[Rhodes22-list] Another newbie

[Richard Arking]

Hello All Rhodies,  If you were at the Annapolis show this year you may have
noticed a dark blue-black hulled R22 among the three boats Stan and Elton
hauled to the Show.  The boat looked brand new to Donna and me as we
approached that Friday; we were surprised  to learn  that it was a recycled
boat and very pleased too, as our budget was for a recycled R22 , not a new
one.  So, trusting Stan as we have learned to do from reading the list for
several years and from sailing with Stan out of Edenton  in May 2010, well
readers, we bought it!  Chris Cowie, Mac McCready were there reinforcing
from their own experience what we had read of the R22's good sailing
qualities and Chris took us for a nice sail in his own OPUS, a lovely day.
Finally Mary Lou Troy clinched the deal absolutely, showing and telling
Donna how comfortably she and her husband live aboard for weekends and
longer.
     We'll be trading back to GB the San Juan 21, a very lightly built
nimble day sailer/racer we bought as a starter /practice boat from Stan in
May 2010.  The SJ has been fun to sail in Sheepshead Bay , Brooklyn (out of
Gateway Marina) but its time to step up to a more substantial boat we can
mini-cruise on ( especially when I retire in two years).  So the boat is
back in Edenton for some additional fitting out.  Which leads to a Question
for the list: we want a new Bimini and  poptop enclosure to be the same
color.  Meanwhile, the already in place cockpit cushions are a medium blue,
similar if memory serves to "Capri Blue" on the Sunbrella website. Stan
advises that the bimini is available in Navy blue, white, red or green. So,
should we opt for white or for the navy?  Is White too impossible to keep
clean for long?  Will it be too discordant if the Bimini and cushions are
different shades of blue?  Should we even care?  But you know how new
parents are- I mean of the boat, our children are twenty somethings.  Donna
hears me typing this, she just called out," I think blue".  What does the
list advise?  Thanks in advance for all the other questions I'll be posing
to you in days and weeks to come.  Richard (and Donna) Arking.