Here is my girl all stripped down
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Here is my girl all stripped down
Topside
I've taken much of the hardware off, which I'm rebedding in the proper manner.
This is the famous Commander cockpit:
Since I have the boat stripped down, I thought it would be a good time to paint the topside. The topside was in pretty good shape actually, no crazing of the gelcoat and very few stress cracks. But, it was oxidized yellow with some stains I couldn't get out.
My friends told me I could just use a fiberglass restorer or sand with 400 grit. They were probably right, since it looked better after I sanded it in preperation for painting. However, I've never been swayed by appeals to reason and common sense. So, I'm proceeding with the painting plan. I'll be using the Interlux two-part Interthane on the topside.
The cockpit will soon be available to rent for Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and other special occasions.
HEY, this isnt what I thought it would be!!!
I didn't know the Commander had such as long cockpit. I'm impressed.
What a sailboat. Long, low and lovely. She has to be fast.
Anyone know the hull speeds of the Ariel and Commander?
I once knew a formula to figure it out, but forget it.
A couple days ago someone told me there are a couple of Commanders around here. I'll have to keep a lookout.
Since both boats share the same hull, they should each be just as fast (or slow). Hull speed is reported to be 5.76.
http://www.en.com/users/danp/boat/pearsons.htm
That being said, I think my boat is lighter and faster than that, but only because it is always filled with so much hot air.
Check out that waterline
Two coats of primer and one top coat on so far.
The primer goes on thick. It has a consistency somewhere between heavy cream and pancake batter, and fills some minor defects.
I probably should have gone around with some epoxy fairing compound before painting. But, I'm not looking to create a Sirocco or Glissando here.
The first top coat came out poorly. It's actually a three part mixture. I probably should have thinned it more and not worked it so much. Now I'm sanding much of it off :Ugh:
Meanwhile the owners of the Hunters, Catalinas and O'days around me just give their boats a scrub and drop them in the water. They regard me with a mixture of bemusement and pity.
Oh Lord, please deliver me from this affliction.
Commander pete,
Those Catalina and Hunter guys may be viewing you with pity and bemusement while you're in the yard making your classis shine, but remember that you get to view them with pity, bemusement, and perhaps a touch of disdain when you see their horrible-looking dime-a-dozen-with-absolutely-no-individuality Chlorox bottles out on the water as you slide by.
Owning an old boat is a labor of love, and worth every minute. As if those Hunters will be lovingly restored in 40 years...yeah, right.
Not that I have an opinion, mind you!;)
Your boat is gonna look great.
Tim Lackey
Triton 381 Glissando
Capt. Pete(gave you a field promotion),dont forget the nonskid while your at it.
Tim, thanks for the encouragement. I'll feel alot better when I'm back in the water chasing down those tubby Hunters.
Steve, I'll have to leave the non skid for another year.
The topside painting is done. Partial victory declared.
I ended up with 4 coats, wet sanding in between.
Very tricky stuff, this two part paint. I hope it lasts.
At least I didn't fall off the boat and break my neck.
Should really have some scaffolding to do this job.
The resolution in the pictures you can post here is not great,
Can you see the rainbow?
Those of you who manage to post large pictures on this site:
How do you decrease the resolution so that the picture dimensions remain so large? The only way I've figured out to reduce the picture files to the tiny 100K size is to shrink the picture. My photo files aren't particularly high resolution to begin with, but whenever I try to post one here it doesn't work, unless I shrink the thing down to small dimensions.
I'd appreciate some tips, especially from our most prolific photo posters Commander Pete and S. Airing.
Help!
Tim
Tim,I just send my pictures to microsoft picture it software and from there I can make the picture any size I want.This is a basic program that came with my computer for free.You might be able to down load it off the Microsoft web site.
I really haven't figured out how to use my digital camera yet. But, using the camera software, I reduce the pixels from 1600/1200 to about 850/650.
I'm not sure what this does, but it reduces the bits to under 100K so I can post photos.
There is probably a better way. The owners manual for this damn camera is over 200 pages.