Splash! Re: [Rhodes22-list] A sign of the times.

[Mary Lou Troy]

We're in! Fred spent the last several weeks finishing up the routine stuff 
like bottom paint touch up and cleaning. Had Fretless ready to go Friday 
night so Saturday we trailed her down to Rock Hall. It was a beautiful day 
for a drive through the countryside and the Spring Cove launch ramp was 
sheltered from the cool NE winds. Set up and mast raising were completely 
uneventful and with a very high tide launch was a snap. The motor ran 
smoothly and Fred got her into the slip without a ding. I mention all these 
things because that is not always the way it happens. It's very nice when 
it does.

Spent the rest of Saturday putting things together and visiting with the 
other earlybirds at the marina. Sunday morning we tuned the rig and went 
for a sail in very light air. 5 - 8 knots, few boats on the water, no 
powerboat wakes - it was a delight.

Sunday afternoon we went over to the Sailing Emporium to check former 
Rhodies David & Ellen Dawson's progress on replacing the teak decks on 
their Passport 42. It's pretty amazing work. Last fall they removed the old 
decks and filled the thousand & thousands of little holes. They are 
replacing the teak with a synthetic surface. It looks very teak-like and 
has a good feel to it - comes from Europe. It is thin and bendy and comes 
in long tongue and groove strips. Ellen was in the midst of laying it out 
on the deck and taping it together, fitting the pieces to the curve of the 
deck and fitting in the trip around hatches and fittings. It looked great. 
Next she has to determine cut points for each of the strips and glue the 
tongue and grooves together forming approximately 8 ft. mats. The large 
glued together sections will then be bedded on the deck. It looks great. 
Hope it wears as well as it looks. They are planning to leave for New 
England for 5 weeks in late June.

While we were there we went to check out David & Ellen's slip and 
discovered an older Rhodes 22 in a slip. No front ports on the cabin. 
Radome at the masthead. I've seen the boat a couple of times before but 
never knew where it was based.

Hope all the rest of the Northerners are making progress. Hope to see some 
of the Chesapeake Rhodies on the water soon.

Mary Lou
1991 R22 Fretless
Swan Creek, MD / Ft. Washington, PA

At 08:33 AM 4/18/2005 -0400, you wrote:
>Thanks, Rummy,
>
>Actually, temps in the 70s here too, and sailboats on the water.  I have 
>sailed every month of the year on LIS.  We get a couple of freak days in 
>different months every year, and I used to make a point of going out on 
>those days.  Also, there are things called "Frostbite Fleets" that compete 
>during the winter with nearby rescue ships.
>
>The water will kill you fast in the winter, so I don't fool around with it 
>anymore.
>
>As someone mentioned, setting up the boat in the Spring is part of the 
>fun.  The wax adheres properly, the bottom paint stays where you put 
>it.  There is enough time to do all the things you don't have time for 
>once the boat hits the water.
>
>We aim for Memorial Day, which gives us a 6 month sailing season.
>
>Bill
>
>
>
>R22RumRunner at aol.com wrote:
>
>>Bill,
>>Love the battened main sail. It gives me just enough extra power that I can
>>creep past Yankee Clipper when we sail together. Stan says it's a matter of
>>sailing ability, but I believe the advantage is the sail.
>>Gorgeous day in SC. Temps in the 70's and winds were off again and on again
>>in the 8 to 12 mph range. All in all, not a bad day.
>>Rummy
>>__________________________________________________
>>Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>>
>>
>__________________________________________________
>Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list