Plastic Classic Forum

I think the discussion about the off set on the cabin hatch is on target. I believe that on the original Rhodes Reliant and/or Rhodes 41 the hatch was offset to the starboard side by quite a bit. This allowed the galley to be tucked in on the port side of the cabin without having a ladder or steps c...

The Rainbow was a Sparkman Stephens design commissioned by the Annapolis Sailing School for use in their introductory classes. They were rugged, forgiving, and withstood years of hard use. The original design was pretty much a day sailor, with a minimalist cuddy cabin. Later versions had a smaller c...

The Tartan 27 (at least the original ones), were/are wonderful boats. I believe they were designed by Sparkman and Stephens, and are to my eyes, among the most graceful small cruisers of their era. You might want to look for the book, The Coast of Summer: sailing New England Waters from Shelter Isla...

Lest anyone think my earlier comment about the Morgan Out Island was unfair, let me stress that the boat was damned near perfect for her intended purpose.... a BIG, comfortable, reliable boat for groups to enjoy their charter vacations aboard. Lots of storage, lots of deck to loll about on, and lots...

You wrote: The ketch rig looks good too with a substantial mizzen. From a few angles it looks like an Out Island 41, not in a bad way," Now I have my tongue planted firmly in my cheek, because I've chartered OI's more than once, and they make great charter platforms - and god knows they have to...

This will be my first season sailing a '67 Seafarer 31 yawl. The two times I've had her out so far I have noticed a pronounced weather helm. Since I haven't had a chance to tune the rig, and I know the forestay isn't as tight as it should be, I marked the balance problem up to the rig not being righ...