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Not yet. I haven't really advertised it.

Needs new owner who can take it for a sail. Solid, but needs cosmetics.
If you take care of this boat; it will take care of you.
If interested call or e-mail.
 
Barry  954-554-5527

Thank you all. They are now 100 percent better and very usable. Soaked them overnight, grease on the drums and oil on the pawls. They ain't lumpy no mo.

Thanks Ken and congradulations. Sometimes it's smart to let the wife 'think' that she is the boss in the household!!! Provides for more uninterrupted sailing time!
My original sheet winches are really 'lumpy'. It's a sign that i'm becoming a better sailor that they bother me now.

Thanks for your help. I don't have the winch handle so i'll go with the two-screwdriver method. I'm hoping that with a little rehab they will work good enough not to need replacing.

Can someone please tell me how to open the old bronze jib winches with the square pawls on top above the screw. They are the Southcoast Merriman #2. I've searched through the archives and manual.
They are really stiff but maybe with some TLC they can be made smoother.
BTW - RigRite sell these pawls and springs.
 
Thank You
Barry
Commander 164

The strength of the keel looks alot more impressive in person. The glass is about an inch thick at the bottom. I hit some coral and crunched along the top for about ten minutes until I was blown off the other side. She was leaking about 2 gallons an hour. As there were no haul out facilities at Rum Cay in the Bahamas, I slapped on a tube of Boatlife Lifeseal underwater and it stuck enough to cut the leak to about 1 quart a day.
That was four months ago and I finally hauled her out this week.
BTW, the lead is surrounded in balsa about 1\2" thick between the lead and the glasswork.
 
Stay well,
Barry

Hi Tim,
 
I considered the #22 Delta a little bit overkill in the usual sandy anchorages but wanted a little edge for fronts. I also have a #14 Delta which I had used in the keys with no problems even in stronger fronts, so I slept even better with the larger anchor. My original plan was to use the #14 everyday and break out the #22 for special occasions. One of the first things I did to my boat was put on a Windline anchor roller that fit both anchors. I also removed that deck vent pipe cover and installed a chain pipe so that I could use the anchor locker. This made it very easy to use a lot of chain, and the larger anchor was easy enough to lift that I just used it all the time. I also carried enough line and chain to make another complete anchor line if I lost my original. If you're traveling and you lose your entire anchor setup, you need to have a spare ready. I had bought a 600' spool of 1\2" line and cut it into three 200' pieces. I flaked these into old sailbags so they would pay out quickly without tangling if I needed them in a hurry. In one of these bags I also shacked more 5\16 chain to use with the #14 Delta in a hurry if need be. Another bag was my quick-deploy going-aground kit. It had a bunch of 1\4" chain and a #12 Danforth shackled to the line. It was very fast and convienient to deploy. Boaters are great. Sometimes when you go aground another boater will zoom up in their dingy and say "give me an anchor and I'll take it out for you". You feel like a million bucks when you can say "a kedge anchor? certainly, sir. Why, I have one ready right at hand. Which is another way of saying "yes, I go aground often, I know the drill". :eek:
By the way, I had wanted to install a roller furler, but couldn't get it together before the trip. Instead, I setup a downhaul for the jib which worked well. I would raise and douse the jib from the cockpit. The downhaul also captured the jib shackle and halyard so I never worried about losing the halyard up the mast. I would tie the hanked on jib to the stantions or lifeline to keep it out of the way and not blowing around while I raised the anchor. When the anchor was up, I would untie the jib quickly and beat it back to the cockpit, then raise it when I was clear of other boats.
I started off with a Simrad TP-20. It starting going bad early in the trip, I discovered later, from water intrusion. And then I polished it off with an unintentional jibe. I had a Raymarine ST-2000 sent from West Marine to Georgetown, Exuma. You are running almost the whole way back from there. I tried to be careful and at one point even tried to outsmart my tiller pilot. On one tack, the arm would be extended all the way out, frequently even not enough, so I drilled another hole in the port side seat and would switch the tiller pilot back and forth, depending on my downwind tack. I even turned the gain down so it wouldn't work so hard. No use, the motor burned out anyway. Next trip I want to use a windvane.
My motor is a 5HP Tohatsu. Not really big enough. I would get the 8HP or 9.8HP since they weigh the same. There are some strong currents in the Bahamas. The 5 just doesn't push the boat fast enough. I made my passages when there was enough wind to sail. I disliked motoring because it was so slow. At the end of some passages, if the wind was light, I would resort to motor-sailing to reach an anchorage before dark. I had thought that in an emergency, I could pull the motor out cause it's so light and put it on my inflateable, but never did because the inflateable was easy enough to row. Only one time was I boat-bound because of the wind. A much better arrangement would be an 8HP for the big boat and a small light 2-3HP engine for the dinghy. What I find disconcerting is when kayakers paddling slow and easy, pass me when I'm motoring.
 
Doggone, I wanted to attach more pictures, but can't figure out how I captioned them last time!!
 
