escape rumba sailboat manual

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Escape 12 Sailing Dinghy

Escape 12 sailing dinghy

Escape 12 sailing dinghy Formerly the Escape Rumba, the Escape 12 dinghy has been redesigned to be easier than ever. The Escape 12 features the SmartRig sailplan with roller reefing on the mast. This feature is usually found only in much larger boats, but Escape has found a way to incorporate it into a boat under 13 feet long. When you want to deploy the sail, simply pull the outhaul line and the sail unrolls. To stow the sail, pull on the furling line and the sail easily rolls up on the mast again. This also means the sail is easily adjusted to any size necessary for wind conditions. If it’s really blowing, reduce sail area. If the wind is light, pull it out all the way.

The sail sleeves over the two piece mast eliminating the need for halyards, and is controlled by a single mainsheet. All in all, it’s no wonder the Escape 12 sailing dinghy is considered one of roomiest and most user friendly boats in it’s class.

The hull of the Escape 12 is rotomolded polyethylene instead of fiberglass which allows for durable, lightweight, and low cost construction. This translates to an affordable boat that can take the punishment of beach sailing, g roundings, or being dragged along the shore. Like the Rumba, the 12 incorporates Escape’s Stableform Hull design making it 3X less likely to capsize than a traditional sailboat.

Most boats in the size range have daggerboards. They are great for sailing, but can be a real stick in the mud if you accidently get into the shallows. Instead, the 12 has a swing up centerboard tensioned with a shock cord. If you happen to sail into water too shallow, the shock cord will allow the board will swing up until you float past the obstruction, then you can easily return the board to the down position. The rudder has a spring loaded head which acts the same way. With a board/rudder up draft of less than 3 1/2 inches, there’s never a reason to worry about sailing into shallow water with the Escape 12 dinghy. This boat can be transported by hand, dolly, car top, or trailer.

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Escape Cha Cha and Rumba

I started with the original Captiva model because I was looking for a sailing dinghy for my beach cabin. It replaced a well-used Bruynzeel plywood El Toro in which I taught my two sons to sail. The El Toro was not happy being hauled up over our rocky beach and had to be carried in and out of the water. The construction of the Escapes meant that I could slide the Captiva over the rocks with impunity.

The Escape line now includes several new models. My new Escape is the bigger Rumba. I keep it near the office and use it to tour the marina. The roll-up mainsail system makes getting under way a snap and also allows for effortless reefing. I don't think the Rumba is as fast as a Laser but it's no toy either. The Rumba is big enough for two adults to sail comfortably. Your butt will get wet in waves but that's okay. The unique cockpit design of the Rumba lets you sit deep in the boat or on the rail for hiking. There is sufficient buoyancy in this hull to carry mom and pop and three small kids.

Rumba.gif (21468 bytes)For the ultimate in little-boat fun factor you should look at the new Cha Cha. This is a 55-pound, 7-foot, 6-inch dinghy with a forward rudder. You steer with a tiller that comes aft and this allows you to sit square in a bucket seat facing forward. The bucket seat is molded in. With the rudder forward and the tiller coming aft you push the tiller to the direction you want the boat to go. This can eliminate some of the confusion that occurs when beginners first take the helm.

There is no upkeep to these boats. I spray mine off with fresh water when I'm done just out of habit. The polyethylene hulls are extremely durable. They tend to be a little heavier than fiberglass hulls but the trade-off is worth it. I want dinghies that I can ignore for the winter.

There's nothing quite like teaching a kid to sail. My pal Andy came up to the cabin in his powerboat and asked if I could teach his 12-year-old daughter to sail. Here's my system. I put Lauren in the Captiva and waded into the water holding the Captiva on a beam reach. I had her sail straight out from the beach about 200 feet, then tack and sail straight back in (another beam reach) to where I stood waist deep in the water waiting to catch her. Then I turned her around and set her off again. After doing this several times I told her I wasn't going to catch her any more and she would need to tack again. In 10 minutes she was reaching back and forth with a big grin on her face. The grin on Andy's face was even bigger. I was glowing.

