[Rhodes22-list] Novice sailor

[FCrawford0707 at aol.com]

In a message dated 9/24/2007 7:52:58 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
ray.baker at bis.midco.net writes:

Greetings, 



I began sailing this summer and have fallen  in love with the experience. I
have sailed on boats from 13' to 34'. My  experience has been limited to
lakes in Minnesota and South Dakota. I live  in Bismarck, ND, and I'm
thinking about buying a sailboat to use on Lake  Sakakawea which is about 75
miles from where I live. 



I took  lessons on a Rhodes 22 and fell in love with its size and ease  of
operation. What are some of your thoughts on this boat? Is it a good  starter
boat? What should I consider before purchasing my first sailboat?  



Ray Baker





Ray - You have asked a pretty biased group for our opinions - we're pretty  
solid supporters of the R22 and General boats, but as long as you're willing to 
 live with that, I have no hesitation in recommending the Rhodes for all the  
reasons that Stan has put in his descriptive materials / brochures.  We  
purchased Sunday Morning in 1994 - try our best to keep her close to "as new" -  
we have done gunkholing in 2.5 feet of water, cruised up and down not only the  
Chesapeake but (and I don't recommend this) also the Delaware  bay, daysailed 
in the Atlantic and the back bays of south  jersey.  Short of true bluewater 
sailing (the displacement, ballast ratio  and size are not suited for heavy 
weather / offshore sailing), we  think you couldn't do better.  It is amazing 
how comfortable a  "mini-cruiser" she has turned out to be - between the pop-top 
giving great  headroom and the enclosure, she is good for far more than the 
proverbial  "weekender".   Best of luck and welcome to the sailing  community.
        Frone Crawford
        s/v Sunday  Morning



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