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As an engineer who drifted into sailboat sales, first as a dealer for most of the trailerable cabin sailboats in the 22 foot range and then as a builder of this category of boats and as a family-of-5 sailor who has trailed and cruised this kind of sailboat in bays, rivers and lakes all over the U.S.A., I have become saturated with the facts and fears, the physical and emotional needs, that add up to what the seeker of a family trailerable cabin sloop wants and should look for.
Over a thirty year period we have handled and studied the other 22 sailboats that have come and gone or remain and can make some interesting comparisons with the RHODES 22. So, as a serious looker, the 13 minutes it takes to read this report will turn you into a minor sailboat buyer genius.
Trailerable cruising sailboats in the 22' size are easy to trail. They vary in: Ease of launching and retrieving, ease and safety of raising the mast or lowering the keel, use of space, sailing performance, features and appeal. This report covers these7 variances.
Raising the mast has been made easy on trailerable boats because the base of the mast attaches to some sort of hinge system. But in some boats the mast slips into the hinge (instead of being bolted) with the danger of jumping out during raising. Most masts are limited to being raisable only forward; the crew clumsily maneuvering from cockpit floor level to seat level to gunnels level to the cabin top level. Today many trailerables have mast raising equipment.
With the Rhodes' mast you stand on the flat bow deck and raise the mast aft - and save loads of time because you are simultaneously raising boom, main sail and giant 175% genoa. Some owners claim they can lift the Rhodes IMF system single handed. It takes two of me, grunting. . .unless I take the time to set up the mast hoist and let my wife raise the mast, the boom, the 175% Furling Genoa, and the Furling Main, all by turning a handle. Or pressing a button.
You can raise the Rhodes mast (and boom and entire sail inventory) physically with two healthy crew members standing on its flat bow deck. You can raise it in either direction (depending on land or air obstacles, like overhead wires) because the Rhodes is one of the rare boats to have double lower shrouds. Or, one weak-backed captain can raise it single handed with the Rhodes' unique mast hoist option operable from the ground - or from on board while the boat is in the water. And when you raise the Rhodes IMF mast, YOU ARE READY TO SAIL because you have raised not only the mast but the already connected boom and all the variable size sail area you will ever need.
So, if ease of mast raising is important to you because of low bridges, dry sailing, vacation trailering or a light weight crew, the Rhodes mast system and the Rhodes unique mast hoist option makes this a boat to look into further.
Lowering a keel has been solved in one of 4 ways:
1. Make the keel fixed so you do not have to lower it. But then neither can you raise it. OK. Then why not make the fixed keel shallow so the boat can still be considered trailerable? The facts of sailboat design just do not support this solution. Part of a keels's effectiveness comes from its area and the shallow keel would not have as much area. OK. So why not make the shallow keel very long so it has more area? No good. Keels work because they develop a difference in pressure from one side to the other. Water flowing under the keel from the high pressure side and up the low pressure area, tends to cancel this pressure differential. Shallow keels do not stop this neutralizing of differential as well as deeper keels.
Putting Wings on the keel to deter this flow around the bottom has partially solved the problem for keel boats. Upwind performance improves but the increased wetted surface of the wings hampers downwind sailing. Winged keels are certainly not the answer for trailering or shoal draft sailers: They make it more difficult to get a boat on or off a trailer and draw more water than centerboards. Once a wing keel strikes bottom it digs in like an anchor and you cannot escape by the conventional technique of shifting crew weight to decrease draft. You may not have thought about it but when you shift crew weight on a winged keel boat you actually increase draft ! A terrible handicap for those of us who do not like to sail with a chart under our nose. Winged configurations pick up debris and, since their wetted areas are not variable, they are slower on a run. Most are cast iron requiring continual rust control. Most builders of trailerable boats have discontinued using wing keels.
2. Put the keel on a pivot so it can be deep for sailing and shallow for trailering. This "swing-keel" solution was the predecessor of the wing keel and has now been phased out by most builders. A big 500 to 700 pounds of rustable iron had to be supported by a single pivot pin, controlled by a strong cable that frayed and became inoperative as soon as one strand wore through. And finally, swing keels have to be hoisted with a winch whose handle has been known to run away lowering a keel, sometimes demasting fingers.
