[Rhodes22-list] A New Rhodie Joins the Ranks

[William E. Wickman]

Fred,
You're absolutely right.  My 8 year old was the only kid that even stepped
foot in the cabin, and that was just to explore.  She was back out in a
matter of minutes.  Coming from a wooden boat to the Rhodes was a big step,
but I really do not get that bleach bottle feeling on the Rhodes like I
have on so many other fiberglass boats.

Bill W.




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  |       To:       rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org                                                                                   |
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  |       Subject:  Re: [Rhodes22-list] A New Rhodie Joins the Ranks                                                             |
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Bill,

Great story.  You've told very clearly how the younger crowd prefers an
exiting ride in a large cockpit and relaxation on a decent bow deck over
spending
time in the cabin of the typical bleach bottle style sailboat.

Fred

> After lurking here for a little while, I guess its time to come out the
> closet and introduce myself.  I acquired a new (to me) 2000 model Rhodes
> about a month ago.  Anyway, I am located on Fort Loudon Lake in
Knoxville,
> TN at Concord Yacht Club along with another "Rhodie" that is in the
process
> of restoring a 1976 era Rhodes.  Wally, you may remember me as the guy
from
> CYC that came down to visit and look at your boat last spring.  Seems
like
> a long time of searching and waiting for the right boat has finally come
to
> an end; and just in time for some late fall sailing.  Stan was
> right....again.  He said to be patient and the right boat will come
along.
> Kind of like cats, I'm not sure if we pick our boats or our boats pick
us.
> If you are so inclined to read on, I would like to share my first
> experiences with the boat.
>
> After cleaning up the boat and admiring it in my driveway for about a
> month, I couldn't wait any longer and launched it last week.  During the
> past week, I have entertained a continuous barrage of interested sailors
> stopping by for a look and tour of all the neat and unique features of
the
> Rhodes.  It has been very heartwarming to be on the receiving end of
> comments such as "beautiful!"  "Awesome boat!"  "Luxurious"
"comfortable"
> "opulent" "unbelieveable" "I want one."  Talk about pride of ownership!
>
> Several of you have related tales of wild rides during the heavy winds
that
> swept through the Southeast late last week.  Well, my inaugural sail was
on
> Friday afternoon.  My 16 year old son called me from school (for the
first
> time ever) and asked if I would take him sailing.  Well, those of you who
> have teenagers will understand that you should never turn down your teen
> when they actually want to do something with you.  The wind was
> irresistible so I left work early and headed to the dock.  When my son,
his
> friend, and I got out on the lake I suggested that we reef as the winds
> appeared to be blowing around 18-20+ knots and I was not really familiar
> with the boat outside of what I read.  Well, being the testosterone
filled
> teenagers that they are (into extreme sports and all), and me not wanting
> to be thought of as the old man, I relented and put up full sails; not
even
> dropping the boom to its lower position (at least I kept the pop top
> closed).  What a ride!  I kept saying to myself over and over as I stood
> vertically on the inside edge of the seat looking almost straight down at
> the water; water that was sliding up over the rail, "Stan said that it is
> impossible to capsize this boat...Stan said that the boat will not
> sink...how tragic, I'm going to capsize and sink on my first time out!"
>
> Well, the boat did neither.  In fact, just like everyone has said, it
> stiffened up tremendously as soon as the gunnel hit the water, and then
> simply rounded up.  It did this several times to the whoops of my son and
> his friend.  They thought it was great sport.  I was afraid I was going
to
> slide out of the boat into the chilly lake, although I too found it
> exhilarating as soon as I realized that we were not going over.  I
finally
> convinced them that we would go "faster" if we experimented with some
> reefing.  The evening came too soon we and returned to port safe and dry.
> My son and his friend could not wait to do it again.  I was looking for
any
> rum that the previous owner might have stashed in a secret place.
>
> I learned several valuable lessons on that first sail.  The Rhodes cannot
> be capsized (or if it can, I would hate to see the conditions).  In heavy
> winds anyway,  the Rhodes sails with the exhilaration of an oversized
> dinghy.  Even when you have buried the rail, you stay bone dry.  The
Rhodes
> is a boat that can captivate the interest and excitement of a 16 year
old.
> It most certainly passed the extreme sailing test.
>
> In contrast, I gathered my whole family of five (my other kids are 13 and
8
> years old) for a quiet Sunday evening sunset dinner cruise.  I was
> interested to see how the boat would handle a family of five.  The winds
> were light to nil; more typical of what we see on our lake.  Other than a
> few nasty power boat waves, it was smooth sailing.  What a contrast to
> Friday.  We set up the cockpit table, spread the table cloth and munched
on
> hor'derves and wine (soft drinks for the kids) while a whisper of breeze
> ghosted us along as the sun slowly set.  The kids enjoyed bundling up
> together at the bow as we slowly motored back to the slip.  My 13 year
old
> like it so much she begged me to haul the boat out and trailer it to
> Charleston for the weekend where we are going to my son's high school
> sailing regatta.  The boat most certainly passed the "family" test.  I
hope
> their enthusiasm remains over time.  Mine has only grown in the short
time
> that I have had the boat.  The possibilities are endless...
>
> Sorry, I didn't mean for the is posting to be so long, but I guess my
> enthusiasm just got the better of me.  I also love reading about everyone
> else's adventures and thought you might enjoy mine.  It sure beats
> politics!
>
> And now...to think of a name for her.
>
> Bill Wickman
>
>

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