Rhodes 22 Anarchy

[BurnsideStyle]

Rhodes 22 - anyone have one?

One has popped up near me for next to nothing. Solid project boat status I'm sure..

From what I've read, they are pretty solid little "cruisers"

I am looking for a boat big enough to do comfortable long weekend cruising in the Gulf of Mexico. But small enough to be easily maintained and trailerable.

Any thoughts from current or past owners?

 

[Diarmuid]

Beloved by the people that own them. Cause of much head-scratching among those who don't. Active owners' groups, probably get more feedback over on the Trailer Sailor board. Several past and present Rhodes 22 sailors there.  Hull-to-deck joint is strange, and the pop-top is famous for leaking. But very good gunkholer/camper/cruisers for protected waters up to, say, the East Coast sounds.

 

[BurnsideStyle]

Beloved by the people that own them. Cause of much head-scratching among those who don't. Active owners' groups, probably get more feedback over on the Trailer Sailor board. Several past and present Rhodes 22 sailors there.  Hull-to-deck joint is strange, and the pop-top is famous for leaking. But very good gunkholer/camper/cruisers for protected waters up to, say, the East Coast sounds.

I found the Rhodes22.org owners group, doesn't seem to be much going on there but they did have some good info. Will try the trailer sailor board. Thanks.

 

[Bull City]

Don't do it.

 

[Sail4beer]

The only ugly, non-sailing boat that came from the builder near the end. 
 

It’s also not a Phil Rhodes design. 
 

Don’t bother yourself with it.

 

[Steam Flyer]

Rhodes 22 - anyone have one?

One has popped up near me for next to nothing. Solid project boat status I'm sure..

From what I've read, they are pretty solid little "cruisers"

I am looking for a boat big enough to do comfortable long weekend cruising in the Gulf of Mexico. But small enough to be easily maintained and trailerable.

Any thoughts from current or past owners?

Well, I've never owned a Rhodes 22 but I have had a couple of friends with them, sailed in company with them a fair bit.

General observation- Boats are one of those things where if it looks like a good deal, the odds are 99.9% you're not seeing it right. There is nothing that is such an expensive albatross around your neck as a "Free Boat."

So, if your attraction is that it seems like an inexpensive way to get sailing, then you will probably regret it (unless you're a masochist with lots and lots of free time).

About the boat- they're decent little boats, a bit on the heavy/underpowered side; but were solidly built originally. They tend to attract "true believers" who are convinced of the technical superiority of various quirks in the boats' design. So if you're looking to join a mild-mannered cult, this could be your ticket.

- DSK

 

[Lark]

I love mine for what it is.   Its a trailer launchable pocket cruiser for 1-2 people in semi protected water.    So far I've done some coastal cruising on three great lakes and Kentucky Lake.   Others have done much more.   (Sea of Cortez, Desolation Sound, Chesapeake Bay, etc).  One is for sale in the Med right now.    The owner's wife wouldn't let him sell it when they got a bigger live aboard, so they shipped it there for a couple summers.   The newer rigs are optimized as a convenient slip stored day sailor with in mast furling, which I like for after work sails when I'm tired and don't have much time.   It beats going home and turning the TV on, so I get a lot of sails per year.   The diamond board was an addition when the builder started renting to prospects on the shallow Albemarle sound.   Its very forgiving for accidental grounding, but won't generate lift as well as the older fins.   As a trailer sailor I regularly visit unfamiliar venues.   Lake Erie especially can be thin, depending on winter ice cap, so this is a positive for my style use.    Its not fast.   I get passed by longer waterlines easily but generally keep up with a Catalina 22 (though I have to reef before they do) and easily outsail a friend's Ensenada 20.  There's a math equation:   Do you want to get there fast, or do you enjoy the process?   It shines in a light breeze on calm water, gentle breeze on the lakes.      My personal wind envelope is 5-25, though I've been caught in much higher.

Phil Rhodes reportedly visited it at boat shows didn't disinherit it, so its fair to say he was paid for the design.   The builder did hire an industrial / aircraft firm to design the deck casting and the interior was done in house.    The flared hull shape was the builder's requirement, not necessarily Rhode's preference.  It provides good deck space, is surprisingly dry in chop and rigid (but heavy and the narrow beam at waterline hurts initial stability).   Trade offs.   The mast height is as original, but mast extrusion and centerboard have been changed over the years.      

My pop top tent doesn't leak, nor does the pop top itself.   Some water will enter at the lower shroud chain plates.   The hull to deck joint is solid shoe box style, not prone to cracking from rough docking.   It will leak when you wash the side decks.   The boat in the photo looks older, it lacks the portlights on the forward house.   cabin top hatches are nice for ventilation, if present.   The new ones have 2, one over the head and one over the bunk.   The older boats did have a wood deck core, so usual rot concerns apply.   Some very old boats had wood stringers.   The interior does disassemble for repairs or upgrades, the sole and furniture aren't a hull liner.   There is a bolt on cap over the centerboard that is generally problem free unless damaged during launching.    Its ok to leave the diamondboard down when trailering, to center the boat on the drive on trailer, but make sure its up when you launch.   Integral flotation is adequate.   