3. Then we come to the dagger board, a system that makes me, and the boat, shudder (or worse) when you hit bottom. Not many cruising boat builders use this type of fin because it is harder to control, takes up interior space, right up to the cabin top, and can not pivot. Strike bottom and your dagger board has two choices: Convert to a pivoting board and sink on the spot. Or stop on the spot while the crew continues in motion.
4. The pure centerboard is now being rediscovered by all of the builders who have gone through the dagger boards, shoal fixed keels, swing keels and winged keels and are now on the water ballast kick. Water ballast boats have no keel at all and simply rely on a long, thin board that, in most designs, retracts into the hull. This allows floating in shallow water but requires deep water for sailing. And, since these light weight boards are no longer "swing keels", water ballast boats have no external ballast, only internal water ballast, resulting in less stability efficiency and structural integrity.
Every magazine I have ever read evaluating the best fin for the shoal draft boat or trailerables, concludes that the way to go is with a combination keel/centerboard. This is the most expensive of the solutions but many of the better builders have opted for it: There is no keel appendage bolted to the boat's bottom so no leak potential. The molded-in keel of the keel/centerboarder adds tremendous "T" beam strength to the bottom of the boat. The boat can be sailed (not just floated) in shallower water than any other configuration. If you do hit bottom or any underwater obstacle, instead of coming to a screeching halt that could damage boat and crew, the centerboard automatically retracts into the keel. If you go aground you get a second shot at heading toward deeper waters. You can beach the boat without fear of damage and step off the bow deck without getting wet feet. The boat goes on the trailer easier with the underwater guidance of the keel and lowered board that automatically raises; and trailers much better because the center of gravity, with a ballasted external fin, is so much lower than in an emptied water ballast boat. Gas saving may be negated by safety.
In the Rhodes 22, the design of the combination keel/centerboard has been taken close to the point of perfection. Cables to swing keels or to bottoms of centerboards are great for catching seaweed, humming tunes or drumming up turbulence. The Rhodes control line is inside the keel. With no long cable running from the bottom of the boat to the end of a swinging fin, performance is better and quieter. Cable drag is eliminated and there is no hummm.
The Rhodes carries its ballast in the fixed keel. This has the great advantage of allowing the swinging part of the fin to weigh less than 70 pounds. Pivot construction and crew control is infinitely more practical. Instead of having to move tremendous weights with a big winch and handle, a small cam cleat is ideally located in the cockpit, taking no space at all. Instead of a stiff cable, you handle a thin, blue braided line that allows young crew members to drop or raise the board in a flash with no fear of damaging boat or operator. Another plus: The board acts as a built-in depth finder.
Since the centerboard retracts into the keel, the cabin floor is flat. There are no mechanisms or fin trunks to trip over.
The trailer sailor does the unheard of. He or she lowers (not raises) the centerboard and sails right onto the trailer with the board down, for guided underwater centering!
The do-it-yourselfer has this great advantage over swing keel and exterior-installed-centerboard owners who have to go under their boats for servicing. The Rhodes' board is easily removed from inside the cabin ! No cranes needed. While this makes maintenance easier there is also less of it, with the Rhodes fin made of ballast encased in fiberglass, compared to keels cast in painted iron.
The versatile Rhodes centerboard even acts as a brake. Drop it at the proper moment for a perfect stop at a shallow slip. Recent model Rhodes carry this superior type fin one step further with the New Combination Keel/Diamondboard. Shaped for better pointing ability and even less draft, the Diamondboard is found only on the Rhodes 22.
We have not discussed deep keel boats because we are considering a trailerable boat. But in case you are under the impression you are giving up safety to get trailerability, let's see.
If a fixed keel boat runs aground it can be there long enough for even light waves to break it up. If the keel boat springs a leak, down it goes. To carry enough foam to support its heavy keel would leave no room for people so none is used. Trailerable boats can be made to float, although most builders ignore this safety opportunity because of cost. Ask. The Rhodes' foam flotation is molded into its hull for the added advantage of extra strength. The Rhodes is one of the rare boats built today that is not only UNSINKABLE but let's you remain on board dry, even if the hull is punctured.
What about capsizing? The Rhodes cannot be capsized under sail because of its flared hull. Most trailerables are self-righting. So the Rhodes is one of today's modern trailerable boats that is actually safer than its equivalent heavier keel boat.
THE USE OF SPACE or, "You left no room for my feet."
