Commander 157

[Tony G]

It looks like another land speed record-Mike style.  I've said it at least a hundred times so another won't hurt.  These boats are beautiful in and out of the water.  Thanks for the inspiration, Mike.  Your shop would be a great place to start retirement...just sayin'.

[carl291]

Tony , Start retirement? God Lord, I'd need a steroid prescription before I could go visit. They do remarkable work in the dead of Winter there for sure.

[Commander227]

#1  Hi build primer blocked out.
#2  Sealer applied. We are going with all Awl products. Not the easiest stuff to work with and defiantly not a production orientated line of products. The sealer must cure for 12 hours before top topcoat can be applied. Most sealers can be topcoated within an hour. The top coat also stays open so long a sag can develop 2 hours after application.
#3  Decks painted less nonskid. We want to get the motor and some other interior work done before we apply the nonskid.
#4  Freeboard with three coats of Awl Craft. Bob did a nice job, only 2 small sags to sand out.

[Commander227]

#1  Interior cleaned up and painted.
#2  Lead compensator (how the heck would you spell that?) ballast removed. As in #227 it was cut down the middle and removed with out disturbing the cuddy sole. 1/2  pictured.
#3  Prop aperture opened up and hole for stern tube drilled. Much easier on #157 than it was on #227 as the rudder was built with the aperture then plugged so all we had to do was remove the plug and clean things up. On #227 I had to heat and bend the shaft and reinstall after cutting out the aperture.

[Commander227]

#1 & 2 Trimming and fitting combing boards, the owner and another fellow built them and we will be fitting, finishing and installing them.
#3, 4 & 5 The motor mounts and motor install. Unit is from Electric Yachts. I'm impressed, a really nice little package.

[Commander 147]

Mike
 
Very interesting way of mounting the electric drive. Very easy to build and install.
 
What is the hole in one of the boards for power cables?
 
Where will the batteries go and which ones are you going with?

[Rico]

Wonderful Job!
Please keep the pictures coming!

[Lucky Dawg]

I like the beefed up, doubled coaming boards.  ...oh, that and the amazing lightning speed rebirthing of half a century old boats.  Cheers x 1000 Mike!  I'd like to give up my career and morph mine into yours.  Too dang cool for school.

[Commander227]

What is the hole in one of the boards for power cables?
 
Where will the batteries go and which ones are you going with?

Jerry, The hole is there simply to provide extra clearance for the lower pulley. Maybe not necessary but I thought it was too close.
We will be going with four group 27 deep cycle lead acid batteries. Not very sexy but I still believe they are the best bang for the buck.
Two will be up in the chain locker and two under the V berth afore the head; the same placement as I have in The Princess as well as in C-299 when we installed the Parsons electric outboard. I know it goes against the conventional wisdom of keeping the weight out of a boats ends but the Commander need to have her nose brought down for her to point well. I believe I have The Princess at her design attitude but don't know how to keep her there with out adding weight to the nose. We found 100 lbs or so of steel shelf dividers in the bow of #157 so right or wrong I'm not alone in my theory.

Pics 1 & 2  Non skid applied, lazerette lids installed, companion way slider on, water line painted rub rail installed as well as the port lights.
Pic 3  Here she is outside for the first time in a couple of months with Ceili in the background.
My partner at SYC also owns Tonka Bay Marina in the next bay and Skiff Craft boats. #157 is heading over to their shop to have her brite work finished and installed. They are pretty well set up for it over there given all their experience with Skiff Crafts and we need to get started on a big project on a Tartan 31.

[Commander227]

So, I may have been slacking on the updates abit and the owner of #157 is thinking I've been slacking on getting her finished up. She is all but done now but there is still a short punch list.
Pic #1  Control lazerette: from left to right,
main halyard fine tune (4:1) to replace halyard winch or Cunningham for halyard tension.
Main halyard gross
continuous line for jib outhaul/roller furling
continuous line for code zero furling.
Pic #2  Under lazerette line routing
Pic #3  Furling lines diving under decks
Pic #4  Forward cuddy line routing, Fleck line =main halyard, grey line= self tacking jib sheet, four lines on the right= furling lines.
Pic #5  Main sheet control over jib sheet control (3:1 underdecks)

[Commander227]

Pic #1  Gen set. A Honda 2000 generator to charge batteries (the owner moors on a ball in front of his house) the gen set can also run the motor if you out run the batteries.
Pic #2  Mast head. #147 style insert to replace main halyard sheave and run halyards internally. Note the tight clearance between the foil and jib halyard sheave. Had I been thinking I would have made the jib sheave 2"-3" lower which also would have helped prevent halyard wrap. I still have to put on the spin halyard extention on the top of the masthead fitting. You cannot tell from the picture but the finish on the mast is incredible. we found a powdercoat company with a 45' oven. Mast, boom, spreaders and sockets came in under $400. and wow did it turn out nice.
Pic #3 Clean decks! no halyards, sheets, blocks or any such nonsense.
Pic #4  Clean, uncluttered and sexy. Jib halyard is wire and exits the mast just above the decks there is a ball and catch like a scow so the hauling string can be removed once the sail is hoisted.
Pic #5  Maiden Voyage.

[paulsproesser]

Wonderful Job!
Please keep the pictures coming!

MAN IF I COULD GET A TRAILER AND GET HER OUT FOR THE WINTER . That might not be good though because i would tear it completely back apart. Im very into the elec motor thing i used to be the energy rep for the entire dc region for a former company , if you could remove your entire main ballast and seal the walls and create your own giant glass matt batt just imagine the power plant there. just devise a way to vent the hydrogen and your good

[paulsproesser]

MAN IF I COULD GET A TRAILER AND GET HER OUT FOR THE WINTER . That might not be good though because i would tear it completely back apart. Im very into the elec motor thing i used to be the energy rep for the entire dc region for a former company , if you could remove your entire main ballast and seal the walls and create your own giant glass matt batt just imagine the power plant there. just devise a way to vent the hydrogen and your good

the hydrogen discharge is not that critical i have been in verizon central ops bldgs with a cigarette lit surrounded by batteries and never blew up. so there is a testemonial

[Commander227]

Commander 157 at the Burton Cup, Lake Minnetonka.

[paulsproesser]

Nice! Twins. I think the flag blue makes the boats sexy and in our locations the heat factor isn't noticeable.