Messages

Will definitely follow ALL of your suggestions.  Unfortunately, this is a bad time of year for me to work on after-work projects.  Daylight-savings time just kicked in this past weekend and it is dark before I even leave the office.  I have to steal away the odd nice afternoon here and there when I can (as I did today).  With the arrival of colder weather also, no mo paintin'/varnishin' unless we get an "indian summer" later on this month.  Too bad, because I have finished all the interior repairs and really only have one last touch-up round of painting left.

  Good news is the interior teak has really turned out much better than I expected.  For some reason, Commander #5 did NOT get the nicest pieces of select grain teak for its interior trim.  I had to sand the bejezus out of it and then do a really proper varnish/sand/varnish/sand job on it to coax out any redeeming grain. Royal pain in the a**, but my twisted, hard-headed will of what teak "should" look like was savagely imposed on the junk wood, and now the wood is the talk of the cabin.  The bulkheads are insanely jealous, and my sole is in dispair. [sorry, lame pun].

In summation, the last six months have been rough, but worthwhile. I have definitely made up my mind, however, that this is my last "project boat". I'm getting tired of always working on the boat and have never even sailed her. I'm taking a break until after the holidays, and I will hit it hard and finish up the exterior next spring. "Finished" be damned. I'm going to take the advice of the wise cpete and "put her in the water and go sailing." I hope that one day next year I will write you all and tell you that the Cinderella story is complete, but we'll have to wait and see.  I'll be posting the "After" pics of the interior this week. Best regards to all - cpete, Robert LeMasters, bill, ebb and all the rest who have seen me through my first 6 months with Commander #5.  Her new name will be "Heidi Ann", named after a friend of mine who also happens to be a fine looking scandanavian lass -I think Mr. Alberg would approve - he had an eye for beauty obviously.  C5 over and out.

HI, Another weekend gone, another few coats of paint on the interior. She's looking fine.  As usual, (whenever you get into your work in a marina) I had a stranger stop to admire my little Commander and ask what I was doing.  This time though, he was a true admirer of our little boats, and he said he had a 35' wooden Shields sloop.  He gave me a few tips, one of which was to eighty-six the rotted original built-up wood winch pedestals and replace them with some bronze pedestals from Spartan or the like.  I rather think that is a good idea, and I notice from some of you-all's pics that pearson went to this arrangement not long after '64 when #5 was built.  Any chance anyone knows anybody with a set of those later original metal pedestals from a Commander or Ariel for sale?  Please let me know!

The other good tip was that after he saw my interior painted in the Grand Banks Beige, we were talking about the old traditional colors we both liked.  When I told him that I had a fondness for Buff colors but was unable to find exactly the right tint, he referred me to Kriby Paints; a small New England company that makes marine paints and has a great Buff color.  Anyone heard of these guys or bought from them?

One last question...the metal nose chainplate/tang for the forestay on my boat is badly pitted and could use re-chroming.  Is this worthwhile, or am I opening up a can of worms unstepping the mast and having the peice redone?  Chances are the rig needs an overhaul too (or at least a good inspection).  What kind of problems do we typically have with the rig that I should be aware of?   Thanks for your help guys.   David on C-005.

Hello again.  I've managed to make it over to the boat several evenings this week.  The painting on the interior is going very well now.  After some experimentation, I've come up with a scheme that looks great and really highlights the curves.  For the coachroof ceilings, I am using Interlux single-part poly Brightside Off White, flattened out 3-to-1 with Brightside Flattener.  The reason I opted for a flat finish is because the many imperfections of the glasswork stick out like sore thumbs after my first finish coat with the straight-out-of-the-can gloss.  The flat white is still plenty reflective and that is de rigeur for such a small cabin. For the topsides between the ceilings and the longitudinal shelves, I've used a contrasting Brightside Grand Banks Beige. Using both brush and roller, it is amazing what a great satin effect can be had with even my meagre painting skills and these otherwise unforgiving and messy paints.  Below the shelves and for the settee horizontals, back to Off White.  The forepeak lockers, chain locker, sole flanks, settee verticals, the two cabin bulkheads, cockpit lockers and bilges, were all finished in the flat Grand Banks Beige.  For the formica faux-wood surfaces, I took the advice of a few of you and scuffed them up real good and painted them all.  Finally, the fold-down table top and the small galley top, I used an unflattened Gloss White.  When I reinstall the newly varnished teak, its all going to look great.  I can't wait and I really enjoy taking my time and doing a nice job.  I can't think of anything else I would rather do - except go sailing!  I'll get some pics up soon.

