What do you all think?

[American Patriot]

This is the boat I'm considering buying. The exact boat, not just a picture of a model of the boat.

She's a 40' Yawl, 60HP perkins diesel, four sails as you can see... and she's an old wooden vessel.

Just looking at her, what do you guys all think?

[American Patriot]

Inside shot

[American Patriot]

Salon looking forward Salon looking aft

[American Patriot]

Chart Table

[American Patriot]

lol, thanks Peterle. What DO you think though? Not just "perfect" but from looking at the picture what's your impression?

[Toad]

Looks nice, Rick. As a live aboard for two people I myself wouldn't consider less than a 35'. 40 is a nice size - 1 bedroom cabin? Looks like a wooden mast stepped through the cabin? I like those sail sizes, very manageable for 1 man if needed. I've been on boats with the main sail so large even with pulleys and a winch it was a beast to raise or trim.

Love wooden boats. I've built a couple cedar strip canoes (13' and 18') and a long term goal of mine is to build some larger wooden boats. (20-25' lake cruisers) I would however encourage you to get it inspected prior to purchase. Likely you intended this anyway. What year is it? Freshwater only?

[American Patriot]

Looks nice, Rick. As a live aboard for two people I myself wouldn't consider less than a 35'. 40 is a nice size - 1 bedroom cabin? Looks like a wooden mast stepped through the cabin? I like those sail sizes, very manageable for 1 man if needed. I've been on boats with the main sail so large even with pulleys and a winch it was a beast to raise or trim.

I love wooden boats too. However, being a practical person, it seems a boat that old might be .... well, have a few problems. I will have to go look her over.

Love wooden boats. I've built a couple cedar strip canoes (13' and 18') and a long term goal of mine is to build some larger wooden boats. (20-25' lake cruisers) I would however encourage you to get it inspected prior to purchase. Likely you intended this anyway. What year is it? Freshwater only?

Sloops are what I'm used to sailing - so I will have a few things to learn I guess.

This boat is a sea boat. She's been in the Atlantic most of her life from what I can determine.

The year is supposed to be 1941. HOWEVER, I know that Phillip Rhodes is the designer and was in the business from 1920-1974 when he passed away. I also know that this boat APPEARS to be a Rhodes Reliant.

If it is, then that boat wasn't built until the 1960s and isn't wooden but is likely made of fiberglass.

On the other hand, the owner tells me it is definitely a wooden vessel, and has been "cold molded". That means they took an outer layer of wooden planks and soaked them in epoxy and "molded" it to the boat (making it heavier and sturdier among other things and less likely to leak and not have to have a lot of extra work done like cotton batting and caulking done all the time).

If that's the case, then the boat is pretty sure assured to remain a working vessel for many more years to come.

Hopefully, if I purchase, she will be the last one I HAVE to buy.....

knock wood... lol

[Malsua]

Looks nice. I am not a sailor so I can't speak to the wisdom of a wooden vs fiberglass boat other than to say everyone I see at the Marina with a wooden boat says "It's a labor of love" and everyone with a fiberglass boat says "She sails like a dream".

[American Patriot]

Can't see vid here, will check at home later.

For the price, I WILL buy her. She's on the hard at the moment though, and that's not good for wood. (Oh God, I KNOW there were at least three double entendres there)

You did probably find the right one - yes, THIS boat has crossed the Atlantic a couple of times, and lives in New England at the moment.

According to what kind of history I can find on this model (well, kind of) the boat style is good, stable, and "seakindly". Also, this one has traveled across the ocean a couple of times, back and forth, to South America and through the Caribbean. She lives in Maryland right now.

[American Patriot]

One day, I shall arrive in Venice.

Wife wants to go back there anyway.

[MinutemanCO]

Man, what a sweet boat. Sorry not much of a sailor either, but as far as pure aesthetics go, she's a beauty. When I think of living on a boat, that's what I think of.

[Ryan Ruck]

Man, what a sweet boat. Sorry not much of a sailor either, but as far as pure aesthetics go, she's a beauty. When I think of living on a boat, that's what I think of.

What he said! And agree with what Toad said about character. A very classy looking boat for sure.

[AGEUSAF]

I work at the busiest lock and dam on the Mississippi, so I see thousands in nav season.... Looks nice to me. One thing I know about boats is the big cruisers that go through are usually typical people who have more money than knowledge but sail boaters always do everything by the book.

The only boating I ever do is an aluminum tri-haul that we use to do rescues when someone floats into the dam.


I like the cabin on this one it looks nice, seems comfortable.

[American Patriot]

Guys, you have no idea how much I appreciate the comments.

My wife and I are calling tomorrow and making arragements to fly to Md to go look her over.

The name is "Shalamar" (As Peterle requested).

She's going for 25k - and the owner tells me he is "highly motivated to sell her". He has a larger vessel, more modern that he owns now and can't spend as much time on this one, so she needs a new owner soon.

She's been on the hard since before summer started.... so, she's going to need some care soon.

