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When I built my Peeler Skiff, About Time, she was intended to live on her trailer --- so I did not strike a waterline or cover the bottom with anti-fouling paint. Things change and next year she will live on a saltwater mooring. Brightsides is not intended for long-term immersion and will certainly not discourage marine growth.
This spring I will need to prepare her for her new home and would like to take advantage of the experience that exists on the forum. I am particularly interested in:
- Any recommendations for striking a proper waterline? (The drawings show where the line strikes the bow and the stern.)
- Any recommendations for a good hard anti-fouling coating?
- Any recommendations for prepping the Brightsides-covered bottom for the anti-fouling coating?
Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Dick
9 replies:
RE: Striking a Waterline
I mark a waterline on my Skerry every spring after the winter clean and spruce up - it's moored 20 metres offshore from May to October and I mark the waterline for the anti-foul.
I use a water level to mark the line after making sure the boat is level side to side and end to end. Simply fill a bucket with water and set the water level at the height you want the line. Secure one end of a clear plastic pipe in the bucket then syphon the water into the pipe. Keep the running end above the level of the water in the bucket. The level of the water in the tube is the position of the waterline, simply move around the boat making as many marks as you need then join them up.
Other methods are tricky on a double ender but Laszlo's method should be good enough for your PS.
RE: Striking a Waterline
If you level her up on the trailer, you can use a length of clear plastic hose partly filled with water, long enough to reach from marks you know (you mentioned bow and stern) to at least amidships with enough slack that a good-sized loop will hang down. Take one end of the hose along the topsides while the other is taped on by your known mark. If the water level is at your known mark on that end, the water level in your hands will match. You may need a helper to sight one end, or just mark the "working end" at the point where the ends match. I've never done this, mind you, but have seen photos and read descriptions of it being done for keel boats propped up in yards and boatsheds. Sort of a giant, flexible spirit level, I guess. Perform an internet search for "sighting tube boat waterline" or some such to find examples.
Another method about which I've read, used for small, shallow-bodied boats, is to level the boat out on a smooth, flat floor and use a block of wood cut to the correct height to support a pencil for going around and scribing a line along the topsides.
You may want to carry the line a bit higher than the actual loaded waterline, and some folks will want a "bootstripe" of a contrasting color to sort of separate the anti-fouling from the topside color. Sometimes a bit of "sheer" to the line may be necessary to keep it from looking "droopy", but maybe not for your Peeler, which carries a good bit of flare all along. Simulate with masking tape and adjust until it looks right, I guess.
Can't help you with the paint. You might want to check with folks in your area to see what works best for them in handling your local flavor of bottom-fouling fauna and flora.
.....Michael
RE: Striking a Waterline
I love gadgets so I got a self leveling laser (also comes in handy hanging pictures) to stike the line. I marked the points on the bow and stern where the instuction called them out with white tape and leveled the boat/trailer with the toungue jack and tire pressure. I then marked the line at intervals with white tape (lasar really lights it up) to set the line.
As for the bottom paint I haven't used any in over thirty years so things have probably changed a bit. You should most likely need to sand down to the epoxy to be safe.
Now I can show off a bit.
RE: Striking a Waterline
All,
Thanks!
Catboater,
Looking good! My new mooring is in Fishing Cove. Should be near you if I remember correctly.
Do you have a name and model for that laser level?
Cheers,
Dick
RE: Striking a Waterline
That level is from SKIL model# 8201-CL F012K63010 and I got it at Lowes I think. It came with an adequate tripod of questionable durability but it uses the same screw attachment as a camera so if you have a sturdy tripod you can use that.
Indeed Fishing Cove is near me. I put in at Wilson Park a couple of weeks ago so I didn't have to inflict a 45 minute pounding on my wife and I. Running against the "wind chop" on the bay is like driving off a kitchen table every five seconds.
Bob
RE: Striking a Waterline
Bob,
My 9.9 hp Yamaha does a lot to smooth down the ride out on the Bay. It probably doesn't hurt that my center console is further forward and lower so I can sit my 240 lbs down on the seat.
Hope to run into you next summer.
Cheers,
Dick
RE: Striking a Waterline
Dick, I leveled my Peeler in the garage, used the recommended marks in the CLC Manual as a starting point, and then used a lazer level off to the side on a swivel to mark numerous other marks which I then connected with "fine line" tape
As for paint, I have been very pleased with Vivid hard paint. The boat normally lives on a trailer, but will often spend 1-2 weeks at a time on a mooring without any fouling and easy cleanup when I pull the boat. I would recommend sanding the Brightsides off the bottom and applying the Vivid over an epoxy primer
RE: Striking a Waterline
» Submitted by Laszlo - Mon, 10/29/18 » 5:35 AM
Since it's all built, you could load it up with gear and people simulators, put it in the water and walk around marking the actual water line. Then move the marks up if desired and fair them with a batten.
Laszlo