Commander 126

A "Plastic Classic" forum member recently purchased C-126 out on Chebeague Island, Maine. We saw her on the hard one weekend, then out in the mooring field the next.

Have him register here and join our jolly group! ;)

Rick may drop in any day now...

Hi guys and gals. I am the happy new owner of c-126.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...126sailing.jpg

The boat is in the water now where she belongs.

Happy to see you have joined us here. Look forward to hearing about your adventures and any changes you make to C126

How you do, Rick!

Nothing like sailing right in.....:cool:

More lucky dogs the better. And you're one of the members that get to actually sail!! Good on ya!

Yes, I am sailing, so please don't notice the little things like the main sheet gear attached to a cleat. seriously, the boat needs quite a bit of attention but I already have project boats and I promised myself that I will sail this one even if it isn't perfect.

Your boat looks much better in the water...

Good sailing,

Patrick

Without these forums winter wouldn't be quite as much fun in these northern climates.
That being said, my commander 126 is back on the hard and I have been anxious to get it there to figure out where the water that has been accumulating in the bilge has been coming from. I have been gaining about 5 gallons per week sometimes double that with no sign of where from. This made me believe that it was coming through the keel somewhere and migrating up into the bilge.

The photos show what I found when I got a look at her keel.

This is several days after haul out and there was a steady trickle flowing out from an obviously rough repair from a previous inciDENT.

I prodded the area with a screw driver and look what happened.

I would love some comments on what is recommended to do next. I do naturally expect to repair the hole but what about any potential pockets of water? how long to let it dry etc.

On the bright side I do enjoy working in the boat yard surrounded by cool boats.

For starters, check the Keel Voids thread in the technical forum:

http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussi...read.php?t=604

will do thanks..

Hi,
I am the guy who is buying C231, but I have sailed out of Chebeague, and remember well the way those ledges can show up right under your keel without much warning. One minute you are happily dodging lobster trap lines, then suddenly it lookes like the boat is about to crash land on a mountain top. Yikes. I would be willing to bet this happened more than once, and a little bondo went to work in the fall. Come spring, freezing water opens things up a tiny bit, more water soaks in, freezes some more, etc. etc. I am no expert, but if that is LEAD in the photo, looking gray, It would seem a good chunk of skin has gone missing. If it is just glass, then maybe not so big a deal. Either way, I would drill in as much drainage as possible so no water is sitting up there, and let it go till spring. Then grind in a large feathered area to glass up a repair. Main goals being to keep the water out and the ballast in. The freeze/thaw cycle has got to be tough on these boats where they spend the winter on the hard. Do you keep her on Chebeague? If so where? My wife's family used to have the Acorn cottage, which is up the hill from the Chebeague Island Boat Yard. Very fond memories of the place, and lots of adventures sailing a bullseye there. Do you remember who you bought the boat from? Might be one I went out on that used to belong to neighbors. Might have even been owned by my father in law at some point. Never been in such thick fog as that day before or since.

Hi Frenna,
The boat was owned by John Wixted previous to me. It had been out of the water for quite some time. The last year it was registered was 1999.
I will do some drainage drilling as soon as I get back on the island. This forum is very helpful with pictures, diagrams and shared experience.

Yep, that is the one my in-laws used to own. They only had it a short while, after the neighbor that owned it passed away unexpectedly. I was out on it for a day back then. Seems like the family has owned a string of strangely aquired, somewhat undermaintained boats out on Chebeague. I had a big adventure on their old bullseye, sailing on a close reach near Long Island, when the shroud pulled the deck right off of the hull. (it was the type where there is a u-bolt on the deck instead of a chainplate) Had to come about real fast to keep the mast in. Went ashore on Long looking for something to jury rig it with. Ended up with a roll of duct tape, and a mandate to to keep starboard to lee. I ended up screwing the deck to the hull with some old basement access door hinges, covering it with duct tape, and sailing to the mainland to get real repair supplies. We were out there for a month, and had no car on the mainland, so it was really the only expedient way. Ended up in gale on the way and had to put the hook down and row to shore to wait it out. A really fun day, actually. I was married out on Chebeague back in 1990. Would have bought my in-law's cottage a few years back, but it is on one coast and we are on the other. All this is making me think we might have to make a pilgrimage back there next summer. Have not had a fresh lobster in way, way to long. Good luck with the repairs. That is a fine place to sail.

Wow, thanks for sharing the story. If you do make the pilgrimage to Chabeague perhaps a sail on C126 (I do need to name her) will be in order.

Here is a look at the light just past Eagle Island..beautiful day :)