The Escape series are serious little fun boats perfect for spreading the joys of sailing.

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Escape Dinghy

• By Tom Neale
• Updated: July 31, 2002

Sunfish Laser unveiled the revolutionary Escape daysailer two years ago in Florida. Company president Peter Johnstone remarked, I want to bring new sailors into the sport, and until the creation of the Escape, the vehicle to do so did not exist. At just under 12 feet, rotationally cast of impact-resistant polyethylene and foam, powered by a simple self-tacking rig with its own dial-up trimming key, stable as a gym floor, the Escape had instant appeal. It went on to become one of the best-selling sailboats in North America. It has been joined this year by a smaller version, the Escape 9.

These boats are innovative and unintimidating; designed to bring people into sailing easily. If you already know how to sail, it’s straight to the fun. Escapes make great performance dinghies to launch when you reach a new anchorage and want to stretch your big-boat cruising legs.

Rotational molding with polyethylene, a technology utilized for years to build kayaks and other small boats, allows Escapes to be produced inexpensively. They are tough enough to drag up a beach, over your toe rail, or even across a parking lot with a heavy company representative aboard. Regarding long-term effects of ultraviolet rays, a company spokesman said that sea kayaks produced with the same process and subjected to the same environmental conditions have fared well over a period of years.

Aboard both the 12 and the 9, designer Garry Hoyt of Newport R&D provides a fine entry forward that flairs dramatically out over the water. The flair begins above the prow, extends aft as the hull rises to meet it, and ends in a flat, wide stern – hence these boats’ substantial form stability. Two riblike longitudinals extend fore and aft along the bottom to aid tracking. The deck is convex to shed water over the bow.

Rigging up is easy. The sail slips over a light, two-piece carbon fiber mast and is secured with industrial-grade Velcro. There are only two lines; one rolls and unrolls the sail around the mast, and the other is the sheet. A spring-loaded kick-up rudder and a retractable daggerboard get you in and out of shallow water. The boom is inserted into the deck just aft of the mast, where it pivots according to trim.

A great feature for beginners is Escape’s color-coded AutoSail system. Just forward of the mast, a wind indicator spins atop a color-coded card. Corresponding colors encircle the base of the pivoting boom. Line up the arrow on the boom with the color indicated by the windex and youÕre in trim. I’ve been sailing for 40 years and I found myself peeking to see if the AutoSail agreed with me. It mostly did; when it didn’t, it was more on track than I was.

A wide, sealing hatch in the deck allows gear stowage inside the hull, and optional gear bags attach on deck just aft of the boom. The 12 is intended for one or two people; the 9 is more of a solo gig, although it will accommodate an adult and child handily. An open stern evacuates any water that comes aboard and makes climbing into the boat from deep water easy. Recessed drink holders molded into the after portions of the deck do double duty as handholds when boarding from the water. Both boats are designed to provide positive buoyancy when awash, even with the interiors flooded. The Escape 12 tips in at $2,199, the 9 at $1,899.

Escape 12 Specifications

LOA: 11’6″ (3.5 m.) Beam: 4’9″ (1.4 m.) Disp: 135 lbs. (61.2 kgs.) Sail area: (100%) 62 sq.ft. (5.8 sq.m.) Designer: Garry Hoyt Base price: $2199

Escape Sailboat Co. 200 Highpoint Ave. Portsmouth, RI 02871 Phone: (401) 683-5900

• More: 2001 - 2010 , day sailing , dinghy , monohull , Sailboat Reviews , Sailboats , under 20 ft
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Escape Rumba Help

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Hey All; I’m just decided to learn to sail and picked up a Escape Rumba but it’s short a dagger board and the rudder assembly. I figure I can build a dagger board from pictures off the internet but the rudder might be a little harder to reproduce. Just looking to have a little fun off the coast of NC. Thanks for any help  

We have a Rumba that I bought for my daughter (named "Rumb-baba") and have the rudder in our garage. The rudder blade is made from solid spruce (plywood will not work). I will be happy to temp-plate it for you if you like. The trick will be to come up with the rudder-head fitting with the retractable pins to allow you to mount/dismount the rudder. Doug Fisher of Ullman Sails in Sarasota, Fla (941) 951-0189 used to sell the boats and may have a source for replacement parts. Let me know if you're interested.  

