[Rhodes22-list] ANOTHER first sail on my R22

[Mark Whipple]

Thanks, Stephen. I appreciate it. We have a bunch of members at SHYC who
just belong so they can store their boat there. It's much cheaper than a
marina. Now I just have to talk my wife into letting me store my R22 in my
back yard. Of course, the fact that the ComPac 16 is already there might be
an issue.

Mark

On Mon, Oct 21, 2019 at 12:54 PM Stephen Staum <snstaum at gmail.com> wrote:

> That’s a great club. Several former Squantum YC members are there & I am
> actually on the waiting list for next year although I will probably stay at
> the Hingham Shipyard Marina. I will be floating into November so let me
> know if you want to get out this year or if you need a hand with bringing
> yours in.
>
> Stephen
>
> On Mon, Oct 21, 2019 at 12:46 PM Mark Whipple <mark at whipplefamily.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Hi Stephen,
> >
> > It's great to have another R22 owner close by! I belong to Savin Hill YC
> in
> > Dorchester and that's where my mooring is located. SHYC is fortunate to
> > have a yard where I can store the boat over the winter. Unfortunately
> I'll
> > be paying storage for two boats until I sell my 30' Nimble yawl.
> >
> > My boat is currently in the water although I really hope to haul it out
> > this weekend. Engine troubles have caused some delays, but I hope to
> > install a new starter relay and carburetor this week. I've made a few
> short
> > sails between the SHYC docks and my mooring. For me it's a little like
> > sailing a dinghy again! That's a good thing.
> >
> > I'm sure I'll be in touch. It would be great to take a look at your boat
> to
> > compare.
> >
> > Thanks again,
> >
> > Mark Whipple
> > S/V Tiny Dancer
> > Milton, MA
> >
> > On Mon, Oct 14, 2019 at 8:47 AM Stephen Staum <snstaum at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > Hey Mark. I know your boat.  When my friend Ed was looking to buy a
> > > sailboat a few years back we looked at a Rhodes 22 at a club in
> Everett,
> > > MA. It had wheel steering, an inboard w sail drive & a self tending
> jib.
> > It
> > > was above his budget so he passed on it. A couple of years later, the
> > same
> > > boat showed up on a neighboring mooring where I was based at Squantum
> > Yacht
> > > Club in Quincy (off Wollaston Beach). We were neighbors for several
> years
> > > but I never got to sail on this unique boat. Maybe now I get another
> > > chance. This year I moved my Rhodes to Hingham Shipyard Marina due to
> the
> > > low tide delays at Squantum Yacht club. Where are you sailing out of?
> > >
> > > I have owned a Rhodes 22 since 2003 so can help you with anything you
> > need
> > > assistance with. I will be floating until November if you want to get
> out
> > > on a Rhodes before next season.
> > >
> > > Stephen Staum
> > > s/v Carol Lee 2
> > > Needham, MA
> > > 781-704-1037 (cell)
> > >
> > > On Wed, Oct 9, 2019 at 10:40 PM Mark Whipple <mark at whipplefamily.com>
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi folks,
> > > >
> > > > I'm jumping on the bandwagon to tell you about my first sail on my
> R22!
> > > > This is a long post so only read it if you have the time to be
> > > (hopefully!)
> > > > entertained for a bit.
> > > >
> > > > I purchased this boat at the beginning of July in a town in central
> > > > Massachusetts. For a variety of reasons I did not launch this boat
> > until
> > > > 10/1. I a some fun stories about raising the mast for the first time
> > but
> > > > I'll save that for another time.
> > > >
> > > > I currently own three sailboats, as long as you don't count the two
> > > > dinghies that can also sail. My largest boat, a Nimble 30 yawl
> designed
> > > by
> > > > Ted Brewer, is currently for sale. I really love the boat but I
> wanted
> > to
> > > > downsize as I approach retirement. I did not launch the Nimble this
> > year
> > > > although she was in the water last year. My third boat is a Com-pac
> 16
> > > that
> > > > lives most of the time on Cape Cod. This year I was granted a mooring
> > in
> > > > Pleasant Bay on the Chatham/Harwich/Orleans border.
> > > >
> > > > I wanted to downsize from the Nimble 30 to sailboat on a trailer and
> > > after
> > > > some research it seemed the Rhodes 22 was a good fit for me. I came
> > close
> > > > to purchasing a Seaward 25' but I'm very glad I ended up with the R22
> > > > instead. Currently I own a RAV4 Ltd with towing package, and I will
> be
> > > > using that vehicle to launch and haul Tiny Dancer at my boat club on
> > > Boston
> > > > Harbor. The long term plan is to replace the RAV 4 with Highlander
