[Rhodes22-list] Bohemian Sailing

[Mark Kaynor]

Brad,

Check out the Mack Pack at Mack sails - http://www.macksails.com. I learned
about Mack Sails from Bob and Kathy Quinn ("No Ka Oi") and bought Raven's
new main from them. We were very happy with the quality - I worked w/ Colin
Mack, who proved to be extremely knowledgeable and helpful. They're a great
loft to work with.

Mark Kaynor

-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of brad haslett
Sent: Monday, March 28, 2005 7:26 AM
To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Bohemian Sailing

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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