HI, Another weekend gone, another few coats of paint on the interior. She's looking fine. As usual, (whenever you get into your work in a marina) I had a stranger stop to admire my little Commander and ask what I was doing. This time though, he was a true admirer of our little boats, and he said he had a 35' wooden Shields sloop. He gave me a few tips, one of which was to eighty-six the rotted original built-up wood winch pedestals and replace them with some bronze pedestals from Spartan or the like. I rather think that is a good idea, and I notice from some of you-all's pics that pearson went to this arrangement not long after '64 when #5 was built. Any chance anyone knows anybody with a set of those later original metal pedestals from a Commander or Ariel for sale? Please let me know!

The other good tip was that after he saw my interior painted in the Grand Banks Beige, we were talking about the old traditional colors we both liked. When I told him that I had a fondness for Buff colors but was unable to find exactly the right tint, he referred me to Kriby Paints; a small New England company that makes marine paints and has a great Buff color. Anyone heard of these guys or bought from them?

One last question...the metal nose chainplate/tang for the forestay on my boat is badly pitted and could use re-chroming. Is this worthwhile, or am I opening up a can of worms unstepping the mast and having the peice redone? Chances are the rig needs an overhaul too (or at least a good inspection). What kind of problems do we typically have with the rig that I should be aware of? Thanks for your help guys. David on C-005.