[Rhodes22-list] Tom Evans

Mon, 16 Sep 2002 08:57:00 -0400

Tom,

     Rik's response to Mimi (below) would be a nice addition to you 
Rhodes page under "Why a Rhodes".

Paul
>
>Mimi,
>
>Well, I'll give you my opinion and of course, it isn't biased in the least
>:-) :-)
>
>When I first looked at that web site, going on three years ago now, I
>thought just about the same thing you just said. Too good to be true??? Not
>really. You'll find that Stan isn't exaggerating. This boat pretty much
>does what he says it will do.
>
>I'd been cruising the internet for about 4 months looking at anything I
>could find about sailing and sailboats and had just about made up my mind
>to go out and by another brand of boat, when I stumbled onto the general
>boat page. I may have read through that whole site 3 or 4 times that
>weekend. I was smitten. My wife and I have ambitions to cruise and while
>this may not be the ideal boat for long term ocean cruising, it is great
>for the shorter term cruising we have time for now. You just won't find
>another 22 foot boat that is packed full of the cruising type amenities
>that this boat has. Believe me I have done some comparing.
>
>As far as simplicity goes, the R 22 is the first boat I have ever owned, so
>I'm not what anyone would call an expert sailor. My wife and I always go
>out alone. Since we don't get a whole lot of free time, we have to take
>whatever conditions there are when we're out, if we want to get any sailing
>done at all. We have had conditions from flat water with 5 - 10 knot
>breezes to 20 - 25 with 30 knot gusts and 3 - 4 foot waves. I am happy to
>report that the boat has handled it all pretty much flawlessly, even though
>the skipper takes a while to catch on sometimes. You'll find that if you
>try to drive the boat too hard or catch an unexpected gust and it gets to
>heeling too much, it'll "round up" into the wind. At that point, if things
>were a little too wild, it's a simple matter to just roll up a little sail,
>bear off and start out again. I do have both the furling Genoa and the IMF
>main, so reefing for me is a simple matter of pulling 2 lines. Might take
>30 seconds, if that. I know that the boat you are looking at is a 76 (?) or
>so, but the design of this hull has remained unchanged since they started
>building these boats in 1969. So, your boats sailing characteristics should
>be pretty much the same as all of ours, given a comparable sail plan.
>
>This boat has what is called a combination shoal keel/centerboard. The
>actual keel sticks down from the hull about a foot. This is where the
>ballast (or most of it) is. In the middle of the bottom of the keel, from
>front to back, is a long slot. Inside this slot hides the centerboard. The
>centerboard on my boat looks pretty much the same as the rudder. At the top
>(you can't see this) it has a pivot point so you can let it swing down by
>releasing a line in the cockpit. This is pretty important for sailing
>anywhere to windward as it controls your leeway. When it's down your boat
>will draw about 4 feet of water. The advantage of the swing centerboard is
>that, when you want to go into shallower water, you can pull the
>centerboard up and you will still be able to sail till the water is around
>2 feet deep. You can't do this with a swing keel or dagger board that pulls
>all the way up into the hull, leaving nothing but the round shape of the
>hull in the water. This is great for slipping into a shallow bay to anchor
>for the night, or just exploring shallow waters, etc. You will hear a lot
>of folks with pure shoal keels complain about the windward sailing
>abilities of their boats. The pure shoal keel just isn't efficient enough.
>The centerboard cures this problem.
>
>The boat is unsinkable because it has a large foam block both under the
>cockpit floor and under the v-berth.
>
>There have been many options added over the years. I believe most of them
>can be added to almost any R 22, since the basic design of the boat has
>always stayed the same.
>
>The simplicity of the mast raising process is mostly due to a pretty nice
>mast hoist system built by General boats. I have this and I can easily
>raise my mast, on the trailer, or in the water, by myself.
>
>Yes, I sit in my boat sometimes too and just dream. It's sorta like a mini
>vacation. We refer to this as "zen sailing" on the list. :-) Some of us are
>expert zen sailors :-) :-)
>
>Hope this helps,
>Rik
>
>
>
>
>At 08:48 PM 9/13/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>>Thanks Rik.  I just read through the very long 'Review' page of the
>>website... this boat sounds too good to be true!
>>
>>I'm particularly intrigued by what is referred to (pardon me as I'm not
>>totally up on all current sailing lingo so I'll do my best) as the
>>combination of both a fixed keel, as well as the centerboard.  Seems like
>>the best of both worlds.   Trailerable, but good ballast.  They claim it
>>is (I think I read this somewhere) unsinkable and uncapsizeable due to the
>>ballast of this.  Is that true of the older models as well?  Given that
>>this is my first step into the world of sailing a bigger boat than a