Regards,
Barry

Hi Everyone,
 
Just returned from a three month trip to the Bahamas with my Commander #164. What a trip!!! What an experience!!! Both good and bad. But the amazing thing is that those "passages from Hell and anchorages from Hell" seem to melt into oblivion real fast leaving only good memories and "lessons learned". To be honest, until 3 days before I left, I didn't feel the boat or the captain were ready and although I had bought this boat with the Bahamas in mind there was still lots to do and I had wanted more sailing experience. What tipped the scales was setting up some rigging to enable me to reef the main. However, the main factor was that I had the oportunity NOW, and if I didn't take it, it might not have come again. I bought an Explorer Chartkit for the Near Bahamas, 30 gallons of bottled water and a bunch of food. The next night at 2AM, I hoisted anchor at Angelfish Creek and headed east not looking back. The weather report at SE 10-15 looked good and indeed it was. As the sun arose, my first impression was how nice the sea is away from the confused waves around the coast. For the rest of the trip passages it was always a pleasure to be sailing in deep water away from the dangers of land.
Anyway, I dragged my inflateable for 1370 miles until I arrived back in Miami. The trip took us to Bimini, Gun Cay, across to Great Harbor Cay, down the Berries to Nassau, over to Highborne Cay in the Exumas (where the water finally warmed up), down the Exumas to Georgrtown. Down the Raggeds to Flamingo Cay. Up and across to Long Island, out to Conception. Down to Rum Cay (where I went up on a reef placed inconviently in the middle of the harbor). Back to Georgetown (in case I had to haul out to fix the leaking keel. which wasn't necessary as I had spread a tube of Lifeseal on it underwater and it held all the way back to Miami). From Georgetown up to Cat Island, Little San Salvador to Rock Sound, Eleuthera. Up to Governors Harbor. Straight west back to Nassau anchoring at a place called Finley Cay, which was a sandbar half way to Nassau. By this time I was in 'going home mode'. Back up to Frazers Hog and back to Bimini. Down to Gun and back across. The trip back was a royal pain in the a** as I had to sit at the tiller for 14 hours straight, having no tiller pilot, and the wind was light and I had to motorsail.
For statistics, I burned out 2 tillerpilots and my GPS. My anchor was a 22lb Delta with about 50ft of 5\16 chain and 1\2in nylon line.
I always felt safe on my boat. It may be small and uncomfortable, but I felt that I had a solid platform under me. I say small and uncomfortable, only due to the number of gouges on the top of my head. Note to self: Don't jump out into the cockpit at full velocity without sliding the hatch cover back first. Ouch.
 
Checking in at Bimini.
I always parked close to row into shore.

 
Coming into New Bight, Cat Island from Georgetown, Exuma

 
Leaving Nassau Harbor on the way home.

 
Pleasant Surprise!!! Meeting S\V Faith in Nassau.

Hi Ed,
 
I can weigh in with some personal experience as to laying the boat on it's side. I'm embarrassed to admit but one time that I went aground, the water level went down to about 1.5" at low tide. My boat was over the 45 degree angle as depicted in the above diagram. The water was over the toe rail almost to the coaming for hours. I was 100% sure that due to the heavy weight of the boat that as the tide came back, it would flood the boat before enough bouyancy was acheived to raise the boat off of it's side. I'm happy and amazed to report that this wasn't the case as the boat rose like an angel. Bless Carl Albergs design. BTW, it lay on the starboard side (galley side on my boat) and no water came in from the sink, but I did have some water in the bilge probably from the hull-deck joint being submerged for hours.
As to your question of removing the rudder at this angle, don't forget that the rudder has to drop down a few feet to clear the rudder post, you would have to dig a trench which might be difficult. I recently removed mine at anchor with a mask and snorkel which was easy. I was able to source a take-off rudder from someone who is parting out a commander. At this point I now have to replace the new rudder at anchor. I would love to have the boat hauled at this point to replace it, paint the bottom, remove the toilet and sink and glass the through hulls, but I can't move the boat till the rudder's back on. I dropped the rudder alone, but will need some help to raise the new one. I'll let you know how it goes.
Good luck,
Barry

Thanks for the replies, guys. Since I don't have a manuel yet, everyones posts on the rudder threads gave me all the information I needed. Got my rudder off today at anchor. Went at it with a mask and snorkel and a 7/16 open end wrench tied around my neck with some twine and a vice grip.The bronze strap holding the rudder shaft to the keel was attached with 2 stainless steel bolts with 7/16" nuts. They came off easily as did the tiller head. I appreciate someones comment about opening the slot on the tillerhead by banging in a large screwdriver. Worked for me and came off with just a little prying.
Oh yea, of course I tied the rudder with line, then I yanked the tiller up as far as it could go, went back down, pushed the rudder shaft off of the shoe came back to the cockpit and removed the tillerhead then dropped the rudder.
Anyone need half a rudder?
 
Barry

Hi Guys,
 
I'm a new owner of Commander 164. Just bought her a month ago. I'm in the Miami area. The boat drifted from her mooring, went aground and half of the wooden rudder is gone. I'd like to know how feasable it would be to remove the rudder while she is in the water. I didn't see this issue addressed in any of the rudder threads. The top of the rudder post looks well above the waterline. It seems like the only issue would be to remove the tiller head and the gudgeon strap. It could take over a week or two to rebuild the rudder. Do you think this is doable in the water. Having her hauled and stored on land for 1 week here would cost $475 I could use that money toward the repair instead. What do you think? Am I overlooking something important?
 
Barry
Hollywood, FL