Commander #155 'Mephisto Cat'

[Commander 147]

These shots really show off your pretty gray topsides. Thanks for posting them it has made me lean more toward doing the same color on Destiny.

Since I don't personally know anyone else that has done a re-gelcoat to their boat I have a few questions to better understand the process. I hope you don't mind.

1.) After the gelcoat has cured I assume you have to sand with progressively finer grit and then buff it out. Is that assumption correct?

2.) How exactly did you handle the non-skid? Do you have some kind of pattern in the new gel-coat on the non-skid?

3.) What kind of prep did you have to do to the smooth and non-skid areas prior to shooting the gelcoat?

4.) How long ago was it that you did the gelcoat and how well has it held up?

5.) Have you been waxing the boat on a regular basis to keep her looking good?

[Rico]

1.) After the gelcoat has cured I assume you have to sand with progressively finer grit and then buff it out. Is that assumption correct?
-The finish is quite smooth after the initial spraying and due to the use of the curing compound there is no sticky residue on the top layer. Having said that, the gel coat spray is quite thick and in order to end-up with a glassy smooth finish, you do have to sand (1200 grit+) & then polish. It works quite nicely.

2.) How exactly did you handle the non-skid? Do you have some kind of pattern in the new gel-coat on the non-skid?
-C-155's non skid (the original texture) was in amazingly good condition so we simply cleaned these areas up using a soft wire brush in order not to damage the basket-weave texture. This only got a couple of light coats as to not drown the texture. We did this as a trial initially, but saw that it worked pretty well, so we called it good... I did not sand, or polish these areas.
It is not comparable to the sandpaper-like finish on some other boats I sail on, but I'm pretty happy even with the wet performance on the original texture. I imagine that eventually, I'll have to go with a non-skid coating on those areas, but this will be quite a few years down the line. Since I've done this I've seen many coatings used, and some are much more appealing than others. I am very happy with the results.

3.) What kind of prep did you have to do to the smooth and non-skid areas prior to shooting the gelcoat?
-See #2 above for the non-skid areas on the deck.
The boat was in very good condition structurally - there were no areas that were weak or suffering from delamination, and no major dings or impact damage. We sanded down to clean and uncompromised material. It is amazing how well the materials have held-up!
After applying a few coats on the topsides and discovering the little bubbles in the original gel coat we sanded some more and then used a filler to make sure we had a completely smooth surface.
We then sanded the filler away (except where the little bubbles captured a bit of filler ensuring that we left a rough surface and removed all dust and residue before spraying the new gel-coat.
There was a bit of a scar from a ding on the stern rail and here we had to do a bit of skin surgery (glass work) to make sure that it was solidly repaired and smooth for paint. As they say - all the work is in the prep. It is very true.

Another area that we focused on was the hull-deck joint; Since I wanted to do away with the rubrail trim pieces... In this area there was quite a bit of focus to seal the joint stoutly and then fair the surfaces so that it would look nicely finished once the Gel-coat came on. The visual transition made with the trim was made instead by the change-in-color line at about the same line as the deck joint. You may have noticed that there is a bit of an angle change at the rail as you come up from the hull curve, we followed that line for the color change.

4.) How long ago was it that you did the gelcoat and how well has it held up?
-The Gel-Coat is two and a half years old now, and it is holding-up beautifully. I've heard some horror stories around the marina about gel coat jobs that cost a fortune and then fall apart in a year. I've personally never seen any like this, and would recommend the gel-coat work thouroughly. Of course; if you do not do the work yourself, the cost to simply disassemble the hardware on the boat is outrageous! You may be able to paint around stuff, but gel coating around stuff would be a disaster.


5.) Have you been waxing the boat on a regular basis to keep her looking good?
-I gave the boat an insanely good wax job prior to launch, but I have not done so since then - been too busy sailing! I am planning on doing this soon. I am a stickler for wax on my cars and feel guilty about not doing it on the boat more often. The boat does not look like it needs it, but I'm sure it will help to reduce the potential UV damage. BTW - I really like Collonite's fleet wax. It is a great product intended for marine and aviation applications.

