Looking for Rhodes Swiftsure 33 Owners
Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2023 9:54 pm
Having been back in the archives here I've noticed that several members have or do own one of these beauties. I'm neck deep in a full rebuild of hull #20 and would would love to hear what other owners or those that have spent considerable time aboard might have to say.
I plan on making several changes to the boat as I build her back up, including building an outboard well, losing 2 berths in the saloon in favor of a larger galley and dedicated nav/electronics station, and possibly moving the head from a starboard facing to forward facing orientation. I will have touched virtually every square inch of the boat when its all said and done so there is nothing that is off the table, provided I can achieve it with my budget and skillset.
Some questions I have for other owners:
What, if anything, would you change about the layout of the deck and/or interior?
Have you ever noticed anything that you wished had been built stronger or could use reinforcement?
Are the large deadlights prone to leaking? (I have the originals, but considering swapping to acrylic with a larger sealing area)
How does her sailing performance compare with similar boats?
There is also the big question of sailplan, which is in no way urgent for me at the moment, but I have an interesting situation that has been in the back of my mind since I took on the project. My boat came with a retrofitted stainless bowsprit, which extends the tack of the foresail about 3 feet forward of the stemhead. Based on the documentation that the previous owner had, it appears that the original owner had this installed to allow for a 100% self tacking genoa. If I'm not mistaken, Rhodes' office was involved in this design change. This makes sense as she was a great lakes boat originally, but leaves me with an interesting conundrum in rigging her for cruising. I figure I have 3 options:
1) Abandon the sprit altogether and return her to her original rigging configuration, which would involve fabricating a new stemhead fitting and pulpit.
2) Fly a 100+% genoa on the forestay for light - moderate wind, and have a removable solent stay for a smaller working jib, either with reefs or a separate storm jib.
3) Rig her as a cutter, with a high cut jib on the forestay, and a staysail on the inner stay attached ~2/3 up the mast with checkstays.
I lean more toward options 2 and 3, as I'm quite keen on the idea of having multiple sail configurations ready to deploy, but I'm open to suggestions from anyone. I know most boats of this vintage suffer from a bit of weather helm as well, so a larger foretriangle may prove handy for balancing. I will, of course, be consulting some professionals when it comes time to rig and have sails cut, but I suspect this will be the best place to find those with first hand experience on this hull.
Feel free to leave anything else you find noteworthy about the Swiftsure.
Cheers!
I plan on making several changes to the boat as I build her back up, including building an outboard well, losing 2 berths in the saloon in favor of a larger galley and dedicated nav/electronics station, and possibly moving the head from a starboard facing to forward facing orientation. I will have touched virtually every square inch of the boat when its all said and done so there is nothing that is off the table, provided I can achieve it with my budget and skillset.
Some questions I have for other owners:
What, if anything, would you change about the layout of the deck and/or interior?
Have you ever noticed anything that you wished had been built stronger or could use reinforcement?
Are the large deadlights prone to leaking? (I have the originals, but considering swapping to acrylic with a larger sealing area)
How does her sailing performance compare with similar boats?
There is also the big question of sailplan, which is in no way urgent for me at the moment, but I have an interesting situation that has been in the back of my mind since I took on the project. My boat came with a retrofitted stainless bowsprit, which extends the tack of the foresail about 3 feet forward of the stemhead. Based on the documentation that the previous owner had, it appears that the original owner had this installed to allow for a 100% self tacking genoa. If I'm not mistaken, Rhodes' office was involved in this design change. This makes sense as she was a great lakes boat originally, but leaves me with an interesting conundrum in rigging her for cruising. I figure I have 3 options:
1) Abandon the sprit altogether and return her to her original rigging configuration, which would involve fabricating a new stemhead fitting and pulpit.
2) Fly a 100+% genoa on the forestay for light - moderate wind, and have a removable solent stay for a smaller working jib, either with reefs or a separate storm jib.
3) Rig her as a cutter, with a high cut jib on the forestay, and a staysail on the inner stay attached ~2/3 up the mast with checkstays.
I lean more toward options 2 and 3, as I'm quite keen on the idea of having multiple sail configurations ready to deploy, but I'm open to suggestions from anyone. I know most boats of this vintage suffer from a bit of weather helm as well, so a larger foretriangle may prove handy for balancing. I will, of course, be consulting some professionals when it comes time to rig and have sails cut, but I suspect this will be the best place to find those with first hand experience on this hull.
Feel free to leave anything else you find noteworthy about the Swiftsure.
Cheers!