>>sunfish, that sounds wonderfully reassuring.  I know that caution is
>>always a good idea, but to know that the boat is healthy is a good thing.
>>
>>Do the older boats have many of the same features of the newer ones...
>>i.e. easy to mount mast, good stability, etc?  I recognize that I need to
>>do some sprucing up of the woodwork and pretty goodies in the cabin area,
>>but that's the fun details that can be handled later... safety and a solid
>>boat are far more important to me at this point.
>>
>>Heck - I look forward just to having it sitting in my driveway this
>>winter, and sitting out on a warmer winter's day with a book in the
>>cockpit and dreaming about what it will be like next summer!!!!!  I'm
>>afraid to say I'm smitten by this boat!!!
>>
>>Mimi
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>Rik Sandberg wrote:
>>>  Hello Mimi,
>>>
>>>Welcome to the R 22 list. You'll have to excuse Michael, he knows this
>>>boat pretty much inside and out, but he doesn't spell too well. You'll
>>>catch on to the translation thing after a bit, 'till you do the rest of
>>>will pitch in and help decode. There are several others here too that
>>>have a lot of experience with this boat. Don't be shy to ask any
>>>questions that come to mind. If that boat's in any kind of decent shape
>>>at all, sound like a pretty good bargain to me. Especially if it comes
>>>with a newer outboard and a trailer.
>>>
>>>But, like Michael says, the best place to start is the General Boat
>>>Rhodes 22 web site and the FAQ. Once you have looked these over, you will
>>>be able to ask better questions and get better answers.
>>>
>>>www.rhodes22.org
>>>
>>>Rik
>>>
>>>
>>>At 06:39 PM 9/13/2002 -0400, you wrote:
>>>>
>>>>ok, I'll try to respond so that you can offer more advice...
>>>>Michael Meltzer wrote:
>>>>>how handily are you,
>>>>pretty good on interior type stuff that the cabin would need... ok on
>>>>other stuff if someone is willing to show me what to do (light carpentry
>>>>type stuff)
>>>>>how much experience with boat work,
>>>>not much, but see above!
>>>>>are you OK not sailing for a session or two,
>>>>Not sure what you mean by this... did you mean a 'season' or two... i.e.
>>>>time to fix her up?
>>>>>do you have 200-500 hours advable.
>>>>WHOA!!! For what?
>>>>>are you ready to spend 6000+- on the boat.
>>>>They're asking only $2000 (friends), which is well within budget.
>>>>>I not trying to be funny or talkyou out of it, thier a longer post
>>>>>comming depending how you reply. BTW what your buget range. MJM
>>>>Thanks for any info.
>>>>
>>>>Mimi
>>>>>
>>>>>----- Original Message -----
>>>>>From:<mailto:mimi@cape.com>Mimi Schlichter
>>>>>To: <mailto:rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org>rhodes22-list@rhodes22.org
>>>>>Sent: Friday, September 13, 2002 6:26 PM
>>>>>Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Rhodes Continental 22' - 1976?
>>>>>  Hello everyone...
>>>>>
>>>>>I'm new to this list, as I am just now contemplating purchase of a
>>>>>boat... in particular , an oldie but goodie Rhodes continental 22',
>>>>>circa 1974-1976.  Anybody out there who has one who can give me their
>>>>>opinion on the boat, what I should look for in/on it before purchase,
>>>>>and approx. value?  I've seen it on trailer... though the inside of the
>>>>>cabin looks a bit tired and in need of refreshing, the boat itself and
>>>>>the riggins seem to be in fine shape.
>>>>>
>>>>>I live on Cape Cod (Buzzards Bay side - more protected)... have sailed
>>>>>a Sunfish all of my life... and am just now entertaining getting into a
>>>>>'real boat'.  Not looking to race or do longdistance type stuff... just
>>>>>go out for the day and putter.
>>>>>
>>>>>Thoughts?
>>>>>
>>>>>Thanks!
>>>>>
>>>>>Mimi Schlichter
>>>>>North Falmouth, MA
>>>>>
>>>>>                   *******
>>>>>
>>>>>Please take a look at my websites...
>>>>>
>>>>><http://www.artworkbymimi.com>http://www.artworkbymimi.com
>>>>>Paintings to bring you joy!
>>>>>
>>>>><http://www.melaleuca.com>http://www.melaleuca.com
>>>>>Peace of mind through safer,
>>>>>healthier, less expensiveshopping!
>>>>>
>>>>>Blessings of joy and peace to you!
>>>>>
>>>>>Mimi Schlichter
>>>>>
>>>>>508-548-9096
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>                   *******
>>>>
>>>>Please take a look at my websites...
>>>>
>>>><http://www.artworkbymimi.com>http://www.artworkbymimi.com
>>>>Paintings to bring you joy!
>>>>
>>>><http://www.melaleuca.com>http://www.melaleuca.com
>>>>Peace of mind through safer,
>>>>healthier, less expensiveshopping!
>>>>
>>>>Blessings of joy and peace to you!
>>>>
>>>>Mimi Schlichter
>>>>
>>>>508-548-9096
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>>
>>--
>>                   *******
>>
>>Please take a look at my websites...
>>
>><http://www.artworkbymimi.com>http://www.artworkbymimi.com
>>Paintings to bring you joy!
>>
>><http://www.melaleuca.com>http://www.melaleuca.com
>>Peace of mind through safer,
>>healthier, less expensiveshopping!
>>
>>Blessings of joy and peace to you!
>>
>>Mimi Schlichter
>>
>>508-548-9096
>>
>>

========================
Paul Grandholm
C&H Technology
GrandPower Components Div.
========================