6.) What products did you use & How much?
-I used Valspar Coatings' Gel coat. I bought a dark gray (1ea. 5 Gal. Pail) and their nice basic white (2 ea. 5 Gal pails - I bought the second pail only AFTER I decided to re-do the interior...) and 1 qt of bright Red for the waterline stripes. I mixed my own colors using the colors mentioned (with the addition of a few drops here & there of Gel coat coloring agent to tweak the red into my desired shade)

This was enough to do all the coats we ended up doing on C-155 (probably 3 times the minimum thickness needed!!), plus all of the interior in white (VERY thick), and a bunch of odds & ends (e.g: the lead pigs & a metal grating door -not on the boat!). I figure that the second pail went mostly on the inside. We only had about 1 gallon of White & 1/2 Gallon of the hull gray, and about 1/2 qt of red left over. We used all of the light gray mixed at that time, but I've since matched a bit I needed when installing the sail track.


147 - I'm glad that the pictures helped. If you still need more please let me know.

[Commander 147]

That was very helpful in understanding the process. From the pictures I've seen I agree with the guy that said you have the only new commander in existence.

[ebb]

Just beautiful work,
really is amazing!

I don't recall anybody on the net handling and spraying on gelcoat to the extent you guys have. Never seen it done at the yard.

It's so professional it's like you do it all the time!
If you came cold to this miracle and didn't reinvent the wheel so to speak....
REALLY IS AMAZING.

Restoration at its finest.

[Rico]

Thanks! -I'll be sure to pass along a fair share of the compliments.

I was fortunate to participate in the 2009 edition of the Baja ha-ha Rally from San Diego to Cabo (at the tip of the Baja Peninsula) at the end of October.

I am working on a bit of a write-up about the adventure... but while I finish here are a few of the pictures I took.

To keep this thread on topic I'll leave most of the details on the 'S/v Mystic - Seattle to Calais' thread in the Sailing & Events section which is focuses on this portion of the Voyage. (Link below) Please add comments there where I've posted a few more pictures and a short video taken as the conditions built showing some big swells:
http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussi...ead.php?t=2077


Here is the link to the little video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlqZpBYer2Y

Picture 1a: Arriving at Cabo. - The arch at the entrance to the cabo harbor. (This should be the last picture, but linked pictures show-up first... I'll plan better next time!)

Attached pictures:

Picture 1: Day 1; Great weather at the start this is a picture as we sailed past the Coronados (Northernmost Mexican Islands). We had our spinnaker up as the gun went off.

Picture 2: Great sunrise & nice weather after some 24hrs of 20-25 kt winds, gusts to 30kt with 15-20ft seas. This picture was taken on our approach to Bahia Santa Maria. We went far offshore chasing the wind as conditions lightened and approached our anchorage pretty much heading directly East.
One boat went to the bottom due to an impact with a whale while surfing down the face of one of these waves (all crew OK). Another got some sort of heavy line wrapped around the keel, and it dragged for some 4 hrs. Several goosenecks broke on gybes.
We were short-handed due to seasickess among the crew but fared well. We were quite tired, but had quite a bit of fun. (Not so bad with following wind & seas) We hit 11.7 knots several times while 'surfing' - in a 'Passport 40'. I imagine the Passports' hull-speed is around 6-7 Knots???
-See video on linked thread above.


Picture 3: Most of the time we had 'Perfect' sailing weather that allowed for fishing. We caught a Tuna (22") and two Dorados (Mahi-Mahi) (both at 44")
Most boats had very good luck with the fish. We made Sashimi & Ceviche, as snacks. Fish tacos, and nice fillets (Grilled /in garlic sauce/ Pan fried) for lunches and dinners.

We also caught 2 small Albacore tuna (twins at about 14"). We decided to let them go... I've seen them top 100lbs and I felt sorry for the little guys... plus we already had lots of fish at that point.

Picture 4: A relaxing sunset... The coming night was my first experience flying every stitch of sail at night. The radio often sounded with comments from people saying how this particular passage was the best sailing of their lives... Pretty darn perfect. This was taken during our last night before arriving in Cabo. During a slight calm (Warm!) we had to cool off overboard - 80 miles offshore! Shorts and T-shirts were our cold weather gear for the night.

[Rico]

Unlike the coambings, the Mephisto Cat's companionway teak was not in great shape... It did not look horribly bad for 40 year-old wood, but it had remained unprotected for quite a few years and was showing some threatening cracks.
The side companionway board rails, the hatch rails, and the piece at the bottom (that typically serves as a step) also showed significant wear. If one piece had to come off - It all had to come off...

