The original design, Olsching, was for Magnus Zeppelin.  Seven other sisterships were built:  Jane Dore IV (designed for the Commodore of the Cruising Club of America), Nutmeg, Renova, Undina, Piera, Scimitar, and Hasty. In addition, Masker and Hi-Q-II are basically varients of this design, even though they have their own design numbers   All owners report this design is a very fast, seaworthy, comfortable boat.

Rhodes created several options for this design.  There were two rigs, a tall,  7/8 sloop rig. and  a shorter, masthead rig for short-handed ocean cruising; on this rig, reefing would be delayed, and there were no running backstays.  There were also five different interior configurations, and additional choices within these options.  It seems that Rhodes was trying to please many prospective buyers of this design.

In the original designs of 1953, Rhodes drew a deck house, protecting the cockpit and accessible from it.  Inside the deckhouse, some boats have a navigation station to port and a sea berth to starboard; others have two seaberths, oilskin lockers, seats and space for crew to put on or take off foul weather gear as they went on or came off watch. Rhodes also drew two different main cabin designs.  The first was an innovative galley to starboard and a dinette to port.  A few months later, he drew an aft galley and a main cabin with extension transom berths and pilot berths.

In 1955, Rhodes drew three more designs for the interior.  All had the galley foward, with a focsle that included a head.  This set-up would make sense if the boat had a paid hand.  None of the boats were built with this arrangement. 

One of these designs (not built) did not have a deck house, and had this space dedicated as an after cabin.  In this design, the head was midships, between and convenient to the aft and main cabns, and the companionway was forward and to starboard, from the top of the deck house, so the aft stateroom would not be a thoroughfare.  This particular interior was a virtual carry-over from the interior of Copperhead, designed in 1939.

The various plans show that Rhodes was innovative and flexible about interior configurations.  He knew that different sailors had different needs.

In 1956, he took the basic design but gave the hull 9" more beam, for Hi-Q-II (design 655)  He also redid the plans for steel construction for Masker (design 659).

About a decade later, when he designed the interior for the Rhodes Reliant, Rhodes took separate modules from the five interior designs to make the unique interior for the Reliant.  He took the aft stateroom, midship head, and companionway from a 1955 sketch (based on Copperhead) and joined them to the starboard galley, dinette to port and forward cabin from the original 1953 #618 sketch.

The grandson of the builder of Scimitar recalls the close connection between this design and Carina II:

In his correspondence with my grandfather about the purchase of our plans, Philip L. Rhodes said that he had recently finished the design of Carina II (his favorite according to Henderson) and was offering 618 and 635 as two size variants of the same design.  In a phone conversation we came within a whisker of building a sister to Carina II, but my father at the age of 17 said "...no, it is too big, it will be harder to sail, take longer to build and cost too much."  I doubt that I would have had his restraint and wisdom at 17.  But for our situation he was right and we are completely satisfied with the 45' Scimitar.

If anyone were ever interested in building a  new boat to design 618, we still have all the patterns for the cast bronze fittings.  Damian Purcell <purcell@burnet.edu.au>

Initial idea, with deck house, dinette to port, galley to starboard, forward cabin

Aft galley, nav station in deck house, double bed forward

Jane Dore IV

Rhodes supplement Plan C, 1955, aft stateroom, midship head, off-center companionway in trunk top, no doghouse

(This plan was not built, but provides part of the interior for the Reliant)

The difference in the interior layouts from the narrower #397 to the wider  #618 and the comparison with Carina II can be seen easily at:
http://astro.temple.edu/~bstavis/pr/interiors-397-618.htm

Olsching was the first boat in the design #618 series. She was designed for Magnus Zeppelin and buit by H. Heidtmann in Hamburg in 1953.  She currently is named Kestrel, and is undergoing restoration in Trinidad.  Her interior has been reconfigured; the galley has moved aft and has replaced the starboard quarterberth.  The starboard side of the main cabin is now a settee which converts into a berth and nav station.    She retains, of course, her classic Rhodes lines.

Cruised the Caribbean in the 1970s, reportedly sold to a person in New Zealand.
 

