[Rhodes22-list] Why I Love My Boat

[Bob Weber]

Rick, One suprise you may not have counted on is if you buy a recycled 
Rhodes, unlike all the other boats you have bought in your life, it will be 
ready to sail with everything working.  Your to do list will never be 
smaller.  You can start into your wish list right away - you can not say 
that with ANY other used boat purchase.  I have a 2 year old as well and I 
feel pretty confident with her in the cockpit (life jacket of course).  She 
just learned to go thru the companionway into the cabin mostly on her own.  
Last weekend she tried this trick on a friends Catalina 30, I caught her in 
mid air !!!!  Hopefully your next boat fits the bill perfectly.

Bob Weber
S/V Ruba
Port St. Louis


>From: Rick Evans <ricke555 at yahoo.com>
>Reply-To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>To: The Rhodes 22 mail list <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
>Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Why I Love My Boat
>Date: Wed, 5 Oct 2005 17:20:42 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Bill,
>
>And everyone THANK YOU. YOur stories and feelings on
>the Rhodes was exactly what I was looking for. The
>things no matter what I read I couldn't get anywhere
>else.
>
>I have a 2 yr odl and one on the way and this is the
>boat I am looking for. Hopefully I will come back from
>Annapolis after writing Stan a check for a deposti on
>a recycled Rhodes (since I am definitely a budget
>sailor).
>
>Thanks Again I have been a membe of lists for other
>boats I have owned and have answered these questions
>over and over. So thank you.
>
>I will keep you all posted.
>
>--- Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
>
> > Rick,
> >
> > Everyone who asks this question thinks they're the
> > first to think of it.
> >
> > We got so bored with it, we started collecting
> > replies for a time like
> > this.  I think I collected 50 before I got bored
> > with that.
> >
> > Following are some of the replies.  No time to
> > select, just cutting and
> > pasting.  All from real people.  All from this list.
> >  Going back to 1999:
> >
> > Oh!  Here's a good one.  From me in 2001:
> >
> > Jack,
> >
> > I thought people would have sent more stuff by now,
> > but while I understand
> > deadlines, you understand sailing.  You have
> > requested information at a bad
> > time for people trying to get in that one last sail.
> >  Had you asked in the
> > middle of the winter we would have sent enough
> > information to fill
> > Soundings.
> >
> > I have been collecting answers from people on the
> > list to the "Why do you
> > love your boat" question for the past 3 years. They
> > all come from different
> > people, geographically disbursed, names available on
> > request, but if quoted
> > and named please check with the original sender.  I
> > have cut and pasted some
> > answers, and placed brackets around each sender's
> > quotes so you will know
> > where one ends and the next begins.
> >
> > I think I can fairly speak for virtually everyone
> > that both the boat and the
> > Spitzers are terrific.
> >
> > First I'll include something I recently sent to the
> > list.  This truly
> > reflects the way I feel about my boat.  You may
> > quote me.
> >
> >
> > (I take offense at the common locution that confuses
> > buying a larger boat
> > with "moving up".
> >
> > A Chevy is not a "move up" from a Porsche.
> >
> > I can afford any boat I can sail, but I choose the
> > Rhodes-22.  It is the
> > perfect boat for me.  It is the Rolls-Royce of boats
> > that fit my needs.
> >
> > I understand that people with kids, or who think
> > they will sail around the
> > world, buy larger boats in an attempt to compromise
> > competing requirements.
> > I have many friends who have done this.  Sometimes
> > it works out.  Sometimes
> > it doesn't.
> >
> > But in my view, that is a "move different" not a
> > "move up".
> >
> > For the way I like to sail, the Rhodes is a little
> > jewel I treasure.  As far
> > as I'm concerned, I've moved up as high as I can
> > go.)
> >
> >
> > (Frankly, I think the boat has the best camp
> > cruising accommodations for one
> > or two people of any 22 foot production boat of
> > similar displacement that
> > can be easily trailered. The galley unit itself
> > provides a lot of storage
> > space. If the standard settee arrangement were
> > substituted, you would have
> > to fill it up with storage containers and ice chests
> > to provide the same
> > storage space with far less utility and convenience.
