Commander 147

[Commander 147]

The economy is taking it's toll on me but I'm still able to squeeze out some money here and there for the boat. Until recently the weather outside was so hot and humid that I spent time working in the wood shop which I could cool until the weather finally cooled down outside.

All the wood topsides will be new in this stage of the restoration. And I have most of the pieces fabricated to the point where final fitting, sanding and finishing remains. The new coaming boards are cut and fit but I want to inlay a reinforcement where they tend to crack at the inside corners where the board goes from the deck down into the cockpit itself. They are currently buried in my woodshed and I have not yet taken a picture of them so I will post that later when I install them.

The two pieces that transition from the coaming board to the cabin sides are made with the exception of the top cut. I want to fit them with the coaming board to make sure I am cutting them off on top exactly where they need to be cut. You can see the current stage of the parts in photo #1 below

Picture #2 below is the new companionway sill.

Picture #3 below is the are the boards that the companionway drop boards lock into.

Picture #4 below is the new handrails I've made which are thicker and slightly taller than the old ones.

And since I can only post 5 pictures per post I will start another post to show you what I have been doing on the boat since the weather cooled down. But I will need to post that later since I have Christmas decorating to do today.

[Commander 147]

First some time ago I decided to glass in the end of the ballast like Mike (Commander 227) suggested. My reasoning went like this. Unlike a boat that has no foam around the lead ballast that can drain easily to the empty back end of the keel, Destiny has foam all around the ballast and this foam sucks up water and dosen't let go of it. So I thought it better to try and keep water out of that foam by sealing the ballast in fiberglass. If water does get in that area what ever will drain out can go out the plug the prior owner had installed in the bottom of the keel when I pull the boat at the end of season. The first picture is of that job.

Next like most commanders the reinforcement for the backstay chainplate was very short. It left the top 8 inches of the chainplate unsupported. So I cut out and glassed in a new reinforcement for it to bolt to. The new one allows me to cut in half the unsupported distance of the chainplate. Also It is twice as thick as the old one. The second picture shows the old reinforcement.

The third picture is of the new reinforcement.

The 4th picture is of the glassed in new reinforcement showing the added bolt 4" higher than was previously possible. It also shows a couple of backer plates I glassed in for the hinges on the lazarette hatch. I glassed in several backer plates in this area but since I'm out of pictures again I will show you all those at a later date.

[Commander 147]

for those that wish to use a pivoting mast base. I just drew a cleaner version of the one Rico used to have his step made from. I left out the groove that is needed for the old style mast base where a crain is needed to step the mast.

[Commander 147]

The first picture below is the surprise I found when I removed the stem head fitting. This boat had more leaks than a colander.

The second picture is a trapazoid I made out of 3/8" thick fiberglass panel that I glued in place with some epoxy last night. Tonight I cut some biaxial mat and glassed it in place (3rd. picture). The biax will not only hold the plug in place but it also locks the deck and the hull together better than it has ever been in that area. Tomorrow night I will cover the existing hole in the front of the bow with some mylar and tape and then drill a hole in the top of the deck where the stem head fitting will later cover it up. Then I will mix up some epoxy with micro fibers to strengthen it and pour it into the the area closed off by the plug I installed.

[ebb]

Nice!

Will you be able to line up the long bolt?
A338 has one long bolt that essentially makes the stemfitting impossible to be torn off (without taking the whole nose with it. )
Could say the stemfitting does a secondary job clamping stem to deck together.
Also has the two lower bolts that only go thru the stem.
Our stem fitting is a great design!

The plug/bulkhead you have there imco could be tabbed to the hull to insure the upgrade does as you say: hold everything together better.

Bet you had a great time working up in there!!!!!


Really enjoy your photos and work!

[Commander 147]

and you will get a feel for what it was like working up there in the point of the bow. I can't wait to start on the recore. I will actually for the first time be able to stand in an upright position to do the job at hand.

Ebb the first pictures may not have been easy to see but I did glass the trapazoid to the deck and the hull. The first picture below is the templates I used to cut the biax that I used. The Y shaped one went in first and the top dark brown part is on the bottom of the deck, the middle light brown part is attached to the trapazoid plug and the bottom darker brown part is attached to the hull where the bolts for the stem head go through. The smaller template was for the second piece of biax that tied the plug to the sides of the hull.

The second picture below shows the long bolt in place so you can get an idea of how it all fits together.

[Commander 147]

Both of the tillers that came my commander were replacements and neither one worked very well. One was only about 4" longer than the original but instead of a slight rise it had a drop in it and it was a knee knocker. The other while it had a similar rise to the origianl it was about 12" too long. It took up a lot of cockpit space to use it. So tonight I cut up one of the old combing boards and resawed it into strips 5/16" thick. I built a jig to match the profile in the manual and glued the first one up. I figure it can't hurt to have a spare so I'm going to make two while I'm doing it.

If anyone wants the jig when I'm done with it and is willing to pay the UPS to get it let me know and it's yours.