M sailors, A couple of months ago I recall someone out there asking how one goes about accurately painting the waterline on a lapstrake hull....like my M-17 "Little Breeze". A good question because my last attempt was pretty sloppy (I had a difficult time treading water while trying to paint ). This afternoon while working in the shop I got an idea which I am anxious to try and wondered if anyone had already tried it. Among my many tools is a laser level. What if I put "Little Breeze" on her trailer.leveled her up fore and aft and athwart ships, set the laser level up about 20-30 ft away, adjusted it to match the existing waterline mark at any place and then penciled where the laser line was along the rest of the hull. As soon as I get a clear (not raining) day I'll try it and let you all know, in the meantime, if you have any comments, or have already tried it, let me know...Regards. Arnold Sharpe, M-17 #265, "Little Breeze"
Arnold, How good is your laser level. I have one and tried exactly what you are doing. I put it on a camera tripod so that I could raise it to just the right height. I did a sweep from bow to stern, marking it with a dry erase marker. Then double checked it and went back. To be honest, I couldn't overlay the same line. Frustrated I went to plan B. I bought 25' of 1/2" clear plastic tubing. I knew the mid ship line would be just under the lip of the 5th lap. I taped the tube to one side, filled the tube with water until it nearly filled the entire length of the hose. With the water level lined up with the lip of the 5th lap, I used the other end and went around the boat marking the hull with the "level". I did the first side and repeated the process on the other side. When I finished the lines met at the bow right on line with one another. Then I taped it off. I started at the stern with 2" blue tape and pulled the roll out the full length of the boat without touching the hull. Then I simply (well it was sorta simple) marched the tape ontothe hull. Because of the lap strakes (that we all cherish and love) there were obvious gaps with the tape stretched out. At each gap I used index cards to mark in the lines and then back filled with tape. Be patient. It took me nearly all day and three six packs. Joe ----- Original Message ----- From: "Arnold Sharpe" <afsharpe@mac.com> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 8:40 PM Subject: M_Boats: idea
M sailors, A couple of months ago I recall someone out there asking how one goes about accurately painting the waterline on a lapstrake hull....like my M-17 "Little Breeze". A good question because my last attempt was pretty sloppy (I had a difficult time treading water while trying to paint ). This afternoon while working in the shop I got an idea which I am anxious to try and wondered if anyone had already tried it. Among my many tools is a laser level. What if I put "Little Breeze" on her trailer.leveled her up fore and aft and athwart ships, set the laser level up about 20-30 ft away, adjusted it to match the existing waterline mark at any place and then penciled where the laser line was along the rest of the hull. As soon as I get a clear (not raining) day I'll try it and let you all know, in the meantime, if you have any comments, or have already tried it, let me know...Regards. Arnold Sharpe, M-17 #265, "Little Breeze"
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Joe, did you use the tape just to mark where you were painting, or did you use the tape instead of paint? If the tape was used instead, does it hold well to being in the water constantly? And when you say you marked with index cards and backfilled the tape, what exactly did you do? I am thinking about doing a similar job on my M17 when the temperature gets above 30 again (i.e., in April). Thanks, Andrei.
Hi Andrei, The tape I refer to is the 3M blue painters tape. I use it just to get a fine paint line. It gives a nice crisp line and it will save a lot of time especially if you do multiple coats. The tape comes off right after painting. Don't let it stay on too long or you'll have a real job getting it off. But if you get it off within a few days it's not a problem. If you have any stubborn left over sticky adhesive residue you can remove it with Liquid Nail Adhesive remover. It's the best thing I've found. It's a gel so you can just smear it on and let it stand for a couple of minutes and then just wipe it off. Follow up with a wipe down of Acetone or MEK. The index card. You could also use a plastic ruler. Once you have laid the blue tape on the hull, there will be gaps where the lapstrakes are located. Those gaps need to be taped. Hold the index card across the gap and hold it in place and then gently press it flush into the gap. Mark it with a fine line magic marker. Peel back the blue tape and retape in the gap along the magic marker line. I tried to just use the tape that was stretched across the gap to draw the line but it was too wobbly and I couldn't get it flush to draw the line, hence the use of the index card. Hope this clears this up. Have fun. Joe ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrei Caldararu" <andreic@math.wisc.edu> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 12:17 AM Subject: Re: M_Boats: idea
Joe,
did you use the tape just to mark where you were painting, or did you use the tape instead of paint? If the tape was used instead, does it hold well to being in the water constantly? And when you say you marked with index cards and backfilled the tape, what exactly did you do?
I am thinking about doing a similar job on my M17 when the temperature gets above 30 again (i.e., in April).
Thanks,
Andrei.