Jane Dore IV (now named Josephine)

Jane Dore was built for Hobey Ford, Commodore of the Cruising Club of America, by H. Heidtmann, Hamburg, in 1964.

The website of the British Classic Yacht Club http://www.britishclassicyachtclub.org provides much information:

Built in 1954 to a design by one of America's leading yacht designers of the period, Phillip L. Rhodes, Josephine is of particular interest because she is a shoal draft yacht with a draft of 5ft 6in that increases to 8ft 6in with the centreboard lowered. Originally named Jane Dore IV, she was built to a high-class specification with centreline and framing of white oak, planking and deck joinery of Burma teak, all fastenings of bronze, lead keel, centreboard and centreboard truck of bronze.

Josephine is a typical example of the 1950's American style yacht of moderate size and designed "to be worked by her amateur crew, yet having a performance which should enable her to hold her own in any company". (Yachting World Annual,  1956) This certainly rings true for Josephine who, in the America's Cup Jubilee, was sailed by the family, the amateur crew gritting their teeth for second place in the storms on day one, and holding their breath as she slipped in-shore over shallow waters out of the Solent's tides in order to take real advantage of her drop keel draft.

Her large cockpit is a notable feature, typical of many American fifties yachts, and a comfortable asset for a large crew. Her sheer is elegant, with a well-balanced coach roof and deckhouse. Her rig and sail plan is well proportioned and simple for both single handed cruising and efficient racing with a fair aspect ration of 2.3. In comparison to English yachts of this era, Josephine has a broader beam, 11ft 9in; this makes for a hull of considerable initial stability and offsets the effect of the comparatively shallow draft. Her sister ship, Undina, is also a member of the BCYC - (C004). After discovering Josephine on Long Island in September 1999 in a very dilapidated state, Tim and Jo moved her to Gannon and Benjamin's yard on Martha's Vineyard and were she under went an extensive, but somewhat unexpected, structural rebuild including the replacement of many oak frames.

The extent and cost of the renovation work would have greatly exceeded Tim and Jo's resources, but Brian and Pamela Malcolm agreed to help with the project with the prospect of Josephine being able to take part in the America's Cup Jubilee Regatta. Josephine was not ready to be sailed back across the Atlantic by summer 2000. However, shipping arrangements were made and she finally arrived in Southampton in April the following year. Most of the cosmetic finishes were made on her return including bronze deck fittings being removed for chroming and the varnished surfaces taken back. Within a few weeks she was transformed into concours condition and took her place in the Regatta.

Josephine's interior has been modified.  The head has been moved aft a bit, to enlarge and upgrade  the foreward cabin from "crew's quarters" to an "owner's cabin." 
 

Josephine, 2005	Racing at Cowes

Piera

Originally built in 1955 for Walter Paine at Abeking & Rasmussen, PIERA has had a storied history of racing and cruising. In continuous service since her first christening, she has sailed the coastal and offshore waters from Maine to the Caribbean.  Her recent history has had her gracing Nantucket Harbor and competing in regional classic regattas. Two Opera House Cup wins (1974 & 1996) under two different owners puts her in an elite fraternity of classic yachts.

In September, 2001 the Hinckley Company was commissioned to restore Piera to her original elegance. The comprehensive effort was accomplished in less than 9 months.  On May 31, 2002 Piera was re-christened by Harvey Jones (harvey@jonesfamily.org) with the help of 3 former owners, the justly proud Hinckley craftsmen and many "Friends of Piera".  She is now safely back on her familiar Nantucket mooring intent upon building on her legacy.

Photos and other information are available at http://www.jonesfamily.org/homepage1/

In  the Newsletter of the Classic Yacht Association of Australia, November 2002, there is a long article
"International Classic Yachting Encounters" discussing Piera and Simitar.   Click here for PDF download

"...About 24 hours out of Bermuda, we were caught in heavy weather caused by a front moving in from the north.  Undina struggled along under storm trysail for 36 hours, at one time being thrown so far over on her beam that her masthead burgee went under water.  She righted herself, thanks to there being enough depth of keel  in the beautiful Phil Rhodes design. .... One crew member lost his shoe and found it again safe inside the icebox after his return to Bermuda, the icebox lid having snapped open long enough when the yacht went over to swallow the shoe and spit out some of its more accustomed contents..."