That would be great svHyLyte, would it be too much to ask to temp-plate the dagger board also. I would gladly pay you for your troubles. Thanks again Danny  

Danny, I will PM you with my email address so you can respond with your mailing address so I can send you the pattern. The Rumba does not use a dagger board. It has a center board that rotates on a nylon pin that bolts across the centerboard trunk so that the board can be rotated up and down. A shock-cord runs from a hole in the crown of the center board through a jamb cleat so that one can adjust the board's position depending upon one's point of sail. Off the wind we rotate the board up almost entirely and she'll go like heck. Unfortunately, however, we laid the boat up for the winter once the water temperatures dropped below 75 and getting her out, off the trailer, and unbolting the centerboard at this point would be a costly and difficult endeavor. I'll be happy to do so in the spring, however. There is some possibility that my neighbor may not yet have stowed his boat (I bought two from a hotel that decided they didn't want to rent them to guests any longer due to insurance costs; rehabbed both, and sold one to a neighbor for enough to cover the out-of-pocket costs for both boats so ours cost my labor alone). If so I will see if he's willing to allow me to dismount his center board long enough to pattern the board. If you do not have it, the pin will be an issue but I suspect you could conjure one up by using a piece of plastic pipe with a matching diameter dowel through the center; or, by getting a local cabinet maker to turn down a small block of starboard on a lathe. They are fun boats but not so easy to sail as Escape portrayed. One thing to do is buy some foam pipe insulation or a pool noodle that will fit the boom and "pad" that back half unless you're willing to wear a helmet while you're sailing. You will brain yourself with the boom sooner or later and it will hurt without one or the other, I guaranty you that. Another thing is to dump the single line outhaul/furling line. I found that having two separate lines, one red for furling and a second, green, for out hauling the sail worked a lot better and one had no doubt which line one was hauling on. There are times when one does need to reef the sail and the two line arrangement seems to work best. N'any case, check your PM's.  

You might be able to buy those parts too: Escape Sailboat Parts or even here: APS - Sunfish - Rudder, Tiller and Daggerboard Probably more fun to make your own though.  

Propertydoctor said: Hi Guys! As far as I know, the only supplier of Escape boat parts is George at Mountain Road Trading Post Home 603.895.3501. He is a super nice guy. I do know that George has a source for the rudders and centerboards for the Rumba. He probably has a source for the rudder head and tillers too, if not, I was looking at my sunfish rudder head and believe it to be a functional match to the Rumba's. Unless the cost of the parts is prohibitive for you, or you just want a woodworking project, I would buy the proven parts and go sailing. I have an extensive background in boat building and fabrication and could easily carve these up but my time is too valuable. Why spend 3-4 hours cutting, sanding and finishing? I'd rather be on the water I also have a PDF of the Rumba manual if you need it. Send me an email and I'll forward it to you. Click to expand...

Thanks Propertydoctor; the manual would be nice to have. I have not been online long enough to send e-mails yet so I hope you'll get this. As it work out the boat came with all the hardware for the rudder just no blade nor anything with the centerboard. I did send a e-mail to MRT but will give them a call next week and ask about the centerboard. The bad news is the upper part of the mast is at the bottom of Kerr Lake in NC so thats my next challenge.Any suggestions would be welcome. svHyLte was kind enough to help with the rudder temp-plate so I think I'm on the way Thanks for your help Danny  

Because I am new to Sailnet and don't have 15 posts yet I can't private message anyone and because I don't have 20 posts I can't email anyone. KnotRight or anyone else that needs the Escape Rumba manual can email me direct at RFLucas64 @ gmail(dot)com and please put "Rumba Manual" in the subject line so your message doesn't end up in my trash folder. Happy sailing! - Propertydoctor  

Danny--Since I haven't rec'd anything from you I assume you cannot yet receive PM's. You can send your home address to me at svHyLyte(at)hotmail.com and I will forward a paper pattern for the rudder to you via USPS.  