Replacing the wood felt as the most daunting process even though there is not that much of it... I'm comfortable working with wood and would have liked to do the fine work myself, but I did not have access to the right woodworking tools, and I also thought that the teak would cost a bundle. Fortunately, I found a shop that had some nice leftover scrap pieces and I bought enough to complete a new companionway and traveler base. (just BARELY enough as it turned out!)

I asked a carpenter who had done some nice work for my parents to replicate each of the pieces -generously- as I planned to do the fine fitting as I installed the new wood in place... This is not the most efficient way of creating a new companionway (or anything) and the resulting fit was not factory perfect, but it turned out MUCH better that I thought it would. This method also made the installation take much longer than it should have...




Picture 1
Dry-run install & fine fitting of the teak companionway pieces before applying any varnish.

-I made sure to remove the beer bottles from view, but forgot about the bottle caps!-

You can see that the companioway BOARDS were in VERY nice shape. They are also made of teak, and although weathered a bit they seem unafected by age. Over time, they have developed a great texture. I made sure to NOT sand this away...

A few pieces are missing in this picture. The bottom plate (under the step piece) really adds lots for looks.

Picture 2
All the new pieces getting a little sun after a few coats of varnish -after they've all been trimmed, drilled, and fitted. The boat still on the hard at this point. It all seems so long ago...

It is right about then that I started thinking that tearing into the interior and putting in a nice coat of Gel-coat all over the interior would be a good idea... A project in its own right! Should have started with that!

Picture 3
Almost a full view of the finished product sortly after the initial 'mastless' splash, and the post-splash installation of the mast, coambings, deck hardware, traveler & base, etc. I'll have to take a picture of the full companionway... shiny wood certainly adds a ton of 'looks' to any boat...

This picture is before the first sail - note the missing winch base on the port side, nav lights, scupper plates, etc. There is also no boom yet.

... There are some more companionway pictures in the next post(s).

[Commander 147]

you have one of the best looking commanders out there. My goal is to make Destiny look as good as Mephisto Cat. I remember the first time I saw your companionway after it was redone. I thought to myself back then "I can't wait until mine looks that good"

So your companionway boards were teak huh? Mine look original and were all mahogany just like the combing boards. I wonder if Pearson made a change somewhere along the way but your boat is only 8 hulls away from mine. Now I have to wonder if maybe mine were replaced somewhere along the way??????

[Rico]

Thanks Jerry!
- Yes; The Mephisto Cat's (C-155) brightwork is ALL teak. I imagine teh Mahogany on C-147 must be original as the upgrade would have been VERY expensive... But who knows. It seems that Pearson offered different trim options for the interior layout, Interior fixtures, deck equipment, and I/b or O/b motors... Perhaps the choice of wood used was also an option?

C-187 had all Mahogany brightwork, which looked like it was the original brightwork... - and it will be getting all new Mahogany during refurbishment. It was hard to find THAT material as it was...
- I cannot imagine what a 1'-2" x 3/4" x 10'-6" teak board would cost - even if you could find it!!

Finally sailing after the 2010 very WET season!
The Official season opening race on the bay is in two weeks... Last year we had a very mild winter and it was not hard at all to sail right through. We even some 80 degree days in February and did quite a bit of sailing around the bay even before opening day.

This year, on the other hand, is has been VERY wet, and it was not until this past weekend that I managed to get a full weekend-sail in nice weather -after enough dry days to complete a few projects -in addition to 'spring cleaning'...
- As we all do; I do still have a long list of pending upgrades & little projects.

I had a sailor friend in town, and not only did we manage a sail down to Sausalito; but he also helped with a couple little boat projects. What a pleasure it is to have a bit of help now & then!! - At least to help dirink the beer!

We took off in light winds (about 10kt) on the ebb tide in bright sunshine, but it slowly picked-up as we got closer to the central Bay. We were entertained by some large ship trafffic while in San Pablo Bay. By the time we reached Richmond, we had 10-15kt winds with a few puffs and we could see a few other sailboats.

