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Ok, I'll bite -- what's a commercial endorsement?

My kids are 9 and 5, and this'll be their third year in our Commander.  We do mostly day sailing in SF bay (Angel Island is a favorite), but have slept on the boat as well. Once my daughter turned 4, she came off the tether and into a regular life jacket. When other kids join us, if I judge that they aren't ready to listen to the skipper, they get a harness and tether (regardless of age).  We do regular MOB drills, and everybody has their role.  I tie a couple of plastic containers together, and throw it overboard. We pretend it's someone we know ("look, grandma's fallen out! Better get her quick").

My 5 year old has now perfected a technique of falling asleep with one hand gripping the coaming, to prevent rolling off. Amazing how adaptable kids are.

Welcome aboard!  What sort of shape is she in?  What hull number?

I got my commander last November, and since then, my time has been two parts repair to one part sailing   .  Now that I've replaced coamings, carved new handrails, and painted and varished like a madman, I expect the ratio to shift radically.  What a lovely boat.

-- R

Thanks for the tips -- I found some 14" wide boards at Van Arsdale, at about $100 a board, so no gluing, which I agree would have been a pain.

-- R

I'm having real trouble finding mahogony the right size to replace the rotted coamings on commander #179.  I need about 14" of width at the widest point, and nearly 11' of length. My local yard can mill a couple of boards to this size, but at nearly $15 a foot all in :eek: (I'm in SF).

Another option is to get narrower boards and glue them together to get the necessary width. Has anybody done this?  Opinions about strength, durability, looks, and where the joint should be?

thanks,

-- R

Now that the rains have started in SF, I'm starting to tackle some indoor work.  I want to clean and grease the original South Coast winches on my commander, but don't have a clue how to get them apart and get the housings off.

Can anybody give me some pointers?

-- R