[Rhodes22-list] Rhodes 22 advice sought

[Charlie S]

Greetings from a first-time poster and novice sailor. I'll apologize up
front for the length of the post and hope I'm not transgressing any forum
norms.

A bit of background is probably worthwhile. My wife retired a while back
and I joined her this past May, so we both now have time for leisure
activities. I’ve always wanted to sail and to that end, started crewing at
a local sailing club where I also got my ASA Basic Keelboat cert. I’ve been
bitten by the sailing bug and want to spend more time on the water. I also
want to bring both my [reluctant] wife and our sole remaining home
companion (a young Welsh Springer Spaniel) along. With travel also on the
cards, it seems logical to combine things, bringing me to the consideration
of a trailerable cruiser. The tow vehicle is an older Volvo XC-90 V8 with a
nominal capacity of 5,000 lbs.

I anticipate very mixed sailing use. As noted, we are recent retirees, so
have a great deal of flexibility regarding time. My location (near
Philadelphia) affords easy access to a number of excellent sailing
opportunities. We’re only a few miles from the Delaware River, and 30 miles
from Delaware City on the Bay. Barnegat Bay on the Jersey shore is an hour
away. The Chesapeake is not much further, and two of the Great Lakes (Erie
and Ontario) are both less than 400 miles away. I’d love to get to Florida
during the cold weather months; my brother winters near Sarasota, so we
have land quarters available on the Gulf. Time in the Keys may also be on
the cards. All that said, it's likely the boat will spend quite a bit of
time at a slip on the Chessie (from late spring to early fall), and only
travel during during the colder months.

I’ve done some background research online and via those outdated
communication artifacts known as books and magazines. From that, I
developed a fairly lengthy preliminary list of candidates of which the
Rhodes 22 is near the top.  The criteria include livability (a boat that
two can comfortably sleep in for a few days and has room enough for a
medium sized dog); ease of launch and recovery; ability to rig and sail
single-handedly; availability of support - parts, information, and a
manufacturer that’s still around to allow easier access to any needed
proprietary parts.

While I haven't ruled any boat absolutely out of consideration, the Rhodes
22 ticks nearly all the boxes. The Rhodes has a number of very appealing
features: In-mast mainsail furling system, the larger cockpit & traveler
location, large cockpit decently laid out cabin with pop-top, robust
rigging, flotation and an enthusiastic sailing base.

As far as budget, the target is roughly $10k for boat, trailer and o/b. As
to in-person viewing, I was at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum auction
last month saw a few boats firsthand, one of which is on was a ’95 Rhodes
22. While the boat seemed reasonably sound, I did not know enough to
considering bidding. While I think she went for just over $1,000, with a
trailer (that seemed in questionable shape), she needed new sails, some
rigging and an outboard. I’ll be at the Annapolis boat show next month and
hope to have the chance to demo sail a Rhodes 22.

Some specific questions:

   - The mainsail mast furling system seems to be a big plus that can make
   solo handling much easier. Is that truly the case?
   - I’m seeing quite a number of recycled Rhodes 22’s offered for sale. I
   know what the GB website says about their recycle program but does that
   make a boat built in say, 1987 and recycled in 2015, more like a four year
   old boat than a 32 year old one?
   - Mast raising – some of what I read indicates that stepping the mast
   single-handedly is difficult and that an electric mast raising system is
   really needed. True, mostly true or blarney?
   - Can the Rhodes handle limited coastal cruising (assuming a competent
   skipper)? My definition of limited is the Gulf, maybe the Keys or very
   short stints off the NJ coast.
   - Specific advice relative to purchasing a Rhodes 22.

Any and all advice and suggestions gratefully accepted.


Charlie