I'm gonna sound dumb here, but better to sound it now than to stay it forever, right?
Once I have finished with the exterior 'glasswork (deck, etc.) the next thing on the list is the interior structure...starting with the lovely ballst cavity situation and bilge mods and working up.
Levelling the boat side-to-side was no problem, but fore and aft is puzzling me. It will certainly make the interior much easier if I can put her dead-nuts level relative to her waterline!
I've got a couple of books that sort of suggest how to do it, but not in a particularly clear (to me) fashion. I've thought about stringing a line tight along the waterline scribe mark (which I'll be using for reference for better or worse), holding it with tape, and putting a line level on it at the mid-point, but somehow that doesn't seem quite right. The method in the old Edwin Monk boatbuilding method leaves me sorta scratching, too, as it is for stiking the waterline on a hull assumed to be level. I thought of trying to use a laser level somehow, but I just can't see that, either.
I've heard mention of some way of doing it using a length of gardenhose or clear tubing...I think I see how this one works, but I'd like input or clarification from anyone who has actually done it!
Thanks,
Dave
Level the boat with a hose?
-
Figment
- Damned Because It's All Connected
- Posts: 2846
- Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2003 9:32 am
- Boat Name: Triton
- Boat Type: Grand Banks 42
- Location: L.I. Sound
I use weak kool-aid instead of water, so I can see the level at a distance. Because there's a lot of ootching this way and that, the help of an assistant will be invaluable.
There's no sense in buying 35' of clear hose that you'll never use again. buy 2 5' lengths, of a size that you can easily jam into a garden hose. Jam one length of tubing into each end of a garden hose.
mix up a 5gallon bucket of the aforementioned weak kool-aid, and coil the hose down into the bucket. Don't just drop the precoiled hose into the bucket... you're trying to fill the hose with kool aid without bubbles.
When you get to the point where the first foot or so of the second clear tube is submerged, plug both ends of the assembly and remove from the bucket.
Hold both clear-tube ends up in the air, and unplug. Jump around, do a little dance.... you'll see that the kool-aid levels equalize no matter what you do.
hold one end at the waterline scribe near the bow, the other end at the stern, and adjust 'til things line up.
There's no sense in buying 35' of clear hose that you'll never use again. buy 2 5' lengths, of a size that you can easily jam into a garden hose. Jam one length of tubing into each end of a garden hose.
mix up a 5gallon bucket of the aforementioned weak kool-aid, and coil the hose down into the bucket. Don't just drop the precoiled hose into the bucket... you're trying to fill the hose with kool aid without bubbles.
When you get to the point where the first foot or so of the second clear tube is submerged, plug both ends of the assembly and remove from the bucket.
Hold both clear-tube ends up in the air, and unplug. Jump around, do a little dance.... you'll see that the kool-aid levels equalize no matter what you do.
hold one end at the waterline scribe near the bow, the other end at the stern, and adjust 'til things line up.