Jo and I spent a good couple of hours going over the images, and drooling, lol while actually talking sometimes without babbling at each other. She's pretty much all we've looked for... albeit, a little more narrow than we wanted - however, given the stats of this vessel, she's exactly what we're looking for.

What this comes down to is this... very simply...

If I fly out and this boat meets or exceeds my "needs" then I will hire a surveyor... and request a full on the hard survey and a sea trial as possible. (Its winter, so it might have to wait til spriong, that's a bad thing.... but on tyhe other hand it might be able to get the price way lower if I can't get a real sea trail, and if she SINKs when we splash her... well, I guess I can always sue.... both the surveyor and the current owner).

Tjhe next thing it means is, I come back to Colorado, assuming everything passes, and I write a check for the amount to buy the boat.

I make sure she is good on the hard for the rest of the winter in storage there, and I buckle down and get my house up in the spring.

As soon as the house sells, I pay off the home equity line of credit, what's left on my house and anything left over is cash in the cruising kitty and we sell two of our vehicles, keep one, head east and move to Maryland for awhile to prep the boat. In the fall of next year we head for the Caribbean. (All assuming the house sells before summer is over).

[Toad]

Rick, a 40' boat for 25k, even 60 years old is a steal of a deal - IF - you get her inspected and repairs and upgrades are an acceptable few thousand - still a steal of a deal. If she's 90% rock solid and you put another 10-20k into her, she's still a 100k+ cheaper than a new fiberglass that has a LOT less character, personality, and soul.

Get her professionally inspected, weight the positives and negatives, if you choose to move forward invest in the repairs and upgrades to make her enjoyable. I'm 44. I have a good 36 years messing around in boats, lakes and ocean. "Boats are holes in the water you dump money into." Yea. Ok. That's true. It's worth it.

[American Patriot]

Toad thanks!

I tend to look at it a little differently that most people. I'm not rich, not wealthy and I don't have a million bucks in the bank (If I did, I sure as hell wouldn't be here NOW).

I have to do things a bit more frugally than most simply because I CAN do things myself.

Most work that will be accomplished will be done by me. I've not been putting my self through sailing college for nothing you know haha. (I have books, and have studied them, on everything from diesel engines to rigging....)

Of course, I will NOT buy the boat of my life without a survey. I won't buy it without my own inspection first - I trust my own eyes better than those of another - and I can make an initial inspection that will be nearly as good as a surveyor (the boat is on the hard right now). I can't check for leaks, but I can certainly determine if there have been some before.

why the hell aren't you on the East Coast, anyway, Toad instead of ND? LOL

I wish I could find someone I know that lives closer to the ocean to help me look things over! lol

[Toad]

....

why the hell aren't you on the East Coast, anyway, Toad instead of ND? LOL

I blame a woman myself.

[American Patriot]

Well, if I end up getting this boat, I'm going to get you guys to come out and help me swab the decks or something for a couple of days, and then take you sailing haha

[vector7]

What Toad and Ryan said,

The ship looks great Captain!!!!

Well, if I end up getting this boat, I'm going to get you guys to come out and help me swab the decks or something for a couple of days, and then take you sailing haha

That was my next question, when the SHTF where's the rest of the TAA members going to fit on that boat Skipper?

Hot beds will be a forgone conclusion.

[American Patriot]

Just a wee bit o' research here. This is the guy that designed the boat in the picture at the beginning of this thread. I don't think it was BUILT by him or his company, but the design was his.

Philip L. Rhodes Analytical Biography Philip L. Rhodes, born in 1895, was a prolific and versatile boat designer, whose career spanned more than five decades from 1919 until his death in 1974. His range of design was amazing, from 123' motorsailers to 7' dinghies, from hydrofoil racers to giant motor yachts. His clients ranged from Rockefellers to Sears and Roebuck. His 12 Meter Weatherly won the America's Cup in 1962. And, in addition, he designed a wide range of commercial craft.


His biographer Richard Henderson emphasizes that Rhodes was not only an excellent engineer but also a true artist. "Whatever kind of vessel he produced, it invariably had the look of rightness about it. His sailing yachts in particular, with their beautifully proportioned hulls and graceful sheerlines, are works of true design harmony. Not only are Rhodes yachts handsome; they somehow appear to be uniquely suited to their purpose… Phil will be remembered best for this distinguished thoroughbred yachts. They are not only superbly functional, but they also have an elegance and ageless beauty that is all to rare in yacht design today."


Henderson concludes his book with this generalization: "It is difficult to pigeonhole Rhodes, because his designs are so varied, but in general his work in the field of seagoing sailing yachts seems to fall somewhere between Alden and Stephens. A Rhodes boat might be described as being a bit heavier, more comfortable, often more graceful, and not quite as racy as one by Stephens. On the other hand, a Rhodes boat may be thought of as being lighter, yachtier, more expensively built, and a better all-round performer than the kind of boat one associates with Alden. Of course, these are gross generalizations, and there are many individual exceptions." (Richard Henderson, Philip L. Rhodes and his Yacht Designs. Camden: International Marine, 1981.)

Philip Rhodes, on right, makes a point. Photo from family collection of Dan Rhodes (grandson), with many thanks.