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I haven't been the most active participant of this message board, but I would rank myself as one of the most active readers. My admiration of your craftsmanship and my boring desk job are to credit for my daily reading habit. I would like to thank all of you for providing a respite from crunching numbers. Unfortunately, life has taken me away from Chicago and I have sold Old Glory. The new owners are another group of guys, similar to my group of friends 3 years ago. If they are anything like us, I contend that Old Glory sees the most beer consumption of any Commander on the high seas. We made some improvements to the boat (coamings, motor, etc) and I hope they continue the trend.
I'll be in Chapel Hill, NC... so if anybody is passing through the Outer Banks, let me know. I'll still be reading!
 
Michael
 
p.s. when I was launching OG for the new owners, I ran into a no-name Ariel. I didn't want to climb into the cockpit to get her number. But I figured I would post a picture to aid in tracking these great boats as they move around the world. This boat was at Skyway Yachtworks on the south side of Chicago.
 
 

Saw this posted on Sailing Anarchy.  I don't know much about the MORC rule, only that my dad raced his Soverel 28 under it and that I have seen "MORC" in the original Ariel brochure.  So this might be of interest to some of you.
 
"There's been some serious buzz as of late with a sizable contingent of MORC boat owners/crew who wish to revive the rule. A core group has come together to work toward this effort with the ultimate (short-term) goal of an organized MORC Mid-winters and/or Nationals, then to follow with a (long-term) goal of sanctioned regional events and an organic revival of the rule reaching to the local level. Fundamental to the effort is establishing a database of MORC boats & owners. The objective is a starting point from which to build an informed MORC community and garner support for racing under the rule. You will be kept apprised of developments geared specifically to MORC racing. Please email with the following details:

• Boat Type
• Boat Name
• Contact Person
• Email
• Telephone
• Boat Geo-Location
• MORC Certificate – Y or N
• If Y, what year?
• Comments, if any

There is a lot of work to be done for a bona fide and concerted effort to launch a "revival". A number of people have stepped up to help. If you are interested in getting actively involved, please share your constructive comments and suggestions, or connect us with anyone you know who may be interested in this "revival"."

I figured the title of my post might get some attention... and there is no doubt that some people here have a strong attraction to these boats.

Anyways, I was out sailing here in Chicago last week and had to pick up a friend at a different harbor.  I have driven by the harbor a number of times, but had never sailed into it.  There was a boat that I had seen from land that looked like a Commander, but could not be sure.  So I took this opportunity to search it out.
 
Sure enough, it was a very well maintained Commander named "Fetish" (I believe it was the name, it was getting dark)
 
I snapped a few pictures with my phone (poor quality).
 
Just wondering if the owner was on the board and thought I would say hello to a fellow Chicago Commander owner.
 
Michael
C 274 Old Glory
Belmont Harbor

Thanks commanderpete!  You saved me a very long drive.
 
I aspire to make my Old Glory as beautiful as your Grace.

I am looking to construct some new coamings for C274, as the old ones are rotting away.  I am aware that the Commander has a 9 foot cockpit.  With the overlap on the cabin and the trailing edge to the stern, am I good just ordering 10 feet in length?  I guess I could always just be on the safe side and go longer.
 
My search came back with some results, but the words: coamings, dimensions, measurements, etc... are all used far too much on this board!  Has anybody documented the new construction process?
 
Thanks,
Michael

quick question, need a quick answer.  I did a search but did not find any.  So I just thought I would clog up my own thread.
 
I am working towards making some new coamings.  As stated earlier in this thread the coamings on 274 are beyond the point of restoration.  I had a tough time getting them off yesterday... it was brutal.
 
What are the dimensions of the coamings on the Commander?  (Basically, what amount of wood do I need to order and what size?)

Unfortunately, my boat winters an hour and a half away from me, so access is limited and I forgot my notes in the cabin.
 
Thanks.
 
Michael

Ran into the owners of the boat that I previously posted about.  It is a 1966 Chris Craft.  There were only 50 made.

They enjoyed checking out the Commander.

Upon further research, it is called the Capitan 26.

To take this thread in a more positive direction... I saw this boat at the harbor last weekend and after about an hour of paddling around the harbor this evening, I found it.   Some similar attributes to the Commander, however, it looked like it had a spade rudder and maybe a fin keel or maybe even a centerboard (I couldn't see).  Any idea what it is?

Hello All,
 
While I wouldn't call myself active on this forum, I do read new posts daily to try to absorb as much knowledge as possible on these fantastic boats. Since Stephan is posting pictures of his super sized Ariel, I figured I would post a picture of the old and new owner(s) as a good way to further transition myself onto this forum.
 
I managed to get a couple buddies of mine from college to pool some funds and buy this boat. While I am the only one with significant experience sailing, my sailing is limited to racing smaller dinghies. So both teaching my friends and learning the ropes of a larger boat will be a challenge.
 
You can see that the boat has been renamed "Old Glory" (Regarding placement of the name... the wind caught a hold of our decal and decided to place it higher on the transom than we wished. We didn't want to mess with it, so we just decided to go with what Mother Nature intended)
 
I don't know if it is possible to re-name a thread, but it might be worthwhile to keep all postings related to this wonderful boat in the same place.
 
Thanks for all of your help so far. I hope to be able to contribute to the knowledge base that is contained here soon enough.
 
Michael

haha, no offense taken.  thanks for working with me on this.

The clear cut straight lines of the photo editor I used do not do the boat justice. and I know this.

this was also the first time I used the editor and I learned some tricks as I did the tracing.  I also only used the track pad of my laptop.  I still need to purchase a mouse!

I would still be interested in a professional rendering.

(edit)... and please feel free to correct my drawing.  I am not an artist of any sort, so I would not take offense.

i researched some free photo editing software that had "layers" and I was able to essentially trace the graphic posted earlier in the post.

please excuse any details I missed.

Thanks everybody for participating in the topic.
 
I spent some time looking through book previews on Amazon/Google that involved the line drawings I am looking for.  The Triton is the only boat that is relatively similar to the Ariel or Commander.
 
I sent the above image to one of my buddys that is more skilled with graphics.  Perhaps he will have something for me soon.

you brought that image a very long way. well done.
 
somebody has to have a good copy though, wouldn't you think?

Ah yes.  Thank you for your reply.  
 
I found this same graphic in one of your earlier posts.  I have tried to photoshop this to improve the quality (no offense), but I am not very good.