How big is a 22' boat'? Designs with big overhangs are misleading. It is the length at the water line that more accurately tells you about potential usable space (as well as potential speed). The Rhodes has a 20' L.W.L. (length water line). Long for a 22 footer.
In planning the R-22 it was decided: Reserve more of the L.O.A. (length over all) than is usual for the cockpit. Re-think the conventional floor plan of other 22s to get more livable room in a shorter cabin trunk. Keep the foredeck flat, clear, big and comfortable for more than birds.
The traditional reasoning for small cockpits was fear of trapping too much water when swamped. Notice that several of today's trailerables have left off the transom so that if they do get swamped, the water can freely leave the cockpit. However, with no transom, a following wave can also freely flood the cockpit. And guests can freely leave the cockpit...before their time. If for no other than psychological paranoia, boats without transoms make me uncomfortable.
With the Rhodes' flared hull to deflect breaking waves, its high freeboard, its high transom free of cutouts, and 3 separate self-bailing cockpit drains, this logic no longer holds water. And for those old timers who still argue it does - water can't sink a Rhodes.
The modern cockpit should have room for 6 rears plus 12 feet. Space taken from the cabin could more than be made up with a better floor plan than the one used in other 22s. And, as long as the bow deck was a necessity for grabbing moorings, why not also make it a luxury spot for kids, retired skippers and other pretty things to sun on.
THE DECK: This was easy. The temptation to slope the cabin roof down to the bow was avoided. The flared hull automatically provided exceptional space for walking along the cabin side decks.
THE CABIN: Standing, sitting, sleeping, cooking, dining, living, plus a fully enclosed head and storage - to offer all this meant designing for double and even triple duty from the same unit of space. AND coaxing double and even triple duty functions from the same piece of equipment like the dinette table. Other for instances: the cabin door folds down to become a serving bar, more counter work space or a chart table. An air scoop on the bow deck not only allows rope access to the under deck anchor rope tray but also provides way- forward ventilation. Not one but two cabin top adjustable locking Bomar hatches add more light, ventilation and head room. Plus, let those of us who can, use the "john" standing. And waving.
The Rhodes fully enclosed, three panel door, expanding size head compartment, is really in a class of its own. Inside this room you will find a real porcelain toilet that works on sea water so you no longer have to carry water into your cabin to periodically load a self-contained type head. Nor do you have to ever carry out or hand empty, anything. Holding tank waste is dockside-pumped-out or macerated for overboard discharge. The "rest room" ingeniously increases in size when occupied. A mirror, lights and 110 volt outlet for razor or hair dryer, port cosmetic shelf, starboard medicine shelf, toilet paper holder, towel hanger, all provide privacy primping facilities.... unusual, wonderful, unexpected convenience in a trailerable boat or pocket cruiser. You even have the option of push button flushing.
Some sailboats are available with pop tops (rising cabin roofs) - a great idea because it lets you put on your pants standing up, or sit out a rainy day by occasionally standing. These pop tops have pivoting arms that displace the roof toward the mast or into the cockpit. Shade and weather protection over the opening decreases. Headroom is limited to one height and mostly to those under 6 feet. The roof is either up or down. Raising these roofs usually requires a strong head, neck and arms - not a job for female crew hands.
The Rhodes variable height pop top is something else. It can be raised just a few inches for extra ventilation under way or when harbored for the night. Or it can be raised all the way to 6'-4" to take in most of us. It is not displaced from the cabin opening as it raises on telescoping arms that automatically snap lock at full height. You can sail with the Pop Top up. Best of all, anyone can handle this top since you only raise half the weight at a time.
The pop top has a feather touch sliding hatch built into it for comfortable entry when sailing with the top down. The telescoping stainless steel arms provide grab rails for rough weather entry. With its large cantilever peak weatherproofing the doorway and its built-in push button lock, the hatch alone is a work of design art.
People often ask, "How can the Rhodes have such a large cockpit compared to other 22s and still have bigger bunks in the cabin, (the dinette converts to a double bunk 6'-6"), a bigger galley, and more head room (both meanings apply)?" The answer came by moving the Head to the galley side of the hull, doing away with wasted hall space. And doing away with coffin-like quarter berths, used in so many other designs, allowed the dinette to convert to a much larger double bunk.
