Welcome Charlie,
                          I think that you can't go wrong going with a
Rhodes.  If you are 26 years old like I was when I first bought my Rhodes,
or 55 like I was when I bought my 2nd Rhodes, or 69 like I am now and still
sailing (and plan to continue like Mel), you can't go wrong.  So after 43
years of sailing a Rhodes 22 all over the Chesapeake, The Canadian West
coast, the Pacific NW, Assorted western lakes and a few larger ones back
east and the Sea of Cortes, in Mexico, and the Bahamas, I can say without
hesitation it is a wonderful handling and safe boat.  We have trailered the
boat with a 1996 F150 6 cyl. with the same towing capacity that you have to
all the above locations.  (eventually we did up grade to a 12 year old F250
diesel).
  My wife loves our Rhodes so much that when we sold everything and moved
onto a Catalina 38 to live full time on a boat she refused to sell our
Rhodes.  Sell the house, no problem, cars and all the crap of 45 years of
marriage no problem.  But sell the Rhodes?  Fo' getta 'bout it.  Instead
she suggested we ship it over to the Med and use it as a summer boat. So,
these last 3 years we have lived aboard it in the summer months in Spain,
France, Italy and Greece.

Without a doubt, whatever you spend on a Rhodes 22 it will be the best
money you ever spent.  If you are interested in knowing more about cruising
while retired with a Rhodes and more about General Boats, Stan, and the
community of the Rhodes owners, you can contact me offline.  Again, Welcome!

Chris & Alice Geankoplis
S/V ENOSIS

On Tue, Oct 8, 2019 at 9:14 AM Charlie S <challey52 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Greetings from a first-time poster and novice sailor. I'll apologize up
> front for the length of the post and hope I'm not transgressing any forum
> norms.
>
> A bit of background is probably worthwhile. My wife retired a while back
> and I joined her this past May, so we both now have time for leisure
> activities. I’ve always wanted to sail and to that end, started crewing at
> a local sailing club where I also got my ASA Basic Keelboat cert. I’ve been
> bitten by the sailing bug and want to spend more time on the water. I also
> want to bring both my [reluctant] wife and our sole remaining home
> companion (a young Welsh Springer Spaniel) along. With travel also on the
> cards, it seems logical to combine things, bringing me to the consideration
> of a trailerable cruiser. The tow vehicle is an older Volvo XC-90 V8 with a
> nominal capacity of 5,000 lbs.
>
> I anticipate very mixed sailing use. As noted, we are recent retirees, so
> have a great deal of flexibility regarding time. My location (near
> Philadelphia) affords easy access to a number of excellent sailing
> opportunities. We’re only a few miles from the Delaware River, and 30 miles
> from Delaware City on the Bay. Barnegat Bay on the Jersey shore is an hour
> away. The Chesapeake is not much further, and two of the Great Lakes (Erie
> and Ontario) are both less than 400 miles away. I’d love to get to Florida
> during the cold weather months; my brother winters near Sarasota, so we
> have land quarters available on the Gulf. Time in the Keys may also be on
> the cards. All that said, it's likely the boat will spend quite a bit of
> time at a slip on the Chessie (from late spring to early fall), and only
> travel during during the colder months.
>
> I’ve done some background research online and via those outdated
> communication artifacts known as books and magazines. From that, I
> developed a fairly lengthy preliminary list of candidates of which the
> Rhodes 22 is near the top.  The criteria include livability (a boat that
> two can comfortably sleep in for a few days and has room enough for a
> medium sized dog); ease of launch and recovery; ability to rig and sail
> single-handedly; availability of support - parts, information, and a
> manufacturer that’s still around to allow easier access to any needed
> proprietary parts.
>
> While I haven't ruled any boat absolutely out of consideration, the Rhodes
> 22 ticks nearly all the boxes. The Rhodes has a number of very appealing
> features: In-mast mainsail furling system, the larger cockpit & traveler
> location, large cockpit decently laid out cabin with pop-top, robust
> rigging, flotation and an enthusiastic sailing base.
>
> As far as budget, the target is roughly $10k for boat, trailer and o/b. As
> to in-person viewing, I was at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum auction
> last month saw a few boats firsthand, one of which is on was a ’95 Rhodes
> 22. While the boat seemed reasonably sound, I did not know enough to
> considering bidding. While I think she went for just over $1,000, with a
> trailer (that seemed in questionable shape), she needed new sails, some
> rigging and an outboard. I’ll be at the Annapolis boat show next month and
> hope to have the chance to demo sail a Rhodes 22.
>
> Some specific questions:
>
>    - The mainsail mast furling system seems to be a big plus that can make
>    solo handling much easier. Is that truly the case?
>    - I’m seeing quite a number of recycled Rhodes 22’s offered for sale. I
>    know what the GB website says about their recycle program but does that
>    make a boat built in say, 1987 and recycled in 2015, more like a four
> year
>    old boat than a 32 year old one?
>    - Mast raising – some of what I read indicates that stepping the mast
>    single-handedly is difficult and that an electric mast raising system is
>    really needed. True, mostly true or blarney?
>    - Can the Rhodes handle limited coastal cruising (assuming a competent
>    skipper)? My definition of limited is the Gulf, maybe the Keys or very
>    short stints off the NJ coast.
>    - Specific advice relative to purchasing a Rhodes 22.
>
> Any and all advice and suggestions gratefully accepted.
>
>
> Charlie
>