for more recent information about Undina, check: http://www.britishclassicyachtclub.org/register/undina.htm

My family built a design #618 called Scimitar.  She was commenced in 1956 after purchasing the plans with the Jane Dore IV interior layout.  Since she was built in Geelong Australia, she was constructed with a mostly Australian timbers; her keel is red ironbark (more dense than white oak), her ribs steam bent spotted gum, her deck and planking Queensland white beech, her transom, covering boards, and kingplanks Yellow Sirus, her coamings and cabin is African Mahogany, and her spars Sitka Spruce.  She is completely faithful to her plans, except for forward facing windows on the front of the cabin top which placed onto a slightly V-shaped piece so that the centerboard tube could sit vertically rather than at a ~10 degree angle inside the cabin.

Her hull was essentially complete by 1961, but due to a road accident that injured the boat builder and the eventual death of my grandfather (Frederick Purcell), she was not finally completed and launched until 1988 by my father (F. Barry Purcell).  At that time she was a brand new-30 year old wooden boat!  According to Bodie Rhodes, Philip L.'s son, whom we visited while he was still alive in Cold Spring Harbor, NY, Scimitar is the only vessel still in the hands of the family that purchased the plans and built the boat.

We cruise Scimitar in the stormy waters of Bass Strait, and Port Phillip Bay.  We also race her with great success in club events at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria and the Classic Yacht Association of Australia.  We find her to be strong and safe, but surprisingly speedy.  We have won many races and she never fails to turn heads.

Scimitar's own web site: http://twocats.com.au/scimitar/
From:  Damian Purcell <purcell@burnet.edu.au>

Note: Damian wrote a wonderful article about his boat Scimitar and a sistership Piera in  the Newsletter of the Classic Yacht Association of Australia, November 2002.  Check the article "International Classic Yachting Encounters."   Click here for PDF download

Hasty was built in 1957 in Ilwaco, Washington, near the mouth of the Columbia River. She was initially ordered for the trans-pac race, and perhaps Rhodes tweaked the original rig a bit for this objective.  She was 4th out of 8 finishers and 2 dnfs in Class C of the 1959 Honolulu race. 

Her original 7/8 tall rig was been converted in the late 1960s to a masthead aluminum rig for rating purposes.   She raced several times, and then later circumnavigated gracefully, from 1991 to 1997.

In recent decades, a double headsail rig has been added. The amidships galley was moved aft to the deck house area, providing proximity to the cockpit and better views out the windows.  Where the galley used to be on the starboard side became a settee and pilot berth, with sowage space.

She currently sails out of La Conner, in the northwest corner of  Washington, near the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Masker is a near sistership, but was built with a steel hull and aluminium mast, instead of wood.  She had a new design number, 659.  In a letter to one of her owers, Philip Rhodes presumed the steel version was somewhat heavier than the others, but he considered her successful.  Masker originally sailed in the Great Lakes.  In the early 1970's she was cruising in the Bahamas.  Her owners then anticipated extended cruising, possibly but not necessarily around the world. 

Her present owner reports:

I'm in the process of replacing the lower rib structure below the floor boards, then an engine replacement with a new trans and oil bath prop shaft assembly.

When I relaunch her I may name her By His Grace. The name has a double meaning to me.  By the gracious gift of my father she was left to me, and by the grace of God I will get her back in excellent condition. I plan to sail her around the world in honor of my father and mother. 

I'm located in Windsor, Va, not to far from the Chesapeake Bay. 

Another slight modification of the 618 design was Rhodes design # 655 (1956).  She is has a beam of 12'6", an increase of 9" over the original design.

Built in 1959 for Emil Capita at Seth Pearson boatyard, Essex CT to compete in the Bermuda Race. She is a famous ocean racer; won every major regatta on East coast, continually beats modern racers.  Double-planked mahogany, bright hull, centerboard.  All Monel fittings, all new sails, brand new diesel, full electronics.   (Her transom has been converted into a "modern" reverse transom, so she is a bit shorter in length over all and has a more modern profile than the original design.)