Danny--I got your email to our ship's account and made up a pattern of the rudder earlier today. I will send that off to you together with some notes and photos tomorrow. No joy on the center-board thus far but be patient. Sailing season is some while yet.  

I have been doing repairs for local state park on Rhumba escape and sunfish. The rudder metal or plastic parts are the same as sunfish. I am refinishing daggerboard and rudder and can do paper tracing or photo and measurements for you. send me email [email protected] Paul  

Dan, The best thing about the Rumba is the fact that you can reef the sail if the winds get snotty or when you dump the boat (you will). We sailed a Sunfish as teenagers and it was a great boat but it did not have the performance of the Rumba which is more akin to a Laser. I bought my Rumba--two actually--from a hotel that used to rent them and then decided that they'd had too many problems with tourists getting stuck down wind of the place and calling for assistance. The boats were pretty beat up and took some fixing but when that was done I was able to sell one for the cost of both plus repairs and so got ours for the value of the repair labor. We towed ours around on vacations with the kids for several years and it was a lot of fun but it was a bit much for a kid alone. It's really a fairly performance boat for a youngster (I put a knot in the lead-line for the furler so the kids couldn't get the sail all the way to keep thing somewhat under control). With my daughter now grown, we don't use the boat much but when we do, I get a kick out of it. My wife still prefers a Sunfish as she thinks the Rumba is too much "work" but I like the boat and it is fun. (Actually, she really prefers the "big" boat as with that, all she has to do is steer, which she can do without getting soaked--most of the time!) FWIW...  

I am looking to replace strop strap that connects the fiddle brock to the mast on my Rumba. Mountain Road Trading Post does not have the part; does anyone have a source where I might purchase one? If anyone has the problem I did with the mast plate screws coming out, contact me - I found a decent solution that permits me to continue sailing - always good news!  

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RUMBA (ESCAPE) Detailed Review

If you are a boat enthusiast looking to get more information on specs, built, make, etc. of different boats, then here is a complete review of RUMBA (ESCAPE). Built by Escape Sailboat Co. and designed by undefined, the boat was first built in 2000. It has a hull type of Centerboard Dinghy and LOA is 3.89. Its sail area/displacement ratio 34.63. Its auxiliary power tank, manufactured by undefined, runs on undefined.

RUMBA (ESCAPE) has retained its value as a result of superior building, a solid reputation, and a devoted owner base. Read on to find out more about RUMBA (ESCAPE) and decide if it is a fit for your boating needs.

Boat Information

Boat specifications, sail boat calculation, contributions, who builds rumba (escape).

RUMBA (ESCAPE) is built by Escape Sailboat Co..

When was RUMBA (ESCAPE) first built?

RUMBA (ESCAPE) was first built in 2000.

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Escape Rumba

Draft (board up):, draft (board down):, manufacturer:, hull colour:.

This Rumba is ready to sail and it comes complete with all the rigging. 

Stock #: 7580

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• Escape Sailboat Co.

Founded by Peter Johnstone with Tom Whidden, Gary Jobson and and some other well known names in the sailing industry. Builder of a line of small, inexpensive (roto molded contruction) sailboats, aimed, for the most part, toward beginning sailors, and/or resort rentals. Originally located in Yarmouth, RI, USA. No longer in business.

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Escape Sailboats

This site has been setup to provide information about the escape range of dinghies: escape 12 , rumba , captiva , solsa , escape 9 , mambo , mango , cha cha , play cat , expedition 12.5 & expedition 14.5 ., we also have a limited number of spare parts in the uk., please note: this site has no association with the original escape sailboat company which is sadly no longer trading..