Hello friends,
  Well, I've been silent for a few months, but for a good reason - I've been busy at the boat. Presently I am still working on the interior.  True to form, I agonized over the paint colors and layout, and ended up doing my same old signature trial-and-error-takes-4-coats-and-then-some method of coming up with a suitable scheme that was aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

I swore to myself when I started this project that I was NOT going to waste my time and money by OVER thinking and second guessing my every move, but alas, a leopard cannot change his spots.  Anyway, the interior is now wrapping up very nicely. I have painted every square inch of it, and also have a few coats of varnish on all the teak after much needed sanding and resealing.
Seems like every floor and settee hatch's sills have popped loose and not one can be trusted to walk or sit on without falling in.  I have purposely left all repairs until after I had at least one coat of paint on everything just so I would make myself be more careful when going about the repairs at the risk of messing up two projects at a time.  On my first boat, I had to learn the hard lesson that decently finished is for the most part better than "perfect".

I have, however, resigned myself to the fact that I won't be going sailing this year, so my plan now is to take the winter to order and replace the long lead-time items.  These include new couchins for the interior, a new custom made tiller, refurbishing the sails (being sent to Sail Care up in PA for thorough reconditioning), and of course the usual new lexans for the portlights (all four are shot).

The boat came with a full size cover, and I will wrap her up tightly in late November I suppose.  I hope to have the interior done completely so that I can start to work on the exterior hull next spring.   I was originally going to have it professionally sprayed, but I have since seen a few very nice brush jobs using two-part poly.  Any recommendations?  As always, much thanks to you all for all your inspiration and help.  Keep posting your pictures - I really love seeing your success stories!  - Dave F

Thanks Bill, I am very interested in getting The Manual.  How and where to buy? How much is it?

More on the rudder:  The rest of the below waterline hull looks like it was painted at the same time as the rudder, but since the rudder is wood as opposed to the rest, all the paint had nearly completely flaked off. It looked like an easy job (in the welcoming shade of the hull) to just help the last of the paint off with a scraper blade. Next I stripped the mottled finish off and sanded down to bare wood.  Everything was going great until a small strap (approx 4" long) popped right out of it's recessed pocket!  Examining the depression, it was clear that the strap had been held in place by 4 screws or rods which joined it to it's other place directly on the opposite side of the rudder. Looking at the other side, there were likewise no screw or rivet heads atop the strap on that side either. What the..? The other plate was easily popped out summarily.

So tell me boys, do your rudders also have this strap?  How should I fix/replace/refasten the straps?  And how exactly is the outside (rudder tail) plank attached to the adjoining inner plank?  It appears there are pins or dowels which can be seen in the gaps, but then why is the innermost plank attached to the second with the strap?  Were the straps a later addition made by the owner?  I really need to get some images up to show you what I am referring to.

Finally, what is the best way to refinish the wood rudder now that I have it down to bare wood, which is in remarkably good shape (no rot found)?  I have never used the "West System", but is that the proper way to deal with these wood rudders, then paint as usual with bottom paint (primer and topcoat)?

Also curious...Were there any "factory standard" color schemes/combinations for the hull/boot/bottom painting?  Any which would especially match the vintage/production period?  I know that may sound like a stupid or trivial question, but my tastes in colors/combinations have changed over the years, and so to avoid a lot of expensive and time-eating experimentation, I'd just like to go with a "traditional" or factory "correct" restoration scheme and be done with it.

I don't mean to be nitpicky at all, on the contrary, I'm really just trying to be practical for once.  The less time I spend on this stuff (cosmetics), the more time I will have later on to deal with the REAL problems...like my rotten foredecks.  I'll be working on them later...right now I am blissfully working away on the finish and brightwork, all the while in total denial of that daunting and inevidible project (the dreaded re-core), and many others as bad or worse I should suspect.  With your help, I'll get through these too.

Thanks to all.  C-005

Thanks for the reply Bill.  I'll check out the stock tillers for a first-season quick-fix, then look into a custom ogee curved tiller for next spring.

Sorry for the confusing write-up - I opened my paragraph to talk about "hidden" problems, but got sidetracked on the rudder issue...which led to the tiller issue...which leads to the next issue...in which somewhere in there I should have mentioned at least one hidden problem. I know I shouldn't be so preoccupied with my writing abilities, but some of you guys are REALLY good (and entertaining!) writers.  I mean it!  It's not normally very easy to keep my attention and read through all the threads beginning to end, but I can go on reading until midnight and laugh my a** off half the time!

You guys are a lot of fun, and a goldmine of knowledge and experience to a tyro like me.  I'm really glad I found this site (and C-005).

Best regards to all of you, and thanks again for all the great replies.    Dave

Thank you for the encouraging and kind words Robert.  I am trying to work on her every chance I get, but unfortunately my 4th of July weekend plan got eighty-sixed by an unexpected death in the family, and I had to head down to North Carolina for a few days for the funeral.

My original plan had me off work for five full days and all my brightwork sanded and sealed with at least a few coats of varnish before returning to work on Wednesday morning; what actually happened is that I just barely got done stripping the last of the wood this morning and had not even a starter coat of varnish on anything before a storm brewed up this afternoon.  So much for my big plans...

