Boot tops

[castaway]

A friend has a smart 29ft fin keel Pacesetter, however she has never had a a boot top cut in above the waterline.

Having just undergone some major cosmetic work the plan is to address this.

Getting the correct amount of flare towards the forward and aft ends is crucial, has someone got some techniques to assist in getting this just right?

Thanks Nick

 

[ccscott49]

I did see a guy use a cheap kids laser thingy, set up on a trestle, beside the boat propped up, and then marked the line, perfect aswell! But theres different ways of doing it, with string and things.

 

[Shanty]

Bit of a fiddly job, but worth doing properly.

1) Set the boat up accurately level fore & aft and athwartships - use a spirit level and a great amount of patience.

2) Set up straight edges at the bow and stern, at right angles to the centre line. They should be level (spirit level again), and slightly longer than the beam of the boat. The tops of the straight edges should be at the level of the bottom edge of your boot top (say 2" below the waterline).

3) Stretch a string over the two straight edges, with a weight on each end to keep it tight. The string should just touch the hull at its widest point. Mark to hull at the point of contact (felt tip marker works well). Using a spirit level just touching the underside of the string, mark points level with the string every 6" - 9" along the hull. Repeat for the other side of the hull.

4) Using a flexible wooden batten 5 - 6 ft long, join up your marks. This is a 2-3 person job. You now have the lower edge of the boot top.

5) Decide how wide a boot top you want - at its narrowest point amidships, and at bow and stern. For the sake of some numbers, asuume 4" amidships and 6" at either end.

6) Lift the string 4" - either by raising the straight edges, or by putting packing pieces under the string. Mark this level on the hull amidships, and for about 2-3 ft fore & aft.

7) Raise the bow straight edge to the 6" level - this involves lifting it 2". Drop the stern straight edge by the same amount - 2". Mark the hull level with the string from the fwd end of your 4" marks to the bow. Change the levels of the straight edges & repeat for the stern. Use your flexible batten to join the marks. You now have the top edge of your boot top.

8) Stand well back & look at the two lines. Do they look right? If so, masking tape & paint it. If not, try again with different measurements.

This is not a quick process, but it does work, and the end results make it worthwhile. Above all, don't be tempted to rush.

Good luck.

 

[oldsaltoz]

G’day Castaway.
The last time we did this we used a builders level; you only need to make sure the boat is upright. Set up the level about 30 feet back from the boat, a couple of feet ahead of the transom at about the level of the line you plan to mark. Put a mark on the bow and stern at the top of your boot top line. Now looking through the level, adjust the tilt so that both marks line up without further adjustment, this should take only a few minutes. Now you can mark the line at any interval (we used 6 inch spaces midships and 1 inch aft). Next, decide how far down you want the boot top line to go and re adjust as above. We applied masking tape as per marks, then primed the area and applied boot top tape. Job done in about 3 hours from start to finish. No jacking, no water tubes, no mess, or hassles. Well that’s my two bob’s worth anyway, hope this helps.
PS. You can save time if you make your first mark about 3 inches above the top of the intended line and use a batten (say 3 inches long) to mark the top of the line, then another batten, say 6 inches long to mark the bottom line. Important note. Make sure the batten is upright at all times, (stick it to a small level if you must) and any lines drawn must be at right angles to the bottom of the batten.

Avagoodweekend Old Salt Oz……

 

[Guest]

Thank goodness ..........

......... that at least Scotty is staying up with the times.

Water tubes - spirit levels - string - bits of wood - my God Noah used those methods to do the boot topping on the Ark!!!!!!

Get the boat level - go and hire a laser level for the day - set up the laser amidships and at right angles to the boat - level up the laser tripod at desired top or bottom edge - switch on - move laser and mark at regular intervals - join up "dot-to-dot" - mask edge - mark off appropriate width - mask edge,

Repeat on other side after checking that bow and stern levels are same as other side where they wrap around bow and stern.

Paint.

Remove masking tape as soon as paint is touch dry - otherwise it welds itself to the hull!!

Best regards )

Ian D

 

[Twister_Ken]

Off thread - why called a boot top? nm

§

 

[WayneS]

Re: Off thread - why called a boot top? nm

someone up north could not spell

 

[Guest]

Re: Off thread - why called a boot top? nm

Sailors always turn the tops of their boots down and then wrap their sea-socks (usually grey or white) over the top to stop them slipping down inside.

The traditional white or grey line of paint that separated the topsides paint job from the anti-fouling looked like a turned over boot top - hence the name.

Best regards )

Ian D

 

[Sinbad1]

Re: After the line...

This year instead of spending serious dosh on 'hard scrubbable boottop' I went to B&Q and bought some 'brilliant white' paint for exterior plastic fascia etc, and used this instead.

Its been wonderful. Scrubs clean easily, doesn't errode and look patchy and as shiny as the day it went on....for just a few quid!

 

[ccscott49]

Re: After the line...

I agree! I bring the antifoul about 2-3 inches above the waterline, then use standard marine gloss, in dark blue, a quick scrub from the dinghy or pressure wash from the dock (not very often) and its sparkling!

 

[castaway]

Thanks for all the replies. Just come home from a few days sailing in the rain... Thank God for Wheel houses. I think we were the only people in the Solent who were smiling.

Nick