Rhodes22

[Leland]

This may seem like a strange place to ask these questions, but this is one of the most active sailing forums around and it has a lot of experienced sailors who are knowledgeable about a variety of boats.

First of all, I'm a Mac lover. Depending on what you want in a boat, its pros far outweigh its cons. Most sailing "snobs" who criticize the Mac have never sailed one, and probably haven't sailed many other boats in its class (similar sized trailerable cruisers).

Question #1: Does anyone have an opinion on a Rhodes22? I like its cockpit and single-handling abilities. Compared to a Mac, it's smaller and twice the price. It's also more difficult to trailer, launch, retrieve and step the mast. Since size doesn't matter and I don't plan on trailering the boat, it's not that big of a deal to me. I primarily plan on using the boat as a daysailer, so I'll be spending more time in the cockpit than the cabin.

Question #2: If you hadn't purchased a Mac, what was your second choice and why?

Thanks for your advice!

Leland
Chesapeake Bay

[argonaut]

I inspected and made an offer on one a few years back.

They're built pretty well but I had a few issues.
o Parts only come from the mfgr. Alienate them and good like getting your new tiller.
o Best support group I could find was like twenty people... much less company so much less "common knowlege".
o Still a 5.5 mph boat.
o Nice roomy cockpit. Best feature I thought. I liked the open area below the cockpit seats, not sure how you keep stuff from sliding all over the place though.
o Cramped interior, maybe better with the poptop up.
o Boats are reworked instead of built new so when you buy one a guy bought "new" in '93, it may have been built in '84 and rebuilt in '93.
o Unsinkable, maybe the boat's best feature.
o Liked the split-backstay mounted traveler.
o 9 shrouds, mast ain't comin down when one snaps.
o Innermast main furling, nice if the mast is always up, heavy to muck around with if you trailer sail. Makes boat sail less close to the wind.

At the time I could have bought a sweetly configured Mac 26S for about $5K less that was three years newer. The deal breaker was the Rhodes didn't have a trailer.

I also could have had a well maintained Catalina 22 for about $5-7K and I felt the Rhodes was not two times the boat for two times the cash.

[Jim Bunnell]

Like all boats, the Rhodes is a compromise. I took a good look at it before buying my M. It could have worked for me, but I wanted to store on a trailer, and the kids thought that tubing behind a sailboat would be cool. They do make new boats, but they also have a refurbishing program that allows you to buy an older boat hull updated and equipped just as you would like. It is more expensive than "used", but is totally rebuilt.
There is a very comprehensive web site at http://www.rhodes22.com/ .
The mailing list at http://www.rhodes22.org/list/ has a lively discussion group who will share ideas and answer your questions. (You may also find out about their politics, preferences in rum, and favorite jokes. It's kind of like hanging out in a pub.)

[Randy Smith]

The Rhodes 22 and the Seaward are nice...sailboats...that breaks it for me. I was looking at the specs and neither boat has the room that the Macs have. I did like the Boom Room for the Rhodes....I think with some plywood and a coleman mattress I could do that on the X...have to snuggle with the pedastal!

Boating comes down to each persons needs, wants and affordabilty. For a sailboat and 36,000$, a couple with the occassional grand child visit, the Rhodes would be wonderful. I would likey get the Seaward for 30,000$ and four more feet and I think wheel steering.......

All this prefaced with, "If I didn't love my motorsailor so damned much....!!!" 5.5 knots just doesn't cut it for me.........

Best wishes in your decision......

[Beam's Reach]

Leland wrote:

Compared to a Mac, it's smaller and twice the price. It's also more difficult to trailer, launch, retrieve and step the mast.

Not much of a sales pitch. What's the upside?

[Eric O]

If you are looking for a small sailing boat and don't care about the abilitiy to travel faster under power and the larger cabin that you get with a Mac, maybe a West Wright Potter 19 would be worth a look. Of course you could always put a smaller motor on a Mac for that matter.

[argonaut]

Not much of a sales pitch. What's the upside?

