Nugland

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 paint turns out to be a fussier proposition than I had originally imagined, so there will be some extra preparation before getting it on.

We did get a chance to sand and varnish some of the cockpit brightwork. It’ll need another two or three coats, but it looks a lot better already.

This 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 (Hull Identification Number) before you can have a Ohio sticker. The Loys built Centennial without registering as a commercial boat manufacturer (which is completely normal), so they had no business putting a HIN on her.

The Coast Guard doesn’t require a HIN when they hand out Documentation, which Centennial has, so I wasn’t anticipating too much trouble with the Ohio authorities, but the computer system that the nice lady at the Maumee Bay office uses required a HIN. I stood my ground in the nicest way I could manage (think: in the way that you patiently explain to a cashier that he has given you the wrong change), she called Columbus, and they straightened her out.

$63 later, we were all stickered through March 1st, 2012.

At the boat, we did manage to paint the boot-stripe on the rudder (first coat, anyway), but I had forgotten about the bob-stay chain and left it in Ann Arbor, so that didn’t go back up. Also forgotten was the need for more galvanizing spray paint, so the bowsprit side-stays were left alone as well (not to mention the Danforth anchor, oops). That left the new bulbs for the various masthead lights.

The Centennial has three important masthead lights: a navigation tri-color light (required when underway at night), an anchor/mooring light (required when anchored or moored at night), and a ’steaming’ light (required when running the ‘auxiliary power’, in our case, a 25 H.P. outboard (that is actually mounted inboard, but, whatever)).

We had procured some replacement bulbs, but only one (for mooring) was found to be the correct type. The real discovery, once we took everything apart, was that the existing lights are a mess (and use some odd-ball bulbs). Sigh. The wires that run the 40 feet of the mast aren’t in the greatest order, either.

Oh, well. I ordered some (affordable) replacement fixtures (that will take the spiffy LED bulbs I bought). Some patient work with my trusty multi-meter may turn up the three wire-runs I’ll need to hook them up. If it turns out the two good leads we’ve already identified are all we’ve got, I may have to try and run another. Or re-do all three for confidence.

And that was that. We did also discover that working on the boat when it is really windy is really annoying. Annoying even without thinking about the fact that sailing when it’s really windy is really fun.

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 re-galvanize it and take a link out (it was sagging a little, and the turn-buckle was almost all the way in).

We’ve also got the wedges and shroud turnbuckles ready to go, so I guess it is time to get the masts hoisted (scary, huh?).

This composite kinda’ pleases me, so I share. Joanna took the ‘old’ pic. Also (from Comments) some pics of the shrouds:

And:

As some of you may already know, I’m a huge fan of the BBC show Top Gear. You may also know that I’m a fan of the site Jalopnik.com.

That all comes together in a video they linked that features Jeremy (‘Jizza’) Clarkson clips mixed into an electronica video.

If you’re into that kind of thing, I conveniently (for you) ripped an MP3 of it for your clicking pleasure. Enjoy.

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) I free-hand painted to the razor marks to paint the home port. That went a little shaky, so Joanna went and got a paint pen and did the edges of the name. I then filled in with a brush.

By the way, the name of that serif font? Centennial (and, yes, I paid for it!).

Add: These may look a little large to some people, but the Coast Guard requires them to be 4 inches high, and I only went a hair over that.

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, sealing the through-hull)
• Obtain an Ohio boat sticker for 2009
• Legalize the transom with some pretty lettering. Or at least legal lettering
• Hang the leeboards (Sam said that he wants to be there for that)
• If allowed, get the masts hoisted

There are other things that I could write down right now, but they can wait until the boat is launched. Or they can be done wherever they fit. Whatever; the list is the stuff I need to get done in order to dunk the Centennial.

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.

A side note: now that the scruffiness of the original paint has been replaced with this shiny newness, the boat, in person, looks a little toy-like. That was unexpected.

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 side. On Tuesday I went down on my own and put the last coat of white down all the way around.

The next trip might finish up the leeboards, Additionally, I plan on prepping for the various trim painting. That will involve masking, sanding and priming of the rub-rail (which will be the same yellow as the rudder) and the toe-rail (along the top of the deck). That’ll be painted black.

After that, it’ll be rigging and bottom paint. Oh, dear, the end is in sight.

My nephew Ivo came from Philadelphia (with his parents) to help me celebrate. It was also my sister Anna’s birthday, but not her 46th; she’s younger than me.

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).
• First coat of yellow on the rudder (hot!).
• Base coat of white on the starboard side.

The white on the sides didn’t go on so hot, but some sanding and another coat should do the thing nicely.

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 a day. On every day of painting black (there have been three) we have exactly polished off a quart.

Gotta tell ya, once you figure out what it is that this paint wants you to do (and start doing that), it goes on amazing.

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 are at least four more days of painting just to finish the topsides, then a day to paint the bottom.

Things left to do before getting her in the water:

• Touch up the black on the hull.
• Two coats of black on the leeboards (now primed). This will take a while, as you can only paint one side at a time.
• Two coats of black on the masts (we cheater-primed them already).
• Yellow above the water line on the rudder (pure vanity).
• White on the mast-tops and top of the transom.
• Lettering on the transom.
• Bronze paint on the rudder and bootstripe (the line above the waterline).
• Two coats of red bottom paint (after sanding and cleaning).

