I love classic boats. So when I saw this 19 foot 1966 O’Day Mariner sloop I knew it was going home with me. A classic Philip Rhodes design and updated as a family cruiser by George O’Day. The classic lines just catch your eye. The early version had an open cabin.
I decided to enclose the cabin with mahogany doors, cockpit comings and a new tiller. A bowsprit, a paint job and a new interior design helped me update things and make it comfortable. At 1,400 lbs. and a mast of just under 25 feet she’s a great trailer sailor. With the cast iron centerboard raised she only draws 10 inches. Although now a production boat. She was originally a plywood sloop called the Hurricane designed by Rhodes.
Sunset sails are best on our local lake in Stillwater New Jersey. WILDFLOWER has exceeded my expectations of what a classic boat should be.
Wildflower is a real beauty, and your design ideas and craftsmanship are superb. The first thing I did with mine was install a real topping lift and get rid of that boom clip to the backstay. It was always pulling my hair and tearing my hat and sunglasses off. The classic lines of the Mariner take to updates well, and I love the ones with dark topsides like yours.
I Love this! I have a fixer upper Mariner and I am not sure I could do such a beautiful job on it as you guys! I have been sailing my Rhodes 19 all around Eggamoggin Reach this past two summers and have yearned to stay out overnight but Maine summers are very dewey and my Rhodes just isn’t cozy enough. I bought a Mariner with thoughts of fixing her up…and now I am quite inspired by this beautiful boat you have created. I love being able to land on the beach with my swing keel… it is the best!!
Thanks Heather, That took a lot of work. Though you don’t need to put that much into it to have fun and sleep comfortably. Dave http://www.sattersrestoration.com
Dave, I see that your Mariner has the old floor with no self bailing cockpit. My Rhodes is the same 1969 style. I bought a Mariner but I don’t like the self bailing cockpit. So now I am thinking of keeping my Rhodes and fitting it with a wooden cabin top to make it kind of into a camping boat with more head room to camp sail. So it would be similar to your Wildflower but have a new wooden cabin fit to it. I have done a lot of work on her. Just finished taking four layers of paint off the hull and repainting the bottom with barrier coats of two part epoxy and next will be ablative. Last year I also redid the whole top deck, inside and out with new non skid and topside paint. I wonder what you think about my idea or could point me in the direction of someone who has done a similar thing? I am in Western Mass and there are not too many boat yard here.
Heather I’m not sure what you mean. Wooden cabintop. A sliding hatch? Or closing in the cuddy. Raising the whole cabin? Which would be tough, the mast step is up there, or is it foreward of the cabin? Raising the cabin top could be done but how high can you go till you hit the boom? e-mail me some photos if you like. All my contact info is on my site. http://www.sattersrestoration.com