toolarts
Member
I got quite a few inquiries regarding the Rhodes Traveller 32, so I thought it would be helpful to post a little description of this boat.
The Traveller 32 is the last design in a related series by Philip L. Rhodes, the designer of the famous Weatherly, that successfully defended the Americas Cup in 1962.
The original design was for a boat called "Tidal Wave" in 1926.
Tidal Wave was a full-keel ketch, approx. 28' on the waterline.
The next design in the series was "Tide Rip", renamed "Dog Star" which is the design that the Traveller is based on. Both "Tidal Wave" and "Dog Star" were wood boats with full keels, double enders (not canoe stern) with rudder hung at the point of the stern. They have bowsprits and boomkins and very heavy lead kees. Tidal Wave displaced 21,000 lbs I believe.
Later, Phil modified the design for a boat called "Quequeg" which was used by a professor at UCLA for oceanographic research. All of these boats won many races during their day. There were several other boats in this family as well.
In the late 1960's Phil was asked by a yacht broker in Alameda, California, for a design for a comfortable cruiser. He did a modifcation/modernization of the "Dog Star" design and called it the Traveller 32. The changes involved cutting away the forefoot of the keel for better maneuverability, making a cutter-rig sail plan, and moving the galley back near the companionway on the port side, and a more commodious v-berth.
The original fiberglass construction was by Cheoy Lee in Taiwan, and then production was transferred to the Rawson boatyard in Redmond Washington in the early 1970’s. THe Rawson boats are solid fiberglass hulls with fiberglass/marine plywood deck and cabin. The decks are non-skid fiberglass with teak planking in the cockpit. The Cheoy Lee version I have seen had lots more teak, with teak planking on all the decks.
One boat was also built in Sausalito California. A total of 28 Travellers appear to have been made.
The Traveller is 32'1" LOA, 27'1" LWL, with 10'2" beam and 5' draft. Displacement is 15,200 lbs, cut away forefoot full keel with internal ballast, lead and concecrete;official tonnage is 11 NET and 12 GRT. Most of them were built with the masthead double-spreader cutter rig, but a few ketches were also made. The cutter has a deck stepped mast.
There is some controversy over the PHRF rating. The only one I have found is 192, compared to 216 for a Westsail 32. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the Traveller can "sail circles around a Westsail 32" (K. Meyer, 2005) but I have not verified it yet. Notwithstanding, several people have questioned the low PHRF rating for a heavy, full-keel cutter.
All I can offer is another anecdote that during it's construction, a friend of the owner of "Tidal Wave" asked when the animals would be brought on board. Later, the owner got great satifisfaction when "Tidal Wave" began winning races. For more information, get Henderson's book, "Philip L. Rhodes and his Yach Designs," there being an entire chapter devoted to this family of designs, with pictures of layup lines, photographs of the boats, and interior layouts.
There is no question that Philp Rhodes was a great designer and his yacht designs were particularly slippery. For more information on Philip L. Rodes designs, you can contact the ships librarian at Mystic Seaport, The Museum of America and the Sea, Mystic, Connecticut, USA. There is also a Rhodes website.
Tidal Wave, Dog Star, and the Traveller are well known as very balanced, fast offshore cruising boats. I have a Traveller (Tevake) from the Rawson yard, and I can verify that after 30 years, she is dry inside, very heavily constructed, and has stood the test of time very well. There were two little quirks in the Rawson construction; the through-hulls were simple bronze pipe nipples bedded in an extra 1/2 of fiberglass, and the rudder with it's fiberglass/foam construction, a 1/4" aluminum plate in the center with a bronze pipe nipple going through the aluminum for the tiller pivot. While the through-hulls have not failed on my boat (but I did replace them) the rudder/tiller pivot design did fail, and had to be reworked with hardwood and fiberglass/Epoxy.
I recently found out that in calm water, you can scull this boat with the tiller up to over 1 knot!
Regarding seaworthiness...I gave my yacht the "test" in John Vigor's "The Seaworth Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear," and she got just about the best score possible in his test/evaluation chapter. Main points that scored well: full keel;small cockpit with bridge deck;narrow beam, heavy construction, small heavy bronze ports, good passage around coach top, low cabin, stern hung rudder, cutter rig, lots of room for a dinghy between mast and stays, solid fiberglass hull, good balance, etc.
The Traveller is interesting in that it is an both an early and late Philip Rhodes design. "Tidal Wave" and "Dog Star" were done early in his career, and the modifications for the Traveller were done at the very end of his career. So it could be said that he was active in designing this family throughout his life.
When I look at this boat, all I can say is that her lines are pure poetry. The graceful sheer line makes her look like a beautiful little ship, her entry into the water is clean and graceful, and at full sail she is magificent.
While I was out warming up the engine one afternoon, another skipper (a motor boat captain with I daresay some rum in his own bilge) on the next dock over shouted to me, asking if "that was my boat?" I replied yes, and he asked if I was going to fix her up and use her. Again, I replied in the affirmative, to which I got the response:
"Good!"
<long pause>
"That's a real Pop-eye the Sailor Boat!"
My Tevake is going back in the water next week with her new through-hulls, repaired rudder, new bottom paint, and a new depth sounder, and then I will really get to do some significant sailing in her. If there is interest, I will post a followup with more information about her sailing performance.
I would be happy to answer either replies or follow-up questions.
Best regards to the forum, and I apologize for any inadvertent innaccuracies in the above, as this is the best information I have at my disposal.