I have owned the boat for three weeks now and I am starting to find some of the hidden problems.  For one thing, with the boat having been out of the water for some six years now, the wooden rudder is thoroughly dried out and has gaps between the boards as wide as a quarter-inch in some places.  I know the wood will swell and close these gaps (to a point), but should I be looking at having it rebuilt if they are that wide? Any advice would be helpful.

I also would like to ask everyone if anyone has a template for the tiller? Mine had fallen completely apart and was in ribbons (when I just snapped it right off the head with a flick of the wrist.)  I would like to replace it with an exact factory spec'd tiller.  Again all help appreciated.

To sum up my weekly report to you all, Hull #5 is looking respectably aged, but she is beginning to take on the appearance of a boat which is being cared for and under repair - she no longer has that sad dull look of abandonment to her. The work continues and I am already prone to standing there and just gazing at her for a few minutes before getting back in the car and leaving her - with a smile on my face!  I only wish I was retired and could work on her every day!  Cheers all!  David

Hi all!

Work continued yesterday on Commander 5.  I have just about completed the stripping and sanding of the exterior brightwork. Some instances took up to 6 applications of Strypeze to get all the old varnish off, but underneath the mohogany looks clean and unmolested. The wood rails under the companion hatch guides were particularly dirty and ugly; nearly black with flaking old varnish, but they cleaned up especially nice - the wood looked nearly blonde underneath after the repeated strip and scrape. They seemed to glow and to say "ahhhhh, thank you" to the air and sunlight. The washboards look like new wood, and the tall forward portion of the coamings looks beautiful from a bow angle - looking good.  I'll keep you posted. DF

Hi everyone, Here's an update on the salvation of Hull #5.  Yesterday it was hot, very hot, here in MD.  Started the day with the obligatory trip to the hardware store to "tool up" for the day.  75' Hose; check. Spray nozzle; check. 1 gallon Simple Green; check. Chemical Stripper; check. Scrapers, kinves, blades, scrubbing pads, rags, sandpaper; check, check, check. From there, Off to "The Boat"!  I have a strange feeling that everything in my life, from now until she is in the water and sailing, will BE "The Boat", my next great cause in life.

Spent the entire day scrubbing and cleaning and stripping the boat stem to stern. She's looking better, but still a long way from good. Among the many other things, her deck drains were clogged and like many others have said before, what one would think would be a ten minute task turned into about an hour and a half of unhooking, investigating, tool improvization and in the end, I felt like the chimp with the stick in hand at the termite mound, poking and proding. Unlike the chimp though, there was no meal to reward my effort, but instead I did finally have a clean deck and free-flowing scuppers. Woo-hoo!

Next, onto cleaning the hull up.  Since the deck drains were clogged for (I assume) the past 6 years, and being one of the early commaders with no notches at the stern rail to let the piled up water off, the stagnant, NASTY pool of organic detris and bird droppings had severely stained the decks alongside the coamings. Amazingly, the decks seem solid here, although the winch bases were shot (not cool).  The coamings themselves were in sad shape cosmetically, but in spite of the longitudinal splits, the wood itself is still good and solid; a testimony to the builders not skimping on thickness - mine are still in excess of 3/4" thick - beefy compared to my other 30 footer with about a half-inch, they look and feel wimpy compared to the Commander's.

But back to the hull, the overflow from the lakes on the sides had badly stained the topsides with a nice green fungal/mossy green and black. UggH! I put some serious arm and ass into the hand scrubbing at these places and it paid off - the topsides are passing at C-/D+.  They will need refinishing of course anyway, but it does leave a much nicer impression on the eye, especially from about 20'.

Figuring that I might get the nastiest work done first and move on to more pleasant things next weekend, I next attacked the brightwork.  I used a chemical stripper to get the bulk of the old varnish off, and things went pretty fairly. I have used the strippers before, and I tried to keep things as neat and orderly.  I would love to post the before-and-after shots of the companionway and washboards, but I haven't yet figured out how to post them.  Will work on it.  I'll give another update next weekend.  Thanks all for the inspiration and commaradeship.

THANK YOU FOR THE WELCOME!!  I really feel like the new kid in school here, and it is really nice to be greeted with an instant and friendly welcome.  I am still going through all the past posts, gleaning ideas and experiences and advice, and getting a good laugh here too.  Love it, and can't get enough!  Thanks again for the warm welcome, David

Hello everyone, my name is David and I am the proud new owner of this 1964 Commander Hull #5. I couldn't be happier. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading many of your posts and especially lookin at all those photos of your boats.

Thank you all for all for your pictures and for your enthusiam and appreciation for these great classic Alberg designed-Pearson built boats, which truthfully in part inspired me to buy her. I hope I prove to be worthy to join your ranks as new owner and steward to Hull #5.

A special hello here to commanderpete - hope to meet you someday - really enjoy your posts.  Best regards to all, I'll keep you all updated on my progress. - David