Just as real estate ads feature houses by the number of bedrooms, cruising boats rate themselves on how many they sleep. The 22s usually boast sleeping 5 or 6. Rather than jamming in 5, the Rhodes limits itself to 4 in more generous bunks while leaving substantially more area for the galley. Should you be blessed with a larger crew, the Boom Room option converts the cockpit to a great, standing headroom, fully enclosed, second cabin with room to sleep a small army sideways (port to starboard) or 3 basketball players lengthwise.
Galleys in trailerable sloops are admittedly toys, either sliding out from someplace or mounted over something, or doubling as the entrance step. On the Rhodes the galley approaches being a real kitchen with standing counter height and standing headroom. There is 4 1/2 feet of continuous work counter with storage above and below, a faster-cooking-than-alcohol stove with cutting board cover, and an ice chest with a vertical door and adjustable shelves. The 15 gallon water tank is filled with an outside pop-up handle deck port, so no more lost deck plate keys. The 2-way faucet over the extra deep sink is 12v. demand activated or manually operable when desired. And recall how the "Dutch" cabin door converts for more counter work space.
With better space utilization, the cabin does not have to steal room from the cockpit, as is done in the other 22s. So while I appreciate a cabin as a place to store gear (rather than lug it home after every sail) and as a place to go to the bathroom (my days of spanning the centerboard well, enclosed in a blanket, are over) or as a place to escape a sudden downpour, I appreciate a good cockpit even more since here is where I spend most of my sailing and loafing time.
THE COCKPIT: It is magnificent. It's huge: 8' X 7 1/2'. It's comfortable: Curved gunnels have nothing to cut into thighs or rears when you feel like hiking out. Seats are deep and open underneath so feet can retract aft as most of us are prone to do. Knees do not jam chins, backs are supported by heights never reached by other 22s.
The cockpit is self-bailing. But so are they all self-bailing. Yeah, but the Rhodes does it without leaving off the transom! And without sacrificing that good, old fashioned feature of open seats - space under seats for quick access to stored items like life jackets, lines, fenders, etc. that you always need in a hurry and for heels and toes that have nowhere to go in the bathtub designs of other cockpits. 3 separate systems automatically handle the self-bailing.
The Rhodes is able to accomplish this terrific feat because there are no quarter berths. Instead, a separate mold creates a cockpit floor that extends the full width of the boat with the aft end turning up to form a Lazaret. In addition to the convenience of open storage, a giant, 6' wide storage compartment with a key lock in its red lined hatch, can accommodate all of the kids . . . . a sort of brig.
It really behooves you to make the "cockpit test" before you make any buying decision because sailing is not fun if you are not comfortable doing it. Sit in every other competitive boat's cockpit and you will come away absolutely convinced that the Rhodes is going to be the most comfortable boat for you to enjoy sailing.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS This is an "extra" paragraph we include in this umpteenth printing of our Rhodes Report (not in our 7 point contents) because it is now another Rhodes 22 exclusive. The Rhodes has 110 volt Shore Power. An external starboard receptacle allows hook-up to marina shore power for the convenience of on board 110 AC appliances while dockside. 110v. wall outlets in galley and head allow use of TV, micro wave, air conditioner, vacuum, hair dryer, electric shaver, hot plates, even a battery charger to convert power for 12 volt cabin lighting without battery drain, while at the same time charging your battery (an optional automatic charger does this for you while you are somewhere else.). No shore power? Then the two on-deck solar panels work every day without pay to keep your battery charged while you are working elsewhere to pay for all this. Built into the upper galley shelf fascia, fuses, lighted rocker switches, 110 GFI outlets and 12 volt outlet, are finger-tip ready.
SAILING PERFORMANCE is the Naval Architects' forte . . so who designed it ?
Many of today's trailerables were quickly created by building a cabin on an existing day sailer or were designed by the manufacturer with ease of manufacturing more in mind than living/sailing performance.
The Rhodes, of course, was designed by PHILIP L. RHODES.
In giving demonstrations, knowledgeable sailors tell us, "Any boat can move if there is wind. I want to see how she sails if there is no wind." As a result of its low wetted surface design, the Rhodes' hull moves through the water under seemingly windless conditions. On one windless demonstration sail, we scooted past an Ensign (a 22' racing class) and the flabbergasted skipper shouted, "Where are you hiding your motor?" You may say you are not interested in racing but the fact that the Rhodes is fast is a sign of good design and good design means the boat will be easier for you to sail.
