Home Page for the first Velvet Elvis
The first Velvet Elvis was a 1998 Rhodes 22 manufactured by General Boats. She spent her first few years as a demo boat, going to boat shows and being sailed by her loving manufacturers.
(2023 update: from here on, I'm keeping the content what it was back in 2005 - 2012. You'll see some present-tense language that is dated.)
In 2000, General Boats decided to let her go to the poor youngish sailers in Louisiana who were buying on credit and couldn't afford an entirely new boat. Within a day, she had damage. Within a month, she had a name.
We sail Velvet Elvis on Lake Ponchartrain, which has some advantages. There are a number of good destinations for an overnight trip, but the lake is so big, that each one requires a full weekend commitment. Most trips (and some daysails) include a minor fiasco or two that might make for a good story now and then.