The bantam is a fantastic boat!

August Curt and I took out the Rhodes Bantam for a test sail on tiny Beaver Lake in Southern IL.  The Mississippi is too high and fast to try without a motor.
I really like the lines of the Bantam.  I used to not like chines esthetically, until I sailed this boat. The chines perform a great function, digging in.  They give boats stability when heeled.  The boyancy in the chines angular shape resists heeling when a curved hull will keep rolling.
The boat accelerates really fast with very little wind.
This boat needs a couple modifications.  The non original tiller handle is way too long.
The boom is a plank that is unnecessarily low in the cockpit.
Here are some dockside pics:

This is the mast base in action.
It works great but you have to be careful when handling the mast.  You don't want it to pop out when setting or striking the mast.