Good design may be hard for the new sailor to spot. Look at the shape of the rudder and centerboard blades: Flat metal blades are thought to be less efficient than sculptured shapes. Blunted designed fins build turbulence. Look at the water line: A large boat, built for rough seas, has a big overhang at both ends to provide additional buoyancy as the hull buries in waves. But we are not considering this kind of boat. On small cruising boats, the longer the water line the better the performance, and comfort. So compare the L.W.L. on each of the manufacturers' specifications.
While good design may be hard to spot, a good feel is not. Try the boat before you buy. It is amazing how different boats feel: Are all your body parts comfortable, are the controls comfortable, is the helm well balanced? (The Rhodes feels like it has power steering.) How hard are you working to have fun sailing?
Sailboats are powered by sail. Does this sound like a redundant statement? Not when you come to appreciate that the furling jib can be used at any sail area from zero to 200 square feet and the main sail can come out of the mast for an additional 100 square feet of variable area use with the boom's special topping lift and outhaul car. And not when you come to appreciate that your ability to combine varying area of main and jib gives you the right balance of power for any sort of sailing environment you may encounter. And that you can do all this from the security of the cockpit and easier and faster than on any other boat. You will discover: Your power to sail on balanced genoa alone (because it comes far past the mast) or sail on main alone, great fun. Your power to sail so easily and so well with combinations of partial main and jib, great comfort. And any lack in single handed power - "no problem" - with the amazing SELF-TENDING JIB. Imagine tacking all day without ever touching jib or main sheet!
There is a saying that goes something like, "In a motor boat you get there in a hurry. In a sailboat you are already there." You want a boat with that feeling. One that is not a strain or a pain. A boat that relaxes, not taxes you. Where the only thing under tension are the stays . . . a boat that, when you step on board, you are there.
The easiest way of insuring that you are getting good design is to make sure your boat was designed by a respected naval architect.
The Rhodes actually went through three design stages: The world famous naval architect, Philip Rhodes, did the sailing design. Ten Eyke Associates of Wichita Kansas, known for their industrial design work in the aircraft industry, did the curves and seat heights, etc. the aesthetics that give the Rhodes its distinctive look. And then the most important design phase: The owners who gave us a decade of feedback on what their needs and problems were, what they would like to see changed or done differently, and even their suggestions for how to actually implement their design improvements.
Most boats are sold through dealers and as far as the builder is concerned, most customers' ideas are blocked or lost in translation. The Rhodes is sold direct and is an evolution of users' thinking. Most boats have some special feature to justify their entry into the sales race. The Rhodes has an overwhelming combination of unique features to justify its entry. Here is an essay on, or an assay of, the results of melding an owners and builder design team:
Cables that support retractable fins hum like harp strings when set in vibration by the movement of water. One of the reasons for being attracted to sailing is the joy of quiet, the absence of vibration. This motor boat hum is a real drag in more ways than one. The Rhodes has redesigned the centerboard to perform better and quieter.
Deck space around the cabin on a 22 is small enough. Yet this minimum space is blocked, either by diagonal shrouds or chain plates growing right in the middle of this foot path, turning it into an obstacle course. The Rhodes lower shrouds (which of necessity are diagonal) fasten to the cabin roof so they do not cut across the side deck at all. The upper shrouds (which pass the cabin vertically) fasten to the hull at the gunnel. So there is a clear pathway around the cabin. Plus, with each shroud going to its own chain plate, the spaced out shrouds become handy vertical life lines
Try taking a walk around the foredeck or cabin top on some of the latest boat designs. There is not enough flat space for any but the feet of gulls, with all the sloping cabin and deck fronts and tops. The Rhodes' topside is all walkable, sitable, livable, and safe.
In addition to a bow eye, two eyes are added to the transom. They are so strong that several Florida owners hang their boats from back yard davits using only these three eyes. While this was not our design intent, they say they have been hanging around like this for years with no problems. We do not know another 22 gutsy enough to try this. We do recommend these eyes as ideal for towing, mooring, bow or stern anchoring, or slip lines, or for lock rings for a motor.
Three separate self-bailing cockpit systems and raised floor and seat centers mean you do not stand or sit in puddles and neither do your cushions. This seat moat feature allows leaving cockpit cushions outside, in place; a non-recommended lazy habit, that works.