We reached Sausalito and had a few other friends meet us for a beer at the slip before we headed off to dinner at one of the cafes. We spent a great night on the boat, and after a good breakfast on-shore we went sailing again. We spent a bit of time in the central Bay and then headed back home riding a nice strong flood. We lost the wind for a while, but then a light westerly set-in and we swiched to the mighty 180% genoa and sailed wing - on - wing.

Picture 1: Great sailing in mild conditions... A bit of wind - plus the ebb tide pushing us along... The ebb tide pulls a lot of river sediment along making the water murky.

Picture 2: Another shot right after lunch and a beer...

Picture 3: Having a rest after stowing the boat away for the night.

Picture 4: These racers did not stand a chance against the lightning fast Mephisto Cat!!! (-relatively lightning fast!)... We flew past all of them before they took off towards Angel island. It was fun watching these little sailors cruise along in the little dinghies - and we did make sure to stay well clear.

- I wish I'd gotten into sailing that early! These sailing kids are doing drills, rounding markers and enjoying some excellent sailing in Raccoon straights; An area that is well respected by sailors in much larger boats!

Picture 5: On a Strarboard tack

[Rico]

A quick one to share a bit of news: The Mephisto Cat now has a slip at the Berkeley Marina!
I've managed to snag a slip in a great location...

A short video of the great sail I had on my way down is here:
http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussi...-Video-Gallery

The move is about 16 miles to the South West as the crow flies - or a 30 mile sail from the Vallejo Marina in San Pablo Bay (North San Francisco Bay) down to the Central Bay.

I am really looking forward to spending much more quality sailing time in the middle of San Francisco Bay... I found that although I really enjoyed the day-long sail down to the bay, it seemed that I spent most of my sailing on the trips back & forth and only spending typically 1/2 day cruising SF Bay... as it seems that my crew thought it to be a bit too much sailing at once -apparently...

In any case, I am eaker to explore some of the central bay's offerings. Plus I'll be sailing with a lot more company since everyone flocks to the central bay...

Just in time for the great weather... Actually, we are looking forward to 4 days of rain next week!

Just on my very dock, there are TWO Ariels and one Commander. One of the Ariels is right next door! (See Picture #1) Usually, I'm lucky to see one on a dock somewhere, or see one sailing off in the distance.

The Ariel next door ('Ya never know'; A-192 / CF 0583 KX) is in Excellent condition - Lots of upgrades, and very well maintained. I've had a few nice chats with the owner Jerry when scoping out slips. He continues to keep her up and sails often when he is in town. (UPDATE: Jerry has decided to take the boat down to Moss landing -deep in the Monterrey bay between Santa Cruz & the town of Monterrey.)

The Commander ('Galatea'; C-??? (hull number is higher than 223 as it has a bridge deck)/ CF 6957 SL) - It looks old, but it is in good shape and all the bits are there... This could be a great boat. I've been told that it serves as someone's self storage locker. That's all I know. It sits there very lonely... (UPDATE: This boat has been chained-up and will be likely sold by the marina. I never did meet the 'former' owner...)

The other Ariel ('Horizons'; A-35 / CF 1234 CA) - well... it is not pampered as much... It sits unrigged with a pulpit sitting upside down on deck... I've noticed someone spending nights occasionally. No contact yet...

A few pictures of the new digs:

Picture 1 'Ya never know' and the 'Mephisto Cat' share a double slip. We agreed to tie the boat's sterns together in order to keep the boat off the single fingers. It works beautifully. The Mephisto cat has its cover partly off as I was working on my latest project... (I am almost done!)

You can also see a few of the lovely trees that block the wind making this a very calm area in the marina. Gotta love it.

Picture 2 Looking Northwest towards the yacht club building and the harbor entry.

Picture 3 A view to the Northeast of the secondary fairway where my dock is located. I like this fairway becasue the main fairway can be quite busy. The Entrance to the harbor is directly east of the Golden Gate and the wind typically vigorously blows directly into the harbor. Most everyone likes to have all sails hoisted on entry and exit to ensure staying off the seawall!

Picture 4 View to the north. These boats are between the secondary fairway and the main fairway.

[Tony G]

Good on ya! living vicariously through others is what I'm currently about!

[Commander 147]

Rico

Maybe if we can help you get C-187 sold you could buy the commander/storage locker and go at it again. You do such a nice job of the rehab on these boats. Your helping to keep these fine boats sailing and we all appreciate your efforts.