Beyond that, we have to get the masts up. Then into the water (Yay!).

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 a little. By the last one, I figured out one main thing: the sail-maker’s twine doesn’t hold knots very well.

A way around that was to finish the covering of the loop with a decent length of twine left, and to use that twine to stitch the covering over the nicopress fitting.

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 the masts, and a bit noisy.

The Loys came up with the solution of lacing leather over them, and we’re continuing that style. I got a big bag of pigskin scraps and we’re lacing that over the loops. I really like how they look (click pic for more).

Long term, I’ll be tempted to figure out a shackle-based attachment scheme that includes turnbuckles (especially since we’re not obliged to drop the masts every year).

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 them.

It went well, but the primer was a little annoying (it was thick and dried too quickly). Joanna and I went back on Sunday (by ourselves) and were able to get the second coat on. For that, we experimented with thinning the primer and discovered that a consistency somewhere between whole milk and heavy cream was perfect.

You had to watch for drips, but the coverage was excellent (and painless). The technique changed, though; you roll first then cut right away, but also smooth out the rolled area with the brush. With the right amount of thinner added, the brush strokes just disappear.

Technical details:
Primer: Interlux Pre-Kote
Thinner: Interlux Brushing Liquid 303
Cleaner: Methyl Ethyl Ketone
Sandpaper: 80 grit

So, the boat has 20 years of paint on it. And it’s green. I really like green (it is easily the dominant color in my wardrobe), but not on Centennial for some reason. And I wanted to give her a fresh start on Lake Erie.

I knew that the job of sanding all that paint off would drag all through the summer (and be a drag generally), so I resolved to get her soda-blasted and in the water during 2009. A little expensive (it costs more than the paint, actually), but, from what I’ve read in my research, quick and very effective.

Now that I’ve had a day’s exposure to the process, I’m really glad I didn’t try a DIY solution. Turns out that the paint on Centennial is pretty serious stuff. Even switching to glass beads, it would have taken several days to remove all of the green paint, and the many layers of salt-water bottom paint had the dude from Blasterclean shaking his head. It also billowed out of the tent he made, which made me nervous about the yard getting on my case. And it inflamed my sinuses. Blech.

There’ll still be quite a bit of green paint on her when we start repainting, but it’ll be green paint that wouldn’t come off with glass bead blasting, so I figure it’ll make a fine surface. And I’m going with some high-quality black stuff, so coverage will not be an issue.

The pic is also a link to the other pictures.

We made it back to the Centennial last weekend. We got the leeboards off and set up on sawhorses in anticipation of the soda-blasting happening on Tuesday. Thursday looks more likely now, what with rain forecast until then.

The four new sawhorses are from Harbor Freight. They seem very sturdy, and were only $15 each, but each one had 26 bolts, 26 nuts, and 8 wood screws that had to dealt with. That got old fast.

The leeboards weren’t that bad to deal with. They are pretty heavy, and the hardware was a little balky. That said, leeboards have to be tons less of a hassle than a centerboard.

All the paint, topsides and bottom, is now in hand or on the way. Things should get underway Saturday morning, sharpish. Anyone who wants to help with the painting can contact me or leave a message here.

We went down to see Centennial over the long weekend. It took a while, but we were able to remove all of the lines (not ropes, there are no ropes on a proper boat) from the mast and the hull.

They were dirty and stiff from being set up and unused for, oh, four years, in a New Hampshire driveway. They were under cover, so they at least weren’t sun-damaged.

The plan — now finished — was to wash them with laundry detergent and then rinse them with softener, and it seems to have worked. All the halyards feel, well, not brand new, but supple. The topping lifts are still a little stiff but perfectly serviceable. All are noticeably brighter.

I’m really glad the Loys took the care with these lines that they did. Replacing these would have been a big expense, what as decent running rigging costs somewhere between 50¢ and $1.50 a foot. Some of the longer halyards are over 200 feet long.

Quickey inventory:

• Jib Halyard
• Forestaysail Halyard
• Topsail Halyard
• Main Peak Halyard
• Main Throat Halyard
• Mizzen Staysail Halyard
• Mizzen Peak Halyard
• Mizzen Throat Halyard
• Assorted signal halyards
• Lazyjacks (not all salvageable)
• Leeboard lifts (didn’t require washing, actually)

Click the pic for a mini-gallery.

Next up: Inventory the sheets and the reserve cordage, then prep for soda-blasting (which should happen next Monday, June 1st).

[Update] Tuesday, June 2nd (weather permitting)

LeBron James makes playing professional basketball look like fun. I haven’t seen that in like, forever.

Addenda: “Chuck just pulled your hamstring”

It appears that he’s worried about ‘distractions’, and would like it if all the people like me who assumed that all the secret stuff that Bush & Co. did would eventually see the light of day would, like, chill.

Um, fuck that. Seriously, fuck that.

The following appears in all-caps for emphasis:

THE TRUTH IS NEVER A DISTRACTION. IT IS WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE PAYING ATTENTION TO.

Realism might return when, what should we call it? False-ism? is exposed.

People like me will be happy to put the Bush administration policies behind us only when they are exposed, punished if that is required, and explicitly disavowed by the current administration if they are found to be illegal, immoral, dishonest, or stupid. Or all four. Until then, they need to be paid attention to.