boot strip measurements

[Profmurphy]

Does anyone have measurements for location of boot strip for Cape Dory Typhoon?

[ariasis]

It is not straight. Here is a you tube video I used when I redid mine.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-pw3VOs3wLg

[Steve Laume]

This may not work for you but I have marked the boot stripe on a couple of dinghies while they were floating. I have a little pond that I can float them in. You need calm water. Once the boat is floating in a nice calm place, get a good sized piece of Dow Blue Board or some other flat foam sheet. It is then pretty simple to go around the boat with the floating foam and a pencil. For the top of the stripe you can add a block for the thickness of the stripe. this could be done at a dock or a calm anchorage in shallow water where you could walk around the boat. The bigger the piece of foam the more stable it will be.

I know you can set the waterline by leveling the boat and using a laser or strings and a level but the floating foam block is easier and more fun, Steve.

[Oswego John]

Here is my attempt to answer ProfMurphy's boot stripe question

I have two Typhoon Weekenders. Both measurements are taken at mid ship, about where the cuddy bulkhead is located. The measurements from the top of the 3/4" toe rail to the BOTTOM of the stripe
are both 21 1/4".

One Ty's bootstripe is 2 1/2" wide and the other measures 3". No matter how wide you decide to make your stripe, remember that the waterline is always the waterline, so measure to and mark the bottom of the stripe first. Then mark the top of the line at the desired width at mid ship.

I have no experience with redoing a boot stripe other than on the hard. They were never large ships. Most of them were on trailers or on jack stands. My own boats are both on trailers. For me, it is important that the hull must be level N/S as well as E/W to lay out the stripe edges.

To level the hull, I lay a spirit (bubble) level bow to stern on the cockpit floor and use the trailer tongue jack as needed. Next, I lay a straight edge 2"x4" board across the top of both coamings close to mid ship. I adjust the east/west level with the adjustable screw support pads.

I use something a little different to lay out the stripe marks, both top and bottom. It is very accurate in transferring an elevation from point A to point B. It is called a water level. I use a piece of old garden hose that is a random length of maybe 12' to 16' long. A glass (plastic?) tube is inserted into each hose end. A hose clamp holds the tube in place.

Hold the tubes side by side with no kinks in the hose. Fill the hose with water until water appears in both tubes. A kitchen funnel helps loading the water. This is a two person operation. One person holds the water level line at the mark on the hull at mid ship as the second moves his tube sideways to mark a new location. Then connect the dots. I use a felt tip Sharpie to mark the hull.

And then you can also go back to the swivel laser for marking. Whichever way you decide to go, if the hull is level/level, either method of marking the stripe lines will compensate for a wider upper margin at the curved bow and especially at the stern.

Good luck,
O J

[Skeep]

A fortuitous discussion. Glad ProfMurphy raised the issue. This is one item on my agenda this winter down here in the south, along with a vinyl bottom paint.

I do concur with Chris on the SAIL video. And thanks Chris for posting it cause I'd lost track of who'd done that video. I made a jig some time ago and tested it with pencil marks. Takes all the guess work out of the angles. I love it. And he's correct that that line must flare in the stern to be accurate.

Steve's idea of the pool is cute. If I could I would do that. Afraid of snakes in the lake here. But his concept does get close to another issue and that is depth of the line with a basic load in the boat. I've seen numerous Dories whose boot stripe is submerged and seems it should not be completely underwater amidships? Discussion? And this is where I think Oswego John is coming from on the level of the stripe. It is important is it not? What is that measurement? As he states? Does that work with a couple of folks aboard?

And so interested in remarks here, plus additional insights.

[Jim Walsh]

I'd never seen the method demonstrated in the video previously. Pretty neat idea. I've never had to
re-establish a boot top on a large vessel, thank God. Those times I needed one on a dingy I used the "get yourself in the water" method espoused by Steve.

[Profmurphy]

Thanks for all of the responses...very helpful...had the boat jel-coated for next summer.

[Skeep]

Jim, et. al., if you walk around a boat yard and specifically concentrate on boot stripes, you'll quickly realize how a sloping stern bottom is treated by nicer vessels. Often, on the cheap, folks will purchase these sticky tapes and think that as long as they slap that on the hull that the job is complete. I cringe at the result. When admiring a vessel from the stern, the optics and slope of the bottom determine that a boot stripe changes shape as it travels the hull. And should.

[Ben Thomas]

A number of years ago when "Milagro" was on the hard I decided to relocate the boot stripe upwards, it was too close to the waterline, evidence was on the stern as the paint was bubbling from being partially submerged.
I went with an "Old School method" and rigged up a "Water Level" which consisted of a 5 gal. bucket and about 30' of clear 1/2 hose.
I sat the bucket on a makeshift stand at the companionway sole and made sure the water level in bucket was the same as real time water line. I had made sure of this by checking water level in drain line hose out of Galley sink while boat was docked.
A slow process of filling the hose and bucket then draining out hose and bucket to correct level. Then you walk around hull with the end of hose with a few feet to spare on the bitter end and made marks/tape for the new waterline/boot stripe level. Giving the water in hose time to settle after moving around.
Since water seeks it's own level it worked like a charm. Trick is not to let the end of hose get below water level.
Maybe a google search will shed more light on the process.
Good luck

[Skeep]

Ben, I've been wondering about your method ever since I read this post. I just re-read it and am still wondering. Glad it worked for you. I'd have to see a YouTube video to understand how you did what you did. Creative!

I'm leaving the boot strip(e) for later as I concentrate on a vinyl bottom paint first. By the time I'm done with that I'll be ready for the boot strip. May be the Spring before I tackle all that stuff. Pointers desired and accepted from all who've walked the pathway however!

[Gary H]

If I recall correctly, Don Casey has a good description of the use of a water level to mark the lines of the boot stripe in his book. When I stripped the bottom of a Ty, I used a laser level on a tripod and marked every six inches. This, of course, assumes that your boat is on a trailer and you level the trailer in both directions.

[Skeep]

You know the more I read of our consensus, I do believe that the residual lines on my Ty and perhaps on most of this Boards' Ty's are probably a good approximate starting point for the boot strip. After all, we've all got bottom paint which stops at a certain point on the hull, and those successive coats were probably applied with due diligence to maintain the integrity of the original location from the factory. Yes, this is an assumption, but a fairly valid proposition I would think. On mine, I can see the dividing line of one bottom coat and the gel coat which is polished. I think I see where the boot strip should go. I am thinking, based on this discussion, that that line is probably on target.