These are nice little boats. They just have a different personality than a Mac. There's a metal centerboard that retracts into the stub keel, it's removable from inside the boat if you had to. So no worrying about dings & repairs on a glass centerboard. There are opening hatches in the top and opeing ports, I'd love some nice opening ports but they're iffy on a Mac where the cabin is pushed out to the sides of the hull. The Rhodes heels less because of it's lead ballast and it's hull shape sort of keeps you dry even on choppy water despite less freeboard. Amenities like lights, 110v shore power and on-demand 15 gal water are part of the base boat. There is also a porcelain head option... strange but true. Rigging is all quality stuff from shrouds to cleats.
Anyway some folks like a boat pretty much readt to sail, and appreciate a well built craft. If you look at a Mac it's only a few molded pieces. The Rhodes is assembled from more molded parts and "feels" more handbuilt and overall has a better fit and finish than a Mac. Beyond that it's a family operation, whereas Macs come off an assembly line. Over 5000 26Xs were built, I think over 9000 26-S models. The Mac 25 was the highest volume production sailboat in the world. General Boats is a low volume, high quality operation, and it's factory to you. No middle sales force. They actually answer their own phone. One of the operating partners has been know to deliver boats, help launch, and take you for a test sail to show you the ropes. They'll answer questions galore. You can rent a boat at the factory in NC and try one out. If you buy one and later decide you hate it they'll likely sell it for you. Small chance you'll loose money on the deal as average resale value is high due to the factory buying back and reconditioning many. In modern America they are an anachronism.

All boats are a compromise.
Mine was between the Mac's ease of rigging, maintainability (thousands of boats -vs- hundreds), and cost. Besides, Stan at General said if I ever got tired of my Mac he'd take it off my hands and let me trade up. What ever you want to do they'll work with you.






[/quote]

[Dave Mason]

Leland: There was a Rhodes 22 up here in Slocan Lake where my X lives. I thought it was slow on the water until I heard from the other keelboat sailors that it truly is slow. At least I wasn't the overall slowest boat anymore. But what a beautiful boat it is. Hard to believe they put so much into it, but not make it go. My Grampian Classic 22 sails circles around everything but dingies. But if you want a jewel, the Rhodes is one.

[Zavala]

maybe a West Wright Potter 19 would be worth a look.

I'll second that. We considered several of the Mac variants before settling on our 19 -- though I also really liked the West Wright Potter. I've often thought that if we needed to go bigger, I'd get another Mac -- or try to find a well kept Hirondelle 23 Catamaran.

[Lovekamp]

Addressing question #2:

My second choice and the boat I first purchased was a Catalina 22 swing keel. 5' draft with keel down, 2' with it up. Has a cabin, comfortable cockpit, well-behaved. Towing weight is fairly similar to the Mac26X. Pleasant boat, most used ones run $5000-$7000. Holds that same value no matter how old unless it gets really beaten up.

I have a pretty nice one for sale right in the middle of that range if you're interested.

[Eric O]

Zavala, that cat looks nice, but you'd have to give up trailering anywhere which is one of the nice things about a Mac.

And speaking of trailing. I looked at a couple of Catalina 22's but they both had tongue extensions on the trailer making me think that launching and loading would be more of a project it is with a Mac.

[KaiSchuler]

When we bought our 26M, we did also take a close look at the Rhodes, and it is not a bad boat. It has it's nice features, like the in-boom furling, the raising cabin roof, the good cockpit, and overall build-quality. But the price sticker was way too high in mind.

The boats that I would probably consider the number 2 and number 3 (if we had not gotten the 26M) are:

Second: Com-Pac Eclipse, nice boat, extremely well built, great layout, safe, nice cockpit (not for extreme conditions, not deep enough for that), good trailer, easy to launch and raise mast, price was competitive.

Third: The Seaward 26 with new electrically retractable keel. Very nice boat, but if I had equipped it the way I really wanted, it would have cost me 45 - 50k$, that was the killer. But: very nice boat.

I did not like the small Catalinas and Hunters. This does not mean that I don't respect these manufacturers in general. In fact, I think the 34 to 36 ft Catalinas are really nice boats. What I don't like with them is the fact that they have the aft berth at a 90 deg angle, and that makes them pretty uncomfortable (almost useless) if the boat is underway, and heeled).