[Rico]

Hey Jerry -
Thanks, but working on your OWN boat CAN be entertaining - but I'd still rather be sailing... Working on a second boat is much harder work as it keeps you from working on your boat AND keeps you from sailing! C-187 is coming along nicely though!


The Mephisto Cat & Crew participated in the Hoppe Regatta (Pictures & general recap available in the Sailing & events section thread link below):
http://www.pearsonariel.org/discussi...-HOPPE-REGATTA



Picture 1: The Mephisto cat & crew finally cross the line in ligth winds. - There was not a lot of wind at the start / finish line, but this was not the case at the far and of the course of this year's Hoppe Regatta!


----------------------------------------------------------------------

We also joined in on the festivities for the 'Plastic Classic' regatta held by the Bay View boat club. "A drinking club with a boating problem"
http://plasticclassic.com/

This is the Mephisto Cat's second appearance in this VERY fun event.

I am happy to announce that the Mephisto Cat managed to do quite well...

3rd Place in the 'Single handler' category in the Concourse D' Elegance
1st Place in PHRF Non-Spinnaker (18 Boats)
1st Place OVERALL (64 Boats)
1st Place Fastest Pre-1970's Boats (?? # Boats)
1st Place In Class (?? # Boats)

- Woo Hoo!!

The last two categories in RED I found out about only when I received the loot! (medals & trophies in the mail)

I did not manage to get a slip close-by for the night following the race so it was a nice long day of Sailing activities as we sailed there and back... The only downside was that I could not hang around for the festivities and the awards cerrmony...

Shoved off from Berkeley at about 6:45am headed to the Bay View Boat Club's facilities just south of San Francisco's South Beach neighborhood. Half my crew was on board and we sailed nicely in about a 12kt breeze.

We arrived at about 9:30 am and hung around until the judges came around. Then we hung around for a while longer waiting fot the rest of the crew to show-up... They finally showed as we were dangerously close to missing our start! (We started 15 minutes late last year! but this was due to a tactical error!). We waited until the last minute because this was the part of the crew that was responsible for the food & drinks!

We shoved off in a hurry headed to the start line and got the boat ready to race just in the nick of time. I struggled with an urge to go with a larger headsail, but I decided to stick witht he 100% jib despite many boats carrying sails in the 130% to 150% range... I was hopeful that the wind might pick-up a bit more and considering the course, I thought that our ability to point would be key to a good showing...

We had a relatively good start in very light air and crossed the line within a couple of boat lengths of the first two boats. We were on port tack and had to tack clear just before the line... Grrr.

The breeze freshened to a steady 5-6 knots just a few hundred yards from the start, just enough to get us moving properly towards the first mark. My able crew was focused - on passing around snacks & drinks... Two of us were racing - the other 3 of us were socializing... (I have a VERY relaxed crew!)

We were racing in close quarters with the lead boats all of which had 130%+ headsails. We barely managed to stick with the group and then started to slowly reel them in as the breeze freshened and we were able to plot a better course to the mark... Very exciting stuff for those of us racing...

We positioned ourselves to windward right after the start, and by the time we reached the 1st mark we were in the lead and pulling ahead in the freshening breeze now in the 10-12 kt range.

We enjoyed a great run to the 3rd and southernmost mark. Admitedly, after a slight panic trying to figure out where the next mark was! After rounding this mark, we felt the effects of the flood tide/current which was reportedly in the 2 kt range and came almost perpendicular to our course. We (I) did not plot the best compensating course at first, and we lost a bit of ground there... An Alberg 35 and a couple of Tritons were now threatening... but we were still in good shape.

We were the second boat around the 4th mark and I think that our choice of course as we headed back to the 1st/5th mark in the prevailing wind/tidal conditions was the key to our good showing. We were being reeled in by a Triton just before the turn, but then we called a tack to veer off to the next mark (this time taking better account of the current) and next time we saw them, they were quite far behind...

The last couple of markers were a repeat run, so we dialed it in as we headed to the finish.
We crossed the finish-line in heavy traffic of boats finishing and boats that started later (and perhaps a few boats that were trapped in the area where the mark sported a motorboat populated by scantilly clad (or not clad...) women...) As it turns out, this is a bit of an obstacle course!

