Commander #187 'Assigned Risk'

[Rico]

Well here she is C-187... The photo (Photo 1) was taken at our first meeting in Mexico... taken July 2008.

(I did not know the hull number until I checked in with Bill’s database which showed the CF number and I can now confirm this with the actual paperwork – there is no number plate in place…)

She was patiently sitting in the marina at the boatyard where I put C-155 'Mephisto Cat' in the water in July of 2008 for the sail North. (Details on the Mephisto Cat here: http://pearsonariel.org/discussion/s...ead.php?t=1552

I was assigned a slip at the boatyard’s marina where I was to set the boat up to step the mast, and much to my surprise there was this Commander sitting in the adjacent slip...

She is in pretty good shape, with all the bits & pieces in the right place, but she was obviously sad & dirty due to being neglected. The only things actually missing were the Hull number plate, the original navigation light fixtures (there are some cheap modern ones in the front of the cabintop), and one of the two little steel plates that surround the opening in the top companionway slat where the lock plate goes through. Otherwise it is all there...

She is an outboard model with an original-looking well in the lazarette, but there are also some indications that she may have had an inboard out of the factory. There is some post-factory looking glasswork where the prop opening would have been and then the opening in the rudder itself… This filler piece may have just been lost over time, but it is hard to say… I’ll have to look at the area where the inboard would have been to confirm. The rudder, rudder shoe and rudder shaft are in excellent shape. The decks are solid and without stanchions – likely the reason why they remain solid!

I think that these boats do well without the lifelines. Space is so limited that they only serve to insure you go into the water head-first! I like them on other boats I sail in, but do not miss them at all on the Mephisto Cat.

She has a handful of sails. Some are old, but are in somewhat useable shape... -Some are just trash... The running and standing rigging could be freshened-up, but the biggest issue seems to be that the coambings are cracked and sad looking. Likely beyond help... The companionway slats will clearly need replacing too, but this is all do-able.

She is clearly a great candidate for fixing up! I’ll be looking for the parts mentioned above, some original fixtures, and perhaps a pulpit, if anyone has any lying around.

I’ll work on her a bit to get her ready for sailing again and I hope to have someone in the bay adopt her so that she joins in on the local fleet activities…

I initially suspected her being the same boat I saw up for sale sometime back while I was in LA... (I later confirmed this as being the case; – She was owned by an attorney and berthed in Marina del Rey…)

She was later sold on craigslist and then imported into Mexico. A delivery captain took her as far south as Ensenada and was apparently headed south to Acapulco, but the journey had been cut short for some reason and she had been left sitting & incurring slip fees... The harbormaster told me back then that the owner had not been heard from for quite some time…

I left my contact info with the harbormaster at the time, and let them know I'd be interested in case the boat became officially abandoned...

The owner finally surfaced a few months ago, and he contacted me about acquiring C-187. It took a while to sort out all the issues, including those with the the Marina and boatyard, and after a few more struggles to get the paperwork and purchase agreement completed & signed she was finally mine!

Yes – That is correct! I am now in the dreaded position of being a two-boat owner! (Gasp!)

Picture 2.- Getting ready to unstep the mast & haul her out after a painfully slow row to the travelift... It was only a couple of hundred yards, but with all that junk on the bottom she was hard to row!

Picture 3.- How often do you guys scrub your bottom and do your bottom paint? I think I can go a few more weeks, no?...

Picture 4.- Ahhh... The mast is off and the bottom is clean and prepped for new bottom paint... But we'll wait for prep & bottom paint until she is ready to go back into the water...

I has happy to find the bottom in good nick... no blisters and looking pretty good for being so thick with growth! I guess the salad just sticks to the surface...