Its fixed-keel sister carries an iron-ballasted fin with a deeper, unchanging draft. The CB instead uses a fully retractable fiberglass centerboard. With the board raised, draft is just ten inches, allowing access to shallow coves and easy beaching; lowered, the board provides nearly five feet of grip. It’s a wholesome daysailer built around a form-stable hull, and boats built by Stuart Marine and O’Day remain competitive with each other today.
Design and Lineage
The Rhodes 19 traces its roots to the Hurricane, a wooden centerboarder Philip Rhodes drew soon after the war. The Southern Massachusetts Yacht Racing Association later commissioned a keeled version as the SMYRA class. In 1958, George O’Day secured Rhodes’s approval to rename it the Rhodes 19.
The CB is less popular than the keel boat, but it retains the design’s essential character: a fast, forgiving hull that is also an accomplished heavy-weather performer. It measures 19 feet 2 inches overall, with a 17-foot-9-inch waterline and a 7-foot beam. Complete weight is approximately 1,030 pounds.
The centerboarder carries 150 pounds of internal lead ballast, while the keel model carries none internally. Its fiberglass centerboard weighs 70 pounds, while the fixed-keel version carries 440 pounds of iron.
Construction
The Rhodes 19 CB has a solid-fiberglass hull and a kick-up mahogany rudder, a practical feature for a boat intended to ground out on a falling tide. A varnished mahogany coaming and well-proportioned, low-profile cuddy give it a traditional appearance. The spacious foredeck and two long molded-fiberglass seats—which also serve as flotation chambers—reflect sensible small-boat engineering.
The CB’s mast is 25 feet 6 inches long, shorter than the keel version’s 28-foot-4-inch spar, and weighs 42 pounds. Its 10-foot-4-inch boom weighs 10 pounds. These relatively light spars keep loads aloft manageable for short-handed crews.
Rig and Handling
The fractional rig carries 175 square feet of sail. It can be fine-tuned with aftermarket Harken travelers, twings, barber haulers, a cunningham, jib-luff tensioner, and adjustable jib leads led to a control console.
The hull is relatively stable, which makes the somewhat awkward job of end-for-ending the spinnaker pole during a jibe a relative breeze. Spinnakers were typically launched and retrieved from the cockpit, keeping the foredeck clear.
Writing in Small Boats, naval architect Jim Taylor described the boat as really well suited to intergenerational sailing. That judgment fits a centerboarder with a ten-inch minimum draft and enough comfortable seating for six adults.
Cockpit and Shelter
The Rhodes 19 CB is a daysailer rather than a cruiser. Its stock layout has two long molded-fiberglass seats that provide both seating and flotation, while the comfortable cockpit benches accommodate six adults. Forward, the cuddy offers good protection from spray, though it isn’t a true cabin.
A proper boom tent over the cockpit could genuinely extend the boat’s range to overnight trips. For sailors who want more shelter, the separate Mariner cruising version shows what can be gained by replacing the low-profile cuddy with a small cabin.
Refits, Builders, and Class Support
Older O’Day-built Rhodes 19s can be restored to peak competitiveness. Stuart Marine, founded by Rhodes 19 sailor Stuart Sharaga, produced its first boat in 1984 using production methods and tooling developed by Marblehead naval architect Jim Taylor.
The inaugural national championship took place in 1963, and the class association first met at Larchmont in 1965. That longstanding one-design culture helps keep even decades-old centerboard models relevant on the racecourse.
The Verdict
The Rhodes 19 CB is an unusual combination: a shallow-draft centerboard daysailer with a genuine one-design pedigree, a forgiving hull, and a kick-up rudder that accommodates grounding. Compared with the keel model, it gives up the fixed tracking and 440-pound iron keel in exchange for portability and better shoreline access. Its shorter mast and lighter board also make it an approachable boat for families and new sailors.
Pros
- Ten-inch board-up draft allows access to shallow water and simplifies trailering or beach use
- Form-stable hull with proven heavy-weather capability across more than 3,500 hulls
- Competitive one-design class encompassing both O’Day and Stuart Marine boats
- Flotation-seat layout and room for six adults in a 19-foot boat
Cons
- Less popular than the keel model, with potentially thinner regional class support
- Lacks the keel model’s iron ballast; instead relies on a 70-pound board and 150 pounds of internal lead
- Cuddy provides spray protection rather than true cabin accommodation