The Rhodes 22 Owners' Group

 

[chester]

I love mine for what it is.   Its a trailer launchable pocket cruiser for 1-2 people in semi protected water.    So far I've done some coastal cruising on three great lakes and Kentucky Lake.   Others have done much more.   (Sea of Cortez, Desolation Sound, Chesapeake Bay, etc).  One is for sale in the Med right now.    The owner's wife wouldn't let him sell it when they got a bigger live aboard, so they shipped it there for a couple summers.   The newer rigs are optimized as a convenient slip stored day sailor with in mast furling, which I like for after work sails when I'm tired and don't have much time.   It beats going home and turning the TV on, so I get a lot of sails per year.   The diamond board was an addition when the builder started renting to prospects on the shallow Albemarle sound.   Its very forgiving for accidental grounding, but won't generate lift as well as the older fins.   As a trailer sailor I regularly visit unfamiliar venues.   Lake Erie especially can be thin, depending on winter ice cap, so this is a positive for my style use.    Its not fast.   I get passed by longer waterlines easily but generally keep up with a Catalina 22 (though I have to reef before they do) and easily outsail a friend's Ensenada 20.  There's a math equation:   Do you want to get there fast, or do you enjoy the process?   It shines in a light breeze on calm water, gentle breeze on the lakes.      My personal wind envelope is 5-25, though I've been caught in much higher.

Phil Rhodes reportedly visited it at boat shows didn't disinherit it, so its fair to say he was paid for the design.   The builder did hire an industrial / aircraft firm to design the deck casting and the interior was done in house.    The flared hull shape was the builder's requirement, not necessarily Rhode's preference.  It provides good deck space, is surprisingly dry in chop and rigid (but heavy and the narrow beam at waterline hurts initial stability).   Trade offs.   The mast height is as original, but mast extrusion and centerboard have been changed over the years.      

My pop top tent doesn't leak, nor does the pop top itself.   Some water will enter at the lower shroud chain plates.   The hull to deck joint is solid shoe box style, not prone to cracking from rough docking.   It will leak when you wash the side decks.   The boat in the photo looks older, it lacks the portlights on the forward house.   cabin top hatches are nice for ventilation, if present.   The new ones have 2, one over the head and one over the bunk.   The older boats did have a wood deck core, so usual rot concerns apply.   Some very old boats had wood stringers.   The interior does disassemble for repairs or upgrades, the sole and furniture aren't a hull liner.   There is a bolt on cap over the centerboard that is generally problem free unless damaged during launching.    Its ok to leave the diamondboard down when trailering, to center the boat on the drive on trailer, but make sure its up when you launch.   Integral flotation is adequate.   

The Rhodes 22 Owners' Group

sounds like you are using and enjoying it that's what counts.

 

[Lark]

The cabin windows are unique.    The initial boats were built by contract builders, later Stan (builder) would customize to suit the buyer, but this may have been modified after the build,    I’d look carefully for quality concerns and also for any damage that forced the work.   Look also for stress at the mast step and supporting bulkhead area, either from the modification or collapse from rot in the bilge.   
 

The rudder checks also may be custom built.  Factory versions angle forward and look less boxy.    

 

[Rasputin22]

Calling that boat a Rhodes makes me gag! Stay away! FInd a Rhodes 19 which is the real deal. Also available as a cuddy cabin cruiser known as a Mariner. 

 

[Lark]

Calling that boat a Rhodes makes me gag! Stay away! FInd a Rhodes 19 which is the real deal. Also available as a cuddy cabin cruiser known as a Mariner. 

Spend a week on a Mariner.    It’s a day sailor with bunks, not a trailer cruiser.

 

[Steam Flyer]

Spend a week on a Mariner.    It’s a day sailor with bunks, not a trailer cruiser.

The people I know who had Rhodes 22 liked them, I should have emphasized that more in my earlier post. They've also all moved on to bigger non-trailerable boats.

The Mariner is a classic though. I saw a Harmony 22 for sale the other day, I think on Craigslist... that one should go into the 'Not Mocking' thread

- DSK

 

[Lark]

The people I know who had Rhodes 22 liked them, I should have emphasized that more in my earlier post. They've also all moved on to bigger non-trailerable boats.

The Mariner is a classic though. I saw a Harmony 22 for sale the other day, I think on Craigslist... that one should go into the 'Not Mocking' thread

- DSK

There’s lots of good boats based on type of usage, owner age, location, typical wind, etc.    Except for one of those cat boats Tom likes and a potter yachter, I’m by far the smallest sailboat I’ve seen while cruising in the Great Lakes.   The others, including almost all the bigger boats, were just day sailing.   The cabin was wasted.    I’m currently in the largest boat I feel comfortable rigging and launching single handed in towns I’ve never been to before.    Most of my sailing is on a nearby reservoir where a larger boat has no advantage.    There’s always trade offs.    A larger boat and / or deep fixed keel would certainly be needed to handle for me to handle a small craft advisory with any confidence.     A smaller boat launches faster with less work.    A ferrous swing keel trades stability for maintenance I’m not comfortable doing in a driveway.   The local repair guy is of the opinion a sailboat is too fragile to be lifted in a hoist.   He clearly broke the back of one and isn’t touching my boat.