> that
> > > can
> > > > tow the R22 on the highway. BTW this R22 is a little unique: she has
> > > wheel
> > > > steering, a self-tending jib with a Hoyt jib boom and an internal 15
> > hp.
> > > > gas engine with a Saildrive underneath. She will soon receive the
> name
> > > > "Tiny Dancer."
> > > >
> > > > After hauling the Compac 16 on 9/14 I then set my sights on launching
> > the
> > > > R22. I at least wanted to have a test run before the winter. I'm a
> > middle
> > > > school technology teacher and I had two days off from school on 9/30
> > and
> > > > 10/1. I first tried to launch the boat on Mon. 9/30 (we had raised
> the
> > > mast
> > > > a couple of weeks earlier). Unfortunately we ran out of time. It was
> a
> > > plus
> > > > tide so the boat yard became partially flooded at high tide. Getting
> > the
> > > > tongue extension to come out took  quite a bit of time and effort and
> > was
> > > > the main cause for our delay in launching.
> > > >
> > > > The next day a friend and I went down closer to low tide and tried to
> > > > launch the boat. We were on the boat club's main ramp which is long
> and
> > > > fairly flat. Unfortunately it was too flat. It didn't look like we
> were
> > > > going to get deep enough to launch until I backed up just a bit more
> > and
> > > > the trailer seemed to fall into a hole on one side. Then the boat
> > floated
> > > > off. Later analysis suggests that I either backed into a big hole in
> > the
> > > > ram or I actually went off the end of the paved ramp.
> > > >
> > > > Once the boat was floating I started the engine. It ran but didn't
> idle
> > > and
> > > > would stall when I put the boat in gear. I decided I would just haul
> > the
> > > > boat back out and be done with it until next year. However by this
> > point
> > > I
> > > > couldn't get the trailer in deep enough because now the water was
> much
> > > > higher. Boston Harbor typically has tides around 9 - 10 ft., but this
> > > tide
> > > > was close to 12 ft. It even flooded the main artery road next to the
> > boat
> > > > club. I knew even if I could, I shouldn't put the trailer back in as
> > far
> > > as
> > > > I did when launching. There was a good chance of causing damage to
> the
> > > > trailer if I tried to pull it past some kind of obstruction with a
> 3100
> > > lb
> > > > boat on it.
> > > >
> > > > The boat sat on the floating dock near the launch ramp overnight. I
> > came
> > > > back the next day and the direction of the wind was now much more
> > > favorable
> > > > for sailing to the club dock or even my mooring. The forecast said
> NNE
> > > > winds 10-15 kts gusts to 20 kts. I don't think I saw whitecaps but it
> > was
> > > > pretty breezy.
> > > >
> > > > My first sail was getting the boat from the launch doc to the leeward
> > > side
> > > > of the club doc. After that it got too dark to get out to my mooring
> -
> > > > especially because I wasn't certain where the mooring had been
> dropped
> > > this
> > > > year. When heading to the main dock had just the bare minimum of jib
> > and
> > > > main out, in part because I was sailing almost dead downwind. I
> reached
> > > the
> > > > dock and immediately realized my boat would be much better off on the
> > > > leeward side (the dock was essentially perpendicular to the wind).
> > > >
> > > > I got the boat around to the other side of the dock but had trouble
> > > tacking
> > > > (because now the dock was upwind) so I turned the boat by gybing.
> > > > Eventually I realized I needed to roll out more main, but by that
> time
> > I
> > > > had got the boat on a good tack which let me land it on the dock. A
> bow
> > > > line, stern line, springer lead from the bow cleat and a couple big
> > > fenders
> > > > secured her until I could get back to move her to the mooring. Of
> > course
> > > I
> > > > never found my mooring but picked up another that wasn't in use.
> > > >
> > > > I hope to haul Tiny Dancer on the trailer this coming Monday
> (Columbus
> > > > Day/Indigenous Peoples' Day). I've been told there's a second ramp at
> > my
> > > > boat club that is twice the slope of the main ramp. The secondary
> ramp
> > > has
> > > > no dock, so the logistics promise to get interesting, especially if I
> > > can't
> > > > rely on the engine. Updates to follow!
> > > >
> > > > Looking forward to learning much more about this boat!
> > > >
> > > > Take care,
> > > >
> > > > Mark Whipple
> > > > S/V Tiny Dancer
> > > > Boston, MA
> > > >
> > > --
> > > Stephen Staum
> > > Pariser Industries, Inc.
> > >
> >
> --
> Stephen Staum
> Pariser Industries, Inc.
>