About the Boat:

What started out as a Christmas gift idea for my brother turned into a stunning model of a classic racing sailboat. The Rhodes 19 is a day sailer which is used throughout the USA for racing. The model is 1/12 scale (1" = 1') and makes a fantastic fireplace mantel or wall display. It is made from materials found in a typical hobby store. The prototype exceeded my expectations and my brother was delighted. I like the model so much I built one for our family room. .

Construction Highlights:

4/26/03: NOTE: the construction drawing preview has been changed to reflect the actual drawing. It has all patterns, and detail on how to make the fittings.

The hull is constructed using a plywood keel and interlocking plywood formers. The hull is sheeted with 3/32" balsawood. The deck is 1/64" plywood. The cockpit seats are made from 1/16" basswood, as are the cockpit coming, and floor boards. The hull is finished using epoxy finishing resin, automotive primer, and spray can enamel paint.

Airfoil Aluminum tubing is used for the mast, as are real sailboats!. Rigging uses braided stainless steel wire and swaged with aluminum tubing. Fittings are made from steel wire, brass wire, and ABS plastic.

The rudder is functional, but the rigging is static only.

Getting a good water line is easier than you think. Put the painted boat (base color) on the base. Make sure the boat and base are on a flat table, and the boat is level in the base. Take a soft pencil and place it on a block of wood that is tall enough to support the pencil, laying on the block, at the waterline. Carefully move the block/pencil around the boat, putting a small line every inch or so, until you have gone around the entire boat. After checking to make sure the pencil or the boat didn't move, you are done! Using a 1/4" strip of masking tape, it is easy to "connect the dots" around the hull. You will be surprised at how easy it was, and how straight the waterline will look. If you want a second stripe, it should be easy to add a second line, using the same pencil/block technique. The rudder waterline is added after the hull is complete, and you know how the rudder fits to the hull.

Here is a picture of the cockpit. Note the coaming and floor boards are added after all painting is done.

Here is a picture of my brother's model. Note the sails have the correct clear plastic windows of the real boat. I did not add them for our home model. The base is also smaller. I decided it was too small and built my model with a larger base. Now I think the smaller base looked better, so the plans show the smaller base. Also the smaller based used a beautiful piece of "tiger" maple with a light stain and clear polyurethane. It is much prettier that my maple base, which doesn't have the nice wood grain or stain.