The OP wanted a small boat to simplify maintenance.   He didn’t specify trailerable, but asked about one, which avoids yard fees and allows work to be done in his driveway,   If he doesn’t plan on trailer launching (and retrieving to avoid hurricanes) a fixed keel would expand his weather envelope.   If he can hire boatyards, dropping a 500 pound swing keel for sand blasting and cable replacement may not be a big deal.    Like you pointed out, a cheap boat is best suited for the guy that likes to tinker in boats, not the guy that likes to sail cheaply.   Small boats do allow sailing cheaply, two foot itis forces its own compromise:   Not as nice, but bigger, or more cost and bigger.   The OP wanted to spend long weekends on the water, so a daysailor wasn’t his spec.  Few boats of this size range have the accommodations I enjoy.   He may be happy with less.   Compac may also be worth a look for weekending and (gasp) water ballast If he trailers often. 

I googled your Harmony 22, being ignorant,    Per sailboat data there are only 37 to chose from, if they all survive.   They also require a wide load permit and chase vehicle to move by highway.    

 

[Steam Flyer]

There’s lots of good boats based on type of usage, owner age, location, typical wind, etc.    Except for one of those cat boats Tom likes and a potter yachter, I’m by far the smallest sailboat I’ve seen while cruising in the Great Lakes.   The others, including almost all the bigger boats, were just day sailing.   The cabin was wasted.    I’m currently in the largest boat I feel comfortable rigging and launching single handed in towns I’ve never been to before.    Most of my sailing is on a nearby reservoir where a larger boat has no advantage.    There’s always trade offs.    A larger boat and / or deep fixed keel would certainly be needed to handle for me to handle a small craft advisory with any confidence.     A smaller boat launches faster with less work.    A ferrous swing keel trades stability for maintenance I’m not comfortable doing in a driveway.   The local repair guy is of the opinion a sailboat is too fragile to be lifted in a hoist.   He clearly broke the back of one and isn’t touching my boat.

The OP wanted a small boat to simplify maintenance.   He didn’t specify trailerable, but asked about one, which avoids yard fees and allows work to be done in his driveway,   If he doesn’t plan on trailer launching (and retrieving to avoid hurricanes) a fixed keel would expand his weather envelope.   If he can hire boatyards, dropping a 500 pound swing keel for sand blasting and cable replacement may not be a big deal.    Like you pointed out, a cheap boat is best suited for the guy that likes to tinker in boats, not the guy that likes to sail cheaply.   Small boats do allow sailing cheaply, two foot itis forces its own compromise:   Not as nice, but bigger, or more cost and bigger.   The OP wanted to spend long weekends on the water, so a daysailor wasn’t his spec.  Few boats of this size range have the accommodations I enjoy.   He may be happy with less.   Compac may also be worth a look for weekending and (gasp) water ballast If he trailers often. 

I googled your Harmony 22, being ignorant,    Per sailboat data there are only 37 to chose from, if they all survive.   They also require a wide load permit and chase vehicle to move by highway.    

Good catch on the beam. Obviously an important spec for a boat that will be trailered regularly. I had a Santana 23 which was 8'9" ...legal nowadays in NC (they widened the trailering width to 9' -for boats- for all the out-of-state fishing tournament participants)... but 3" too wide back then and in most states. I trailered it fairly often anyway but most of the time it lived at the sailing club with the mast up. It was NOT optimised for ease of trailering but some boats are, without a whole lot of compromise.

I kinda hate to recommend Hunters but the Hunter 23.5/240 (same boat, different model years) is one of the best trailerable cruisers that is easy to rig/launch; probably 2nd place would be the older Mac 26. Both sail well enough to be fun, the Mac is tippy and can be a handful. The Hunter is smaller but more comfy both daysailing and interior IMHO (always a matter of taste). It's a bit on the bulky side which is why I chose the Hunter 19 as a trailerable cruiser for my wife and myself before we retired, we did weeklong trips to all kinds of places around the eastern US as well as weekends on nearby lakes or at the NC coast ~3 hr drive away. You can cover a lot more ground at 60mph!

The absolute easiest rig/launch would be the Sea Pearl 28. Another funky masterpiece though, you have to love it's quirks or just say no (I said no). The smaller Compacs are pretty easy too but part of what makes them easy is being under-rigged.

But there's always trade-offs, in design characteristics and in money too.

- DSK

 

[Diarmuid]

The clever/bonkers use of interior space & convertable fixtures reminds me of certain French boats, like the Dufour Arpege.  Again, the people who sail them rave about their 'big little boat' tricks, and everyone else is like, "Blerrrgh, goofy."

 

[Elegua]

I have a soft spot for boats that are widely loved by their owners, even if they aren't the most orthodox.