[Rhodes22-list] Bohemian Sailing

[brad haslett]

Anne,

Let's not be to harsh on the Bohemians.  I'm beginning
to think of myself as a Bohemian sailor.  My oldest
boy and his friends survived Spring Break on the boat,
the boat didn't fare as well.  They stayed up all
night partying while I slept in the aft cabin.  The
second morning we cranked the engine and motored for
about 30 minutes until the wind picked up, and then
raised the sails and a few toasts.  When the wind died
down we stowed canvas and attempted to start the
diesel ginny.  Click, Click, Click!  My battery
charger quit a couple of months ago (it was a salvage
unit off the Mayflower), the replacement is on
backorder from Sailnet, and apparently we didn't motor
enough to recover from the gazillion hours of stereo
use.  "Not to worry boys!  Its a sailboat!"  The
current was drifting us pretty quickly to a rocky
shore so I unstowed the main, manned the helm, and had
Spencer man the halyard winch.  I'm not sure what
happened but when the main was fully-up it had about a
two-foot tear in the top panel.  We sailed back to the
inlet to my marina with what wind (and sail)we had and
then flagged down a pontoon boat for a tow.  Not just
any pontoon boat, a 350 cubic inch V-8 powered pontoon
boat (didn't know they made such a thing).  I pulled
the main off the boat, threw it in a sailbag for
repairs, and pressed on with the week.  I purchased a
cheap battery charger from Wal-Mart to finish the
week's frivolities and sailed on the ginnies, both
iron and fabric.

Now here's the deal:  my old main was pretty tired
anyway.  Last year I debated replacing it but sent it
to SailCare instead.  It came back still somewhat
dingy and baggy, unlike the sails I sent to them off
the Rhodes-22.  You can only do so much with an old
sail.  Replacement costs run from $900+ to $2000
depending on the vendor and features.  I'm debating
going to a Doyle StackPack.  They haven't given me a
quote yet but I understand its quite expensive.  Do
you or anyone on the list have any experience with the
StackPack or know anyone who does?  If my boat were
newer I might consider boom-furling but it doesn't
make economic sense now.  Of course, I could just sell
the damn thing, get another Rhodes-22, and build a
cabin on the lake which is what I wanted to do in the
first place!

Brad Haslett
s/v "CoraShen"  (Bohemian registry)


		
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