1989 Rhodes 22 Advice

[majorkong1]

I’m looking into trailerable sailboats and became quite interested in the Rhodes 22. They seem to offer a great combination of performance, ease of launch, stability, quality construction, and offer one of the largest cabins in this category. One challenge is that they seem a bit hard to come by.

One is available near Richmond VA which so ~2.5 hours from where I’m located. It’s a 1989 offered at 5000 but the seller seems motivated, even preemptively offering to come down on price and deliver. I don’t have experience fixing up sailboats so I would prefer to find something that has been extensively upgraded and with detailed maintenance records (for boat, sails, engine, and trailer). That’s not the case here. She says it’s not a project boat and is ready to sail, but isn’t able to provide maintenance records. She and her husband inherited from a friend who sailed it often and maintained it well. The ad does specify the sails are new and in pristine condition.

My gut tells me it probably is ready to sail on a lake or protected waters, but likely some TLC is needed for smaller items and a few larger tasks would like occur in the first few years (probably new motor, standing rigging, etc)

is it a good enough value to take this on without experience repairing / maintaining sailboats?

 

[dmax]

From the pictures, I would say the boat is in fair-to-good condition. Needs some serious cleaning and the gel-coat looks shot. The engine might be serviceable but it's not new and is a two-stroke. For $5K you should be able to find a boat in much better condition - there are a bunch of Catalina 22's out there, very nice boat and a lot of kindred souls to help you out.

 

[majorkong1]

Thank you, this is how I’ve been leaning as well. Slightly unrelated question, would I be able to tow a Cat 22 with a 2023 Mazda CX9 (AWD, 3500 lbs)? I had the same concern with the Rhodes 22 but online people seem to tow Cat 22s with even smaller vehicles. However going by displacement the Cat 22 seems heavier than the Rhodes (2250lbs v 2000lbs, respectively). With a 1000 lb trailer, motor, and gear both seem to push the envelope.

From the pictures, I would say the boat is in fair-to-good condition. Needs some serious cleaning and the gel-coat looks shot. The engine might be serviceable but it's not new and is a two-stroke. For $5K you should be able to find a boat in much better condition - there are a bunch of Catalina 22's out there, very nice boat and a lot of kindred souls to help you out.

 

[dmax]

You'd be at the upper limit for towing - if you're not going a long distance and it's not too hilly, would probably be ok.