G_Paul_H
The Traveller 32 is the last design in a related series by Philip L. Rhodes, the designer of the famous Weatherly, that successfully defended the Americas Cup in 1962.
The original design was for a boat called "Tidal Wave" in 1926.
Tidal Wave was a full-keel ketch, approx. 28' on the waterline.
The next design in the series was "Tide Rip", renamed "Dog Star" which is the design that the Traveller is based on. Both "Tidal Wave" and "Dog Star" were wood boats with full keels, double enders (not canoe stern) with rudder hung at the point of the stern. They have bowsprits and boomkins and very heavy lead kees. Tidal Wave displaced 21,000 lbs I believe.
Later, Phil modified the design for a boat called "Quequeg" which was used by a professor at UCLA for oceanographic research. All of these boats won many races during their day. There were several other boats in this family as well.
In the late 1960's Phil was asked by a yacht broker in Alameda, California, for a design for a comfortable cruiser. He did a modifcation/modernization of the "Dog Star" design and called it the Traveller 32. The changes involved cutting away the forefoot of the keel for better maneuverability, making a cutter-rig sail plan, and moving the galley back near the companionway on the port side, and a more commodious v-berth.
The original fiberglass construction was by Cheoy Lee in Taiwan, and then production was transferred to the Rawson boatyard in Redmond Washington in the early 1970’s. THe Rawson boats are solid fiberglass hulls with fiberglass/marine plywood deck and cabin. The decks are non-skid fiberglass with teak planking in the cockpit. The Cheoy Lee version I have seen had lots more teak, with teak planking on all the decks.
One boat was also built in Sausalito California. A total of 28 Travellers appear to have been made.
The Traveller is 32'1" LOA, 27'1" LWL, with 10'2" beam and 5' draft. Displacement is 15,200 lbs, cut away forefoot full keel with internal ballast, lead and concecrete;official tonnage is 11 NET and 12 GRT. Most of them were built with the masthead double-spreader cutter rig, but a few ketches were also made. The cutter has a deck stepped mast.
There is some controversy over the PHRF rating. The only one I have found is 192, compared to 216 for a Westsail 32. Anecdotal evidence indicates that the Traveller can "sail circles around a Westsail 32" (K. Meyer, 2005) but I have not verified it yet. Notwithstanding, several people have questioned the low PHRF rating for a heavy, full-keel cutter.
All I can offer is another anecdote that during it's construction, a friend of the owner of "Tidal Wave" asked when the animals would be brought on board. Later, the owner got great satifisfaction when "Tidal Wave" began winning races. For more information, get Henderson's book, "Philip L. Rhodes and his Yach Designs," there being an entire chapter devoted to this family of designs, with pictures of layup lines, photographs of the boats, and interior layouts.
There is no question that Philp Rhodes was a great designer and his yacht designs were particularly slippery. For more information on Philip L. Rodes designs, you can contact the ships librarian at Mystic Seaport, The Museum of America and the Sea, Mystic, Connecticut, USA. There is also a Rhodes website.
Tidal Wave, Dog Star, and the Traveller are well known as very balanced, fast offshore cruising boats. I have a Traveller (Tevake) from the Rawson yard, and I can verify that after 30 years, she is dry inside, very heavily constructed, and has stood the test of time very well. There were two little quirks in the Rawson construction; the through-hulls were simple bronze pipe nipples bedded in an extra 1/2 of fiberglass, and the rudder with it's fiberglass/foam construction, a 1/4" aluminum plate in the center with a bronze pipe nipple going through the aluminum for the tiller pivot. While the through-hulls have not failed on my boat (but I did replace them) the rudder/tiller pivot design did fail, and had to be reworked with hardwood and fiberglass/Epoxy.
I recently found out that in calm water, you can scull this boat with the tiller up to over 1 knot!
Regarding seaworthiness...I gave my yacht the "test" in John Vigor's "The Seaworth Offshore Sailboat: A Guide to Essential Features, Handling, and Gear," and she got just about the best score possible in his test/evaluation chapter. Main points that scored well: full keel;small cockpit with bridge deck;narrow beam, heavy construction, small heavy bronze ports, good passage around coach top, low cabin, stern hung rudder, cutter rig, lots of room for a dinghy between mast and stays, solid fiberglass hull, good balance, etc.
The Traveller is interesting in that it is an both an early and late Philip Rhodes design. "Tidal Wave" and "Dog Star" were done early in his career, and the modifications for the Traveller were done at the very end of his career. So it could be said that he was active in designing this family throughout his life.
When I look at this boat, all I can say is that her lines are pure poetry. The graceful sheer line makes her look like a beautiful little ship, her entry into the water is clean and graceful, and at full sail she is magificent.
While I was out warming up the engine one afternoon, another skipper (a motor boat captain with I daresay some rum in his own bilge) on the next dock over shouted to me, asking if "that was my boat?" I replied yes, and he asked if I was going to fix her up and use her. Again, I replied in the affirmative, to which I got the response:
"Good!"
<long pause>
"That's a real Pop-eye the Sailor Boat!"
My Tevake is going back in the water next week with her new through-hulls, repaired rudder, new bottom paint, and a new depth sounder, and then I will really get to do some significant sailing in her. If there is interest, I will post a followup with more information about her sailing performance.
I would be happy to answer either replies or follow-up questions.
Best regards to the forum, and I apologize for any inadvertent innaccuracies in the above, as this is the best information I have at my disposal.
G_Paul_H
