Archive for the ‘Centennial’ Category

Joanna caught us as we were (attempting to) dock.

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009

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Gives a good idea of scale.

This was an iPhone snap; I toned it a little… Continue reading

Another pic; I’m as bad as a new parent.

Monday, September 7th, 2009

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As Mark Best tells us, it is every boat-owners dream to get their boat in the water before Labor Day… Continue reading | 3 Comments

Afloat. Finally.

Sunday, September 6th, 2009

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And not taking on any water (as far as I can tell). (There’s a boat across the channel, a little powerboat, that has a bilge pump that kicks off every five or ten minutes; Centennial is drier than that, for sures, anyway.)

Sam and I got quite the ride getting her from the launching slip to B-106 where… Continue reading

Also:

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

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OMG! Hundrety-leven! Centennial is all put together.

Saturday, September 5th, 2009

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Wow, there’s a sailboat. We contracted for mast-hoisting service, they showed up, and everything went together from there.

The stays were all the correct length, and all the turn-buckles pinned in fine. The ropes were correctly run. The wires all pulled through. Jeez, September 5th. All ready to go in the water.

Awesome… Continue reading | 1 Comment

Oh, man. Finally done.

Friday, September 4th, 2009

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And there it is, all painted. In person, the bottom paint doesn’t look as red as it does here; more coppery. And less blotchy, actually. The copper in the paint makes the camera go kinda’ nutty.

I am so pleased with how it came out.

(The photo is another quicky HDR, BTW.)… Continue reading | 1 Comment

The bottom-painting begins

Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009

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This is actually an HDR composite of 3 bracketed shots. It’s not a perfect job, but it was my first HDR, and it was done quickly.

Went down and started painting the bottom (no, ‘bottom-painting’ does not involve a submissive in any way). I used the Interlux VC17m stuff that was so scary sounding, but, with a few… Continue reading

Leeboards are back on

Monday, August 31st, 2009

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Sam and his buddy came by and helped us get the leeboards back up. It was a lot easier than taking them down, and not just because we had two more people helping; this time we used the ropes that lift them normally to lift them into position. Also: they weren’t dirty and gross.

The VC17m bottom… Continue reading

Things always seem to slow down near the finish line

Sunday, August 23rd, 2009

3844069162_0377603528_m.jpgThis week wasn’t one of many accomplishments on the Centennial front. There were other, real-life things that took up time, and the one visit to Curtice didn’t accomplish much.

We did get our Ohio boat registration sticker. Even that seemed up in the air for a few minutes: The published requirements make a big deal about needing an HIN

That’s quite a change, isn’t it?

Monday, August 17th, 2009

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Over the weekend we were able to get the shrouds, stays and halyards back onto the mast. The new leather on the shrouds looks great, and the halyards are cleaner. I’d post a pic, but I left my camera in Ann Arbor.

The bobstay chain came down (after much struggling with the shackles) and we were able to… Continue reading | 1 Comment

Oh, yeah.

Wednesday, August 5th, 2009

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We were able to get the lettering done today. I really like the way it turned out.

We printed the letters out full size on paper, then stuck them up with a glue stick. Then I took a razor and cut along the letter edges.

After the paper was taken off (and the glue residue cleaned up)… Continue reading

Newest to-do list

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Probably far from comprehensive, but I wanted to get as much written down as possible:

  • Re-rig the masts in preparation for hoisting them
  • Review all safety equipment requirements (with an emphasis on equipment with expiration dates – fire extinguishers, flares, etc.)
  • Bottom paint (and reviewing old photos really makes me want to throw some of the copper-bronze on the leeboards)
  • Legalize the potty (including, perhaps

Whew, all the above-water (‘topsides’) parts painted

Friday, July 24th, 2009

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This is the image I sorta had in my head when we started this whole painting thing. Yeah, we still have to paint the bottom (with more paint, dollar-wise, than we’ve used so far), but that’s the below-water part. This is what I want people to see when I sail up alongside.

And I really dig it… Continue reading | 1 Comment

Boat painting update

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

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There have been three days of work since my last update: Saturday, Sunday, and Tuesday. Mark Best joined us on Saturday and got the first coat onto the outsides of the leeboards and the first coat of white on the port side.

On Sunday, we got another coat onto the leeboards and the white part of the port… Continue reading

Still at it.

Monday, July 13th, 2009

3716310203_45db2236f4_m.jpg We went back to Meinke’s on Sunday to paint (and paint and paint)

The things we accomplished:

  • Second coat on the inboard sides of the leeboards.
  • Touch-up on the black parts of the masts.
  • Base coat of white on the ‘topmasts’ (like most ‘modern’ gaffers, Centennial’s ‘topmasts’ are just extensions of the mast)

Another day of painting

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

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As usual, click for more pics

The black part of the hull is done.

We also got a nice coat of paint on the masts and on one side of the leeboards. Funny thing: it turns out that one quart of Interlux Brightsides is exactly equal to the amount of that paint we can paint in… Continue reading

Work still continues – really

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

3688116473_1ff7d8d919_m.jpg Since June 9th, when we had a bunch of help with the initial sanding and the first coat of primer, we’ve been back to centennial several times. We’ve managed to:
Sand again and apply second coat of primer.
Sand again and apply first coat of black on the topsides.
Sand again and apply the second coat of black.

There… Continue reading

Work does continue

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

3644454707_0f913b4f35_m.jpg Not super quickly, though. (I have been in Atlanta and am heading out tonight for St. Augustine.)

I did manage to knock out the leather covering for four of the nine shrouds. I now have a proper leather hole-punch, so it went a lot smoother than the forestay. I was learning as I did them so the quality varies… Continue reading

Shrouding the shrouds

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

3610280657_ab4dea00c3_m.jpg The standing rigging on the Centennial was (partially) fashioned in the traditional way, that is: with loops on the end of the shrouds that go over the masts, rather than modern fittings and shackles.

The shrouds are modern, though, in that they are made of stainless steel cable, and that creates an issue: the shrouds can be hard on… Continue reading

The painting begins

Tuesday, June 9th, 2009

Painting the Centennial begins
Sam, Mark and Nicole laying it down.

I was happy on Saturday. I invited friends to come and help start painting of Centennial’s hull, and almost everyone showed up. We got a ton of work done on Saturday, including: sanding all of the topsides, cleaning them with pre-paint (MEK), and getting a coat of primer on… Continue reading