> >  The drawer under the
> > companionway step would by itself store a week's
> > worth of canned foods for
> > more extended cruises. Sitting headroom with the pop
> > top down is comparable
> > to other similar sized boats. With the pop top
> > enclosure, one has full
> > standing headroom in a well ventilated, bug proof
> > and weather tight cabin.
> > The cockpit hardware layout makes single handing as
> > easy as any sloop rig
> > with an overlapping headsail can be. The neutral,
> > balanced handling, and
> > superior comfort of the cockpit make a day at the
> > helm a lot less tiring and
> > stressful than say a Catalina or Hunter. Plus that
> > large cockpit is far more
> > comfortable than most for day sailing with a crowd.
> > Any small boat will represent a balance of design
> > compromises based on the
> > designer's vision of the boat's function. Cabin
> > space vs. cockpit space,
> > headroom and interior volume vs. hull drag and
> > sailing performance, size and
> > weight limitations for trailering and launching. The
> > prospective buyer has
> > to choose the design that represents the best set of
> > compromises for his
> > intended use. For extended solo cruising one might
> > pick a Flicka over the
> > Rhodes; for competitive racing a J-boat or Sonar.
> > But as a general purpose
> > 22' sailboat that can do most everything well, the
> > Rhodes is hard to beat.)
> >
> > (We bought our 1976 Rhodes 22 in the spring of 1987.
> >  At the time, I'd been
> > sailing 8 years & my wife, Deb. had been a sailor
> > for about 4 years.  The
> > Rhodes 22 wasn't our 1st sailboat.  My wife & I knew
> > what we wanted in a
> > boat.  We looked for a year before finding our
> > Rhodes 22.
> >
> > 1st of all, we live on Sanford Lake in the central
> > lower peninsula of
> > Michigan.  Our boat had to be suitable for the lake
> > we live on.  Sanford
> > Lake is a manmade lake with a surface area of about
> > 6000 acres.  Like most
> > manmade lakes, the lake is long & skinny.  The
> > lake's long dimension is
> > oriented basically north/south.  Good windward
> > sailing ability is essential
> > on this lake.  There are plenty of shallow areas &
> > stumps, so shoal draft
> > with kick-up centerboard & rudder was important.
> > With it sitting in a slip
> > in the backyard all summer, the boat's major use has
> > always been daysailing.
> > The huge open cockpit, plenty of on-board storage,
> > large ice chest, 15 gal
> > on-board water supply, great galley, & on-board head
> > make her a great
> > daysailer & good for entertaining guests.
> >
> > In 1987, our two sons Daniel & Gary, were 4 & 1
> > years old respectively.
> > Little ones have intrinsically short attention spans
> > & will tend to spend a
> > lot of time below with their toys.  The Rhodes 22
> > cabin ventilates pretty
> > well to keep it cool & has a couple of different
> > sleeping areas to keep two
> > little boys separated when it's nap time.  ("That's
> > my side of the bunk...No
> > it isn't!")  The main cabin is very versatile.  You
> > can put one kid at the
> > table with a coloring book & the other one on the
> > cabin sole with his
> > MicroMachine cars.  (I still have at least one
> > MicroMachine rolling around
> > down in the bilge somewhere!)  Or, you can stow the
> > table & open up the
> > entire main cabin sole.  Or, one of them can go
> > quietly read up in the
> > V-berth.  The large amount of cupboards & hatches in
> > the cabin add to the
> > possibilities for an endless variety of make-believe
> > games.  The lower half
> > of the companionway hatch board can be installed in
> > the hatch & left open.
> > Now, the cabin is an enclosed playpen & you can see
> > & hear what's going on
> > down there.  Of course, Deb. & I were also concerned
> > about safety & things
> > like built-in foam floatation, roller furling sails,
> > good nonskid decks, a
> > good toerail, & the intrinsic safety of 9 stays on
> > the standing rigging were
> > important features.
> >
> > I frequently went sailing with only Daniel & Gary
> > when they were little.
> > I'm an engineer & pretty handy at building things.
> > I designed & built my
> > own set of 30" high double railings from 3/4"
> > nominal diameter, schedule 40,
> > stainless steel pipe.  The boys quickly learned
> > there were several ironclad
> > rules about life aboard the boat:
> >
>=== message truncated ===
>
>
>Thanks
>Rick
>__________________________________________________
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