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Lacquer thinner takes tape residue off really well and it's cheep. jerry ----- Original Message ----- From: "Joe Murphy" <seagray@embarqmail.com> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 7:02 AM Subject: Re: M_Boats: idea
Hi Andrei, The tape I refer to is the 3M blue painters tape. I use it just to get a fine paint line. It gives a nice crisp line and it will save a lot of time especially if you do multiple coats. The tape comes off right after painting. Don't let it stay on too long or you'll have a real job getting it off. But if you get it off within a few days it's not a problem. If you have any stubborn left over sticky adhesive residue you can remove it with Liquid Nail Adhesive remover. It's the best thing I've found. It's a gel so you can just smear it on and let it stand for a couple of minutes and then just wipe it off. Follow up with a wipe down of Acetone or MEK.
The index card. You could also use a plastic ruler. Once you have laid the blue tape on the hull, there will be gaps where the lapstrakes are located. Those gaps need to be taped. Hold the index card across the gap and hold it in place and then gently press it flush into the gap. Mark it with a fine line magic marker. Peel back the blue tape and retape in the gap along the magic marker line. I tried to just use the tape that was stretched across the gap to draw the line but it was too wobbly and I couldn't get it flush to draw the line, hence the use of the index card. Hope this clears this up. Have fun. Joe ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrei Caldararu" <andreic@math.wisc.edu> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2008 12:17 AM Subject: Re: M_Boats: idea
Joe,
did you use the tape just to mark where you were painting, or did you use the tape instead of paint? If the tape was used instead, does it hold well to being in the water constantly? And when you say you marked with index cards and backfilled the tape, what exactly did you do?
I am thinking about doing a similar job on my M17 when the temperature gets above 30 again (i.e., in April).
Thanks,
Andrei.
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I've always done it with a transit, but a laser level should do fine. When you finish one side, without moving the level mark a spot on a wall that you can see from the new side, which will set the level up perfectly. Once I worked on a powerboat tooling project in Puerto Penasco, Mexico (I was a gringo wetback) and the Mexicans struck waterlines with a long string; a bit longer than the boat. They cut a stick to the len gth equal to the height of the waterline above the pavement, marked a starting place on one end of the boat and attached the string there, with the other end attached to the pole. The pole man slowly wrapped the string around the hull while the helper taped it into place. It worked surprisingly well, but it does take some skill and a good eye. Better to go rent a transit. jerry ----- Original Message ----- From: "Arnold Sharpe" <afsharpe@mac.com> To: "For and about Montgomery Sailboats" <montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 5:40 PM Subject: M_Boats: idea
M sailors, A couple of months ago I recall someone out there asking how one goes about accurately painting the waterline on a lapstrake hull....like my M-17 "Little Breeze". A good question because my last attempt was pretty sloppy (I had a difficult time treading water while trying to paint ). This afternoon while working in the shop I got an idea which I am anxious to try and wondered if anyone had already tried it. Among my many tools is a laser level. What if I put "Little Breeze" on her trailer.leveled her up fore and aft and athwart ships, set the laser level up about 20-30 ft away, adjusted it to match the existing waterline mark at any place and then penciled where the laser line was along the rest of the hull. As soon as I get a clear (not raining) day I'll try it and let you all know, in the meantime, if you have any comments, or have already tried it, let me know...Regards. Arnold Sharpe, M-17 #265, "Little Breeze"
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Hi Arnold, Boat yards have been known to put a layer of sawdust in the water on a calm day, then lower the boat in the water. When the boat is lifted out the sawdust clings to the hull marking the waterline. This probably isn't a practical solution for most "do-it-yourself" types (ie perfectly calm water, dumping sawdust in the water, etc.). But I thought it was clever and it works well for the pros. Jim M-17 "Spirit" On Dec 3, 2008, at 5:40 PM, Arnold Sharpe wrote:
M sailors, A couple of months ago I recall someone out there asking how one goes about accurately painting the waterline on a lapstrake hull....like my M-17 "Little Breeze". A good question because my last attempt was pretty sloppy (I had a difficult time treading water while trying to paint ). This afternoon while working in the shop I got an idea which I am anxious to try and wondered if anyone had already tried it. Among my many tools is a laser level. What if I put "Little Breeze" on her trailer.leveled her up fore and aft and athwart ships, set the laser level up about 20-30 ft away, adjusted it to match the existing waterline mark at any place and then penciled where the laser line was along the rest of the hull. As soon as I get a clear (not raining) day I'll try it and let you all know, in the meantime, if you have any comments, or have already tried it, let me know...Regards. Arnold Sharpe, M-17 #265, "Little Breeze"
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participants (5)
-
Andrei Caldararu -
Arnold Sharpe -
James Poulakis -
jerry -
Joe Murphy