Dinette tables, that project from the side of a rounding hull, require diners with unequal legs. The Rhodes table sits on a pedestal allowing it to be pivoted for easier seating of up to 5. It can be used as a "U" shaped dinette, or rotated for face to face dining. The table slides into tracks under the bow deck, returning the cabin to a living area. The same table moves to a matching base in the cockpit for delightful outdoor dining. And the table fills the "U" cabin seating to make up one of the largest double bunks in the 22' field.
A boat owner, recently forced into a nautical garage sale, claims you can never have too much storage. If the R-22 does not have too much, at least it offers more: Storage in the locked lazaret, quick access storage under cockpit seats using plastic baskets as drawers (they will not slide out because the cockpit floor is raised, yet they pull out quickly by lifting slightly), storage on the upper and lower coaming compartment shelves, even storage in the gunnels. Inside, there is storage under all the seats including a handy drawer that comes out across the entire floor, storage on the galley shelf, in the upper cabinet, the lower cabinet, in and next to the ice chest (for a garbage pail or serving trays), the enclosed head compartment doubles as a closet with shelf and clothes hanging space, 12' of shelving around the forward bunks, under the forward bunks, hammock storage for soft storage of clothes and bedding. How come so much unbelievable storage ? No sails to store - No internal water ballast.
Most boats offer none or limited boom height adjustability. In a Rhodes, stiffness and performance improve by lowering the boom in heavy weather. In fair weather, the boom can be raised to sail with the pop top up. You can't imagine what a grand way this is to sail. The cabin is bigger, the cockpit is roomier, the crew cheerier and visibility is great. "You" (well the majority of you) can sail standing up without ducking and dodging a "coming-about" boom.
Buying your boat from a manufacturer is quite different than buying from a dealer. You will have a lot of input into the building of your boat. So, as you go through our blinded passion for the Rhodes' features, if we have missed any good ideas, let us know. Try the Skipper's Sternrail Swivel Seats, insisted on by a lady at the Strictly Sail Show in Chicago, "like I see on big boats".... Better.
Although the Rhodes looks like a big boat for one person to handle (one owner was stopped by state police for pulling an oversized load until a ruler proved it was in the legal range), it is set up for very easy single handed sailing. You sit there, on giving cockpit seats or on the most comfortable gunnels ever designed or in one of the Skipper's Swivel Seats with Stern Rail back rests, with this very gentle tiller in your hand (I like to sail standing, with the tiller between my legs, hands free) never entering a tug of war with the main sheet. Its line comes through a fiddle block with a built-in cam cleat that is always on your side. A flick of the line locks or unlocks it. The angle of the cam is adjustable to your flicking taste. The Rhodes main sheet travels between the two back stays with no encroachment of cockpit space, no blocking cabin entry, no fear of accidental jibing - intentional jibing becomes common repertoire!
The jib sheets lock in clam cleats. If you have never used clam cleats let me tell you that releasing the sheet is so easy, I won't mention it. Add to this the Rhodes simplified fin controls and the fabulous furling genoa and Innermast Furling main and you become a 3-in-1 person crew who never leaves the cockpit....unless you want to. Add the luxurious self-tending jib option for the sailor who refuses to do anything at all. Sailing ON a Rhodes can really make you feel redundant as port or starboard tiller locks free you from the helm to take a break, stroll the decks or visit the comforts below.
Cabin doors are often a number of sticking panels with no home. The top half of the Rhodes' hinged door turns outward to increase galley counter space or becomes a serving bar or chart table or folds down to half door. Great for kids playing below. They see you. You see them. But they are contained.
Outboard motor brackets are generally ugly, awkward, ill tempered. The Rhodes Motor Lift is good looking (for a bracket), slides up and down with a mere pull of a cockpit pendant, setting depth to match your shoal; all with no macho strong-back acrobatics required.
Many small cruisers have cabin floors that follow the curved bottom of the boat. The Rhodes has a sole (a flat floor over the boat's curved bottom). Not only does this provide an uninterrupted walking surface but the carpet stays dry and peels back to uncover the hatch to the small bilge. Being able to reach this area and keep a dry bilge makes it possible to keep the cabin moisture and mildew free.