I dropped off my crew at the Club to enjoy the festivities, while I enjoyed a nice single-handed sail back to Berkeley. I made it into my slip at about 7:00pm - too late to try to make the awards presentation. This was necessary because I was leaving town the following day.

I knew we had done well, but I did not expect it to be quite THAT well. It was a great outcome to a great sailing day...

As I made my way back to Berkeley, I spotted C-151 coming up behind... I waited a bit and we enjoyed a nice chat while we sailed along until the crew had to peel off to head to their homeport.

I have no pictures OF the boat this time, so here are some pictures FROM the boat:
Picture 2: A Picture of C-151 just after they peeled off towards Treasure Island post race.
Picture 3: A Bit of Racing; 'Nemesis' beating a nice triton to the first set of marks.

[Commander227]

Rico,

Thank you for spending so much time getting a Mid-Westerner out on San Francisco Bay.
I've read about sailing on the famous bay my whole life, what a hoot to finally get to sail on it.
The Mephisto Cat is a beautiful and capable boat.

We had a great time in your fair city. Highlights:

1. Searching for street art by graffiti artist Banksy.(Found 4 and the spots where 2 have been painted over) A great way to see all the cool neighborhoods in S.F.
2. Biking across the Golden Gate to Sausalido.
3. Independent film by local artist at The Castro Theater.
4. Watching the hang gliders at Fort Funston.
5. And of course, sailing with Rico.

Thanks again Antonio, send me a PM with your address, I got a little somthing I'd like to send you.
Mike
C-227

[Triton106]

Rico,

In your third picture you were beating "Answer", one of the best Tritons in the Bay Area owned and sailed by Dave Wilson. Dave works at Svendsens and goes out all the time. If you are beating Answer, a larger boat with an experienced captain, that is saying something.

[Rico]

Thanks T-106,
The Picture is of C-151 'Nemesis' racing along with 'Answer' at the approach to a mark. The picture was taken by my crew after we had rounded that mark. At this point we were a couple of hundred yards ahead...

I think we were lucky with the breeze early on, and on the outcome of some tactical decisions. Despite a few things we could have done better, we managed to hold our lead...

I do remember 'Answer' clearly. In addition to being a beautifully kept boat (nice color too...), they managed to reel us in later in the course.

We could see them creeping up from quite a distance on a long port-tack reach. I remember deciding to climb-up above his course shortly before they overtook us as we were planning our tack into a close hauled (starboard tack) course towards the next mark. If I recall correctly, 'Answer' continued further on her course before tacking into the wind. We benefited from a very nice lift on that run, and I also believe our ability to point higher was crucial in the wind & current experienced that day.

I lost track of 'Answer' after that, but was surprised to see them down in the course when we finished as they'd been so close to us.


Dinghy Sailing

Recently, I've finally completed the construction of my little Cat rigged sailing dinghy. You may recall this dinghy as my intended 'tender' for the Mephisto Cat (see post #18 on this thread), but since then, I've decided to go with a tiny 6' zodiac inflatable dinghy. This size is not made anymore, but I managed to find a used one...

The inflatable is not so nice to row (I do not carry a motor for it), but it makes-up by being VERY small when deflated (or when inflated for that matter!) and it does quite nicely carrying two people... I am very happy with it.

Since the hard dinghy was already prettied-up (to match the Mephisto Cat - by the way); I decided to make it into a nice sailing dinghy. I installed a mast tube, and new gudgeons for a rudder and spruced-up the convenient hinged retractable keel.

I found and fitted an old 14' wood mast (two piece) and boom from an old dinghy and spruced that up by rebuilding the rub surfaces where the mast is joined by the connector tube, and where the base of the mast wears as it spins in the mast tube.

I also fixed-up and adapted a nice aluminum hinged rudder. (The hinged design proved its worth while sailing in close quarters in Tahoe!)

Add a few control lines, and a little block -or two, and we wre off sailing! The pictures are of my solo maiden voyage - very exciting! My little nephew joined in the fun later... My Girlfriend & I spent about 2 hrs tootling around in the dinghy later that weekend - it took more wind to move the both of us, but it was fun. You just have to pay attention as the winds are very shifty and gusty at Lake Tahoe... and can spill your beer! (and the water is cold!)