[Rhodes22-list] Baltimore thank-yous to Tom and Jim!

[Gardner, Douglas L. (LNG-DAY)]

All, 

I had a wonderful trip to Baltimore last week, made even better by the kind
hospitality of Tom Deliberto and Jim Harrison.

I stayed on the inner harbor, so was able to spend more time with Tom, but I
did manage to get out to the middle river with Jim for a great sail, as
well.  

First: Let me just say that my experience with Rhodies holds true!  I have
only met wonderful people from the Rhodes list!  Both Tom and Jim are
absolutely delightful gentlemen, with a great love of the boat, a wealth of
knowledge and experience, and a willingness to go out of their way to share!

Jim has been keeping track of his sails, and has over 70 on his log this
summer alone. If my memory serves, he has well over 200 on the R22 in just a
few years, plus his experience with other boats.  Perhaps only Rummy sails
more?  Tom has less experience on the R22, but has a wealth of total sailing
experience having owned, cruised with, and raced large boats for many years
(in the 30' and 40' ranges).  Both have made some great customizations to
their boats to make life nicer on the water.

I learned a tremendous amount from both these fine gentlemen and their
craft. I hope that they will write descriptions of some of their
customizations.  I have a few pictures from Tom's boat that I will scan and
post. 

Here are a few highlights...
Tom's boat (Triton)
1) UPS sail: This one is amazing... a large lightweight sail which furls on
its own luff, capable of pointing to windward or as an asymmetrical
spinnaker downwind.  It is rigged separately from the genoa. Maybe we should
get Tom to give a full report?
2) Double rail on the stern makes rail sitting almost as comfortable as the
captain's chairs, without the chairs themselves. A nice addition!
3) Motorized tilting motor... with an extra long shaft, Tom doesn't even
need to raise or lower the motor mount. If conditions warrant, however, he
can lower the motor even further into the water.

Jim's boat (I had less time on Jim's boat, so I'm probably missing the best
stuff)
1) lines set on the dock to guide the boat into the slip without the danger
of scratches from kissing the dock.  Great use of low-tech to solve the
age-old docking problem!
2) Great application of knots: monkey fists in floor mats to keep fuel tank
and other gear in place, a chain knot to shorten excess line for the
traveller (much better than wrapping, IMHO), etc.
3) Very interesting shelf in the back of the under-galley storage allows
good use of vertical space as the hull widens higher up, while still keeping
the under galley area open for container storage.
4) Trail-behind knot meter... This (combined with a GPS) would be the answer
for me if I had a new hull and was afraid to drill for a transducer.

Both boats use the slide-in companion way board for instruments, but in
different configurations. Tom's has both a compass and GPS mounted on it.
Jim's only has the compass, so the starboard end is lower to reduce the
tripping hazard.   

I know I've missed a lot of stuff.  However, the main purpose of this note
isn't to convey what I learned and what I observed from just a few trips
with these two gentlemen.  Rather, I just wanted to say thank you!  

Sincerely, 

Doug Gardner
s/v Fretnaught