A question to the group from a novice Rhodes owner.

I have a 1978 Rhodes that did not come with any sort of traveler or mainsheet system. I built my own traveler using guidance from a number of smart people on this list. I mounted it on the backstays in the way most all Rhodes 22s that I have seen have it mounted - a little above chest level in the slot along the stays where there is a second bit of wire rope clamped in.  In principle, it all works fine. However, to get to the outboard controls is almost impossible. I have added a tiller extension to the handle but still, that is awkward. The traveler as it is positioned does not allow me to get close to the stern either for starting the motor or managing the motor tiller.

Today I toyed with the idea of doing away with the bar traveler altogether and installing a short rail along the stern in the way a Catalina 22 is configured. That would cut down on the length of the traveler and diminish its usefulness but would do away with the awkward bar that keeps me from having easy access to the stern and motor controls. Of course, I would lose most of the ability to raise the rudder tiller but I think I could live with that.

BUT THEN ... I got the idea to just lower the traveler bar to just above the stern deck and use stay clamps to hold it in place along the stays. In this manner, it is totally out of the way but still would function in the way it would if it were higher up. I will need to lengthen my mainsheet but that's about the only alteration it seems that I need to make.

I am open to any information, suggestions, experiences, etc that any of you can offer. I am about to put my boat in next week and can certainly live with the configuration as I have seen it, but would love to improve it so that I can more easily get to and control my outboard and make better use of what seems like wasted cockpit space.

Thanks in advance.

Tom Hyatt
S/V Eliza Jane 78
Baltimore, MD

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