Jason M Gibson
FL
Boat Name: Molly Brown
Model/Year: 1975
Hull No. CTYH49570475
Hailing Port: Tallahassee, FL |
 03/13/2006 8:02 AM Pacific Time
Quick question: I’m in the process of restoring a 1975 Catalina 22. I’ve stripped the bottom of its gelcoat, added two layers of epoxy resin, and will begin the process of fairing and bottom coating. How do I locate the waterline and the boot-stripe?
Thanks a bunch!
Jason
Tallahassee, FL
[email protected]
|
Dick King
Melbourne, FL
Boat Name: Twilight Zone
Model/Year: Sport/2005
Hull No. 15546
Hailing Port: Melbourne, FL |
03/14/2006 4:46 AM Pacific Time
I have seen several boats that do not have either. They don't look that unusual.. If you really want to put them on, let the boat sit in the water for a few days. Make sure it is trimmed fore and aft, so the bottom of the transom is just touching the water. That will give you the approximate location of the waterline. Or take some measurements off another Catalina 22 that still has the stripes. The hard part is to make the aft end of the stripe look as wide as the front part from the side view.
If I were you , I would leave the stripes off. |
Greg Guenther
Belleville, IL
Boat Name: Magnificat
Model/Year: 1970
Hull No. 473
Hailing Port: Belleville, IL |
03/14/2006 9:59 AM Pacific Time
Jason,
I have a 1970 and ended up re-painting the entire boat. It had been painted once a horrible blue and a poor job at that. I did replace the waterline stripe with a triple color 2" stripe tape from West Marine. It was three colors black, dark gray and gray with black being the widest stripe. I was able to trace the waterline on my boat by a very faint ridge in the fiberglass where the old waterline stripe was. If you look close enough, maybe you can find it on your boat. I think it was well woth the effort.
Greg |
Mike Bracket
Clinton Twp, MI
Boat Name: Gunsmoke
Model/Year: 1979
Hull No. 9150
Hailing Port: Lake St Clair MI |
03/14/2006 6:25 PM Pacific Time
another option for you guys in FL. As Dick mentions, float the boat and trim as appropriate. Then - from a position in the water with your boat, measure from the bottom of the rudder gudgeon to the water line. Then swim forward and measure the distance from the bottom of the bow eye to the water line. Remove the boat from the water on the trailer. Mark the bow with a pencil mark at the water line measurement. Do the same for the transom using the measurements obtained earlier. I used a long carpenters level across the cockpit coamings to level the boat athwartships. Decrease air pressure in the tires to lower the high side. Now for the Fore and Aft leveling.
I bought a "water level" from the local hardware store. It is a Stanley product with two plastic tubes each about 12' long with a fitting for the end of a garden hose. Install one on the male end of the garden hose and fill the hose with water. Remove the hose from the water source and install the other end. This is a two person job, one on each end of the hose. One guy holds up one end of the water level so the water line in the plastic tube is exactly on the mark on the transom. Other guy CAREFULLY and SLOWLY drags the hose to the bow and holds the plastic tube along the stem so the waterline in the tube is on the pencil mark. You will have to raise and lower the the trailer landing leg to get the marks to align fore and aft with the water level. Then move along one side starting about 12 inches bck from the bow. Transom end does not move. He is the base man. As you move along the side of the boat, let the water level stabilize, confirm that the transom level is on the mark and then put a pencil mark on the side of the boat and move another 12' back. It gets tricky along the stern with the compound curve but with a little patience and practice, you can have a perfectly straight line. Then have a few beers and get out the masking tape...... |
Greg Baker
Charlotte, NC
Boat Name: Sea Sharp Minor
Model/Year: Catalina 22 - 1984 - Swing Keel
Hull No. 11823
Hailing Port: Lake Norman Sailing Club |
03/15/2006 8:00 AM Pacific Time
I built an alternative to the water level that Mike describes years ago and it is useful for the bootstripe and many other leveling jobs. I took an old bleach bottle and put a threaded barb fitting in the bottom. I added about 30 feet of clear 1/4 hose to the barb fitting then filled the bottle 3/4 full of water, a few drops of Lysol and some water soluable red ink. The free end of the hose is taped to a yard stick.
To use it, just put the bottle at a convenient height like on a chair or ladder, hold the stick up to what you want to level, note the marking next to the water level in the hose and the marking at the reference you want to use for level (like the old bootstrap). Then move to the next spot, raise or lower the stick until the water level is the same before. Now whatever your previous reference measurement was is your new level point. You can also use a plain stick and just use pencil marks or you can use the top or bottom of the stick as a reference and just note the water level.
I have used this for everything from leveling the boat (to set the mast rake) to leveling foundation footings for a shed and floors in my basement.
Greg Baker |
Jason M Gibson
FL
Boat Name: Molly Brown
Model/Year: 1975
Hull No. CTYH49570475
Hailing Port: Tallahassee, FL |
03/20/2006 2:49 PM Pacific Time
Thanks to you all--I should note that the boat is already up on blocks, the gelcoat removed, a few layers of epoxy resin applied, with the next step of spraying primmer. The boat is a 1975: the level idea sounds useful, could anyone provide some measurement?
Thanks!
Jason |
