[Rhodes22-list] the HR 27 or whatever you want to name it

[stan]

Hopefully potential interested Rhodies have now viewed the 27 shell.

Re comments that the elevation appears extraordinarily "high", the List response is correct:  The finished version would be substantially heavier:  More fiberglass, more ballast, have a cabin interior, IMF sails and rigging, power and crew.

Nevertheless, the fact that even then the boat will look like a lot of boat for the money, will be appealing to our market and helpful for our interior designers.

To get more head room, some buyers (including myself) prefer boats with higher freeboard and low cabin trunks, as compared to the alternate look that would provide the same interior headroom:  Low freeboard and a tall, lopsided cabin trunk profile.  This would be one of the "compelling" differences Dave is rightly looking for.   Another is that no competitive boat has 7 foot standing headroom as provided by the 27's unique shallow pop top.  Even with the Rhodes 22's  6'-4" PT, many of you wishing for more headroom, settled for a Rhodes anyway because, although limited to 6'-4", it outclassed the headroom competition.

In attending boat shows all over the country (instead of being represented at shows by dealers - in April we will be in Oakland, California) and selling direct, GB has a huge advantage.  Most boat builders have two good ears.  If a buyer's thinking does not get filtered out by their dealers and does reach the removed busy builder, it is often a case of in one ear and out the other.  We have only one good ear left so all the wonderful buyers'  thinking we hear first hand, gets trapped; many ending up in our current boats, many still waiting in the wings.
(poetic license, actually I don't have any good ears left.)


Here is our preliminary thinking on the financial structure of the 27 company:

Capitalization:  $400,000.   Shares:  $10,000   (don't cringe - you will see, how in this proposal, this gets down to where every wannabe can manage to be).

If I modestly value my up-to-date existing contributions of design, engineering and existing molds at $150,000, I end up with 15 shares and there is still a brain for picking, leftover.   The remaining controlling 25 shares can end up going to one member or any number of members up to 25, to equal the remaining $250,000 working capital.  BUT, this kind of money is not needed up front.  What is needed is a committed cash flow to carry the project to its internal sales cash flow.   In my proposal, this means that if you want a share or more, your commitment can be as low as $500 or $1,000 a month.

Members can elect to be active or passive, the boat can be built here or anywhere else - China ?. 
Decisions on design, a name, layout and options can be fun.  And those who may sooner or later want to own one of their company's masterpieces, can vote for allowing members to buy at wholesale.  (Hey, that could make the share investment end up costing nothing.)

Since my impulse is to continue this on the List line, I am happy to do so.  But since my instinct tells me to contact those who have expressed an interest, directly, I will do that.

In the meantime, since I value the ongoing input that all of you ladies and gentlemen have been positing to this List, I look forward to whatever postings come into your heads re this project.

stan