There are a host of other touches our owners/builder design team has caused to be incorporated in the Rhodes 22 that you will discover on your own. A few examples: The boarding ladder snaps into a bracket that does away with rattles and tie lines. Flat steps make it much more appealing to tender soles than steps of narrow tubing. Fenders handily hang from twin stern rail hooks. They are shaped to lock into the curved sides of the hull or to toss overboard for crew overboard. The lazaret hatch locks, hinges up or slides completely off for unbelievable storage of at least two more adults, grab rails on the aft cabin walls facilitate dockside boarding or gunnel seat hiking. And endless more happy surprises like a sliding panel to afford privacy to "V" berth or kid access from this berth directly to head. Cockpit coaming compartment homes for in-use sheets because neatness counts. Secret upper coaming shelves to hide the keys because honesty sometimes does not. And on and on...
APPEAL Aesthetically you are on your own. I like the slight reverse sheer (it allows a lower cabin trunk profile), the reverse deck transom (it gives a feeling of motion), and the flared hull (for the advantages covered below) and the multiple cabin windows (maybe because it makes the boat seem bigger from afar).
Let's take a look at the flare in the hull. This unique shape of the Rhodes creates sides of compound curves with several advantages: The flare makes the hull stronger. You may have noticed how the flat sides of some hulls flex when you push against them.
The flare makes the boat faster. The topside of the deck extends past the waterline beam providing "built-in" hiking seats, without ever having to leave the cockpit. (So you can carry more sail.)
The flare makes the boat drier. Spray and waves that would normally break over a flat side are deflected. The Rhodes is, by far, the driest of any of the 22s.
And finally, this flare helps the boat bounce back from a heel. We proved it for ourselves under the most extreme conditions. We put 3 of our best men at the end of a line attached to the top of the mast so they would have enough leverage to haul the boat over until the boom and sail were in water. The extra buoyancy, from this flare in the hull, gave the boat such a righting lift that when one man let go, the other 2 were catapulted over the mast and never heard from again. (Not really. They quickly realized that 2 men could not hold her down and let go in time.)
But back to APPEAL. While a boat this size is not a home (except for tax purposes - you do know that you can deduct interest costs on Rhodes financing from your income tax!), it would be nice if, when we went below, we were offered the feeling of a small, warm, cozy apartment. But fiberglass boats are glossy if not warm creations on the outside, the molded side, the side the fishes see. The rough side of fiberglass, the inside, is difficult to make palatable, no matter how many colors the manufacturer flecks or webs it with.
Competition has made most builders face this problem. A few use fiberglass head liners and hull liners, so the inside of the cabin has that same look as the outside; slightly sterile, cold and sort of monotonous. Many use a hull liner of fiberglass (so that laying out the interior floor plan is idiot proof) and a carpeted headliner. A few (usually larger boats built in smaller volume) customize their interiors in wood.
The Rhodes 22 is a boat pledged to economy but not to ugliness. The best of all solutions are used to finish its interior. A beautifully designed, one piece glass headliner provides a bright, easy to clean, mold-proof ceiling that adds insulation and stiffness to the decks above. No carpeting up here. Then an interesting blend of teak, ply, plastic, metal, carpet, even pegboard, make the interior most appealing - as well as most receptive to owner input, anytime.
Interior design engineering allows flexibility others cannot permit.
The Rhodes is also available with an unfinished interior at a saving that allows you to do your own creative cabin floor plan and decor.
AFTER the technical considerations have been digested, perhaps the Rhodes will complete the winning of your hand on its tiller with some little thing; the judicious use of wood trim with wood plugs hiding bolts instead of riveted plastic trims, the crisp and practical rub railing with its splash of your color in its changeable pinstriping, or maybe something as minor as the use of truss and oval head fasteners instead of bulky hex heads. Whatever it is, you will feel the boat's appeal without having to analyze it. One suggestion: View your finalists, rigged and in the water, to savor the boat's appeal the way others will see her when you are at the helm.
SO, IF WHAT YOU REALLY WANT IS THE AMENITIES OF A BIG BOAT, IN A SMALL BOAT THAT IS EASY TO RIG, EASY TO TRAIL, EASY TO SAIL, BIG, FAST, COMFORTABLE, ATTRACTIVE, WELL BUILT, AND AMERICAN MADE, then, we can highly recommend the RHODES TWENTY TWO.
