Weather in Chicago now nice enough to start work on my commander, snow not likely to return any more.
I actually was lucky this weekend to catch a ride on an Alberg 30 on Lake Michigan, and it was great. It seems actually that the Alberg 30 is more tender than my Commander, it dipped the rail quite a bit, and was a wet ride much of the time. A great blast! And since I consider upgrading to a larger Alberg design some day, this seems a real possibility...
Anyway, back to my own commander - I have the usual split coamings, and was planning to fully break them and glue them using biscuits. However, when I started taking off one board, I found there were only very few screws under the plugs! I realized that a PO must have replaced one of the boards a long time ago, and with much inferior teak. This board is actually kind of flexible in many cracks, and I'm not sure if it can even be glued properly. The other board is truly just split in one place and looks easier to fix, I guess that one is the original high quality teak...
I'm tempted to take Commanderpete's advice and get into the water ASAP. And just leave them as is (with a brass plate or two bolted on to stiffen the boards), and maybe put some sealant in the cracks to avoid getting a wet butt. Not a proud thing to do, but more practical!
Stephan 
