without his eye for innovation, a succession of subsequent owners saw the business decline to the point where production ceased altogether in 1991.