[Rhodes22-list] Wanna Be with questions

[The Rhodes 22 Email List]

Hello Rhodies.   I’ve
been lurking on this list for a couple weeks and cyber shopping for
months.  I get to meet Stan in June and
finally see the Rhodes 22   I hope to
fall in love despite her aged looks.   I
also wanted to query the fleet   I’ve  been sailing on a Buccaneer 18 for over 30
years.  I started crewing on the same
boat as a kid.     The Bucc is a described
in Sailor Anarchy as “a fast boat.  
Initially very tender, but firms up just before she capsizes”   She lacks a self bailing cockpit.   Mine is not set up for racing, I just play
around. 

 I’m looking for a couples cruiser I can dock at the local
reservoir (southern Ohio) and sail more frequently than my dingy.    I also hope to take her to Lake KY or the
Great Lakes for a long weekend once or twice a year.   I tend to keep equipment forever, and am looking
for a quality boat that will still be serviceable in 20 plus years when I
retire.    Therefore I’m avoiding plywood decks and iron
centerboards.    I’d like a stable boat I can take my dad out
on.   He taught me to sail the Bucc when
I was a kid, but is no longer agile.   

I wanted to give the group a chance to sell me on this boat    My experience is almost entirely one design
on inland waters where few other sailboats play.     My Great Lakes experience is mostly paddling a canoe down the shore (bits of 4 lakes).    I’m
looking at a few other trailer sailors.  

 Catalina 250 is reportedly very difficult to launch without
a full team and plenty of time.    It is
more boat then I want.

 Hunter 23.5   Day
sailor with accommodations suitable for a quickie after sunset, but not
necessarily designed for a full weekend.  
The lack of a real head is a negative.  
I did like the 23.5 when I saw it in a boatyard.   I haven’t seen a 240 yet.  The 250 reportedly makes a lot of leeway.   Not many of these heavy boats were made..  The 260 is too wide to legally trailer. 

 Macgregor 26 S (not the motor cruiser) is analogous
to a Chevy Impala.   Fast but poor
handling, they are inexpensive and plentiful.   
To misquote Dr. Who: ”It’s smaller on the inside”.    Predictable necessary upgrades include a
roller furler jib, new sails,  an ida
sailor rudder,  reseal the fittings and upgrade
the head door.    I’d likely also end up
rewiring it.     I’ve
rafted up with one.    She kept up with
my Buccaneer fairly well, being light and long.   The styling is a product of the 80’s but so
am I!   

 Percision 23:  I
haven’t seen one.   The reputation is
unpredictable quality in a family cruiser.  
Not many built.     Good performance, but no head.   

 Rhodes 22.   Appears
to be an older Mercedes.    I haven’t seen
one yet.     The reputation is well engineered
but expensive.      Refined
handling, but a slow boat.     Relatively good access to the foredeck may be vital in Lake Erie chop.   Many parts custom to
‘Mercedes’ (GB) which is not a problem as long as Mercedes remains
healthy.     I will look at a recycled or
recently recycled boat out of the corral.   I doubt I will commission a new
sloop. 

 I’m not expecting an Ultimate 20, but hate to entirely
sacrifice performance.  The IMF seems
very cool, at the cost of roach and battens. 
  Does anybody know how it affects Portsmouth
numbers, etc.?.    Perhaps Stan can invent
‘in boom furling’.    Every boat is a compromise.   I
appreciate any insight or thoughts from the Rhodes fleet.    

 

Alex Cole

Urbana Ohio