[Rhodes22-list] Why I Love My Boat

[Rick Evans]

Bill,

And everyone THANK YOU. YOur stories and feelings on
the Rhodes was exactly what I was looking for. The
things no matter what I read I couldn't get anywhere
else.

I have a 2 yr odl and one on the way and this is the
boat I am looking for. Hopefully I will come back from
Annapolis after writing Stan a check for a deposti on
a recycled Rhodes (since I am definitely a budget
sailor).

Thanks Again I have been a membe of lists for other
boats I have owned and have answered these questions
over and over. So thank you. 

I will keep you all posted. 

--- Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:

> Rick,
> 
> Everyone who asks this question thinks they're the
> first to think of it. 
> 
> We got so bored with it, we started collecting
> replies for a time like 
> this.  I think I collected 50 before I got bored
> with that.
> 
> Following are some of the replies.  No time to
> select, just cutting and 
> pasting.  All from real people.  All from this list.
>  Going back to 1999:
> 
> Oh!  Here's a good one.  From me in 2001:
> 
> Jack,
> 
> I thought people would have sent more stuff by now,
> but while I understand
> deadlines, you understand sailing.  You have
> requested information at a bad
> time for people trying to get in that one last sail.
>  Had you asked in the
> middle of the winter we would have sent enough
> information to fill
> Soundings.
> 
> I have been collecting answers from people on the
> list to the "Why do you
> love your boat" question for the past 3 years. They
> all come from different
> people, geographically disbursed, names available on
> request, but if quoted
> and named please check with the original sender.  I
> have cut and pasted some
> answers, and placed brackets around each sender's
> quotes so you will know
> where one ends and the next begins.
> 
> I think I can fairly speak for virtually everyone
> that both the boat and the
> Spitzers are terrific.
> 
> First I'll include something I recently sent to the
> list.  This truly
> reflects the way I feel about my boat.  You may
> quote me.
> 
> 
> (I take offense at the common locution that confuses
> buying a larger boat
> with "moving up".
> 
> A Chevy is not a "move up" from a Porsche.
> 
> I can afford any boat I can sail, but I choose the
> Rhodes-22.  It is the
> perfect boat for me.  It is the Rolls-Royce of boats
> that fit my needs.
> 
> I understand that people with kids, or who think
> they will sail around the
> world, buy larger boats in an attempt to compromise
> competing requirements.
> I have many friends who have done this.  Sometimes
> it works out.  Sometimes
> it doesn't.
> 
> But in my view, that is a "move different" not a
> "move up".
> 
> For the way I like to sail, the Rhodes is a little
> jewel I treasure.  As far
> as I'm concerned, I've moved up as high as I can
> go.)
> 
> 
> (Frankly, I think the boat has the best camp
> cruising accommodations for one
> or two people of any 22 foot production boat of
> similar displacement that
> can be easily trailered. The galley unit itself
> provides a lot of storage
> space. If the standard settee arrangement were
> substituted, you would have
> to fill it up with storage containers and ice chests
> to provide the same
> storage space with far less utility and convenience.
>  The drawer under the
> companionway step would by itself store a week's
> worth of canned foods for
> more extended cruises. Sitting headroom with the pop
> top down is comparable
> to other similar sized boats. With the pop top
> enclosure, one has full
> standing headroom in a well ventilated, bug proof
> and weather tight cabin.
> The cockpit hardware layout makes single handing as
> easy as any sloop rig
> with an overlapping headsail can be. The neutral,
> balanced handling, and
> superior comfort of the cockpit make a day at the
> helm a lot less tiring and
> stressful than say a Catalina or Hunter. Plus that
> large cockpit is far more
> comfortable than most for day sailing with a crowd.
> Any small boat will represent a balance of design
> compromises based on the
> designer's vision of the boat's function. Cabin
> space vs. cockpit space,
> headroom and interior volume vs. hull drag and
> sailing performance, size and
> weight limitations for trailering and launching. The
> prospective buyer has
> to choose the design that represents the best set of
> compromises for his
> intended use. For extended solo cruising one might
> pick a Flicka over the
> Rhodes; for competitive racing a J-boat or Sonar.
> But as a general purpose
> 22' sailboat that can do most everything well, the
> Rhodes is hard to beat.)
> 
> (We bought our 1976 Rhodes 22 in the spring of 1987.
>  At the time, I'd been
> sailing 8 years & my wife, Deb. had been a sailor
> for about 4 years.  The
> Rhodes 22 wasn't our 1st sailboat.  My wife & I knew
> what we wanted in a
> boat.  We looked for a year before finding our
> Rhodes 22.
> 
> 1st of all, we live on Sanford Lake in the central
> lower peninsula of
> Michigan.  Our boat had to be suitable for the lake
> we live on.  Sanford
> Lake is a manmade lake with a surface area of about
> 6000 acres.  Like most
> manmade lakes, the lake is long & skinny.  The
> lake's long dimension is
> oriented basically north/south.  Good windward
> sailing ability is essential
> on this lake.  There are plenty of shallow areas &
> stumps, so shoal draft
> with kick-up centerboard & rudder was important. 
> With it sitting in a slip
> in the backyard all summer, the boat's major use has
> always been daysailing.
> The huge open cockpit, plenty of on-board storage,
> large ice chest, 15 gal
> on-board water supply, great galley, & on-board head
> make her a great
> daysailer & good for entertaining guests.
> 
> In 1987, our two sons Daniel & Gary, were 4 & 1
> years old respectively.
> Little ones have intrinsically short attention spans
> & will tend to spend a
> lot of time below with their toys.  The Rhodes 22
> cabin ventilates pretty
> well to keep it cool & has a couple of different
> sleeping areas to keep two
> little boys separated when it's nap time.  ("That's
> my side of the bunk...No
> it isn't!")  The main cabin is very versatile.  You
> can put one kid at the
> table with a coloring book & the other one on the
> cabin sole with his
> MicroMachine cars.  (I still have at least one
> MicroMachine rolling around
> down in the bilge somewhere!)  Or, you can stow the
> table & open up the
> entire main cabin sole.  Or, one of them can go
> quietly read up in the
> V-berth.  The large amount of cupboards & hatches in
> the cabin add to the
> possibilities for an endless variety of make-believe
> games.  The lower half
> of the companionway hatch board can be installed in
> the hatch & left open.
> Now, the cabin is an enclosed playpen & you can see
> & hear what's going on
> down there.  Of course, Deb. & I were also concerned
> about safety & things
> like built-in foam floatation, roller furling sails,
> good nonskid decks, a
> good toerail, & the intrinsic safety of 9 stays on
> the standing rigging were
> important features.
> 
> I frequently went sailing with only Daniel & Gary
> when they were little.
> I'm an engineer & pretty handy at building things. 
> I designed & built my
> own set of 30" high double railings from 3/4"
> nominal diameter, schedule 40,
> stainless steel pipe.  The boys quickly learned
> there were several ironclad
> rules about life aboard the boat:
> 
=== message truncated ===


Thanks 
Rick