Boot Stripe

[GWelty]

Does anyone know which is the best point to use to level a boat front to back for a laser shot on the boot stripe. My boat is setting on three oversized saw horses attached to the stringers and is level from side to side but I do not know what to shoot for to level it front to back. The rear sponsions are the closeset to being level.

[57 chris]

Level down the sides doesn't matter, you're after a straight line. just shoot a laser line from a point at the bow to a point at the stern which of course will be perfectly straight. In the case of the stern, again level doesn't matter, you just need a straight line that appears level with respect to features that are in the same location on either side of the hull such as a spray rail or the gunwale.

Craig

[Al Benton]

Craig, you lost me there somewhere. The waterline is seldom parallel to the sheer or the stringers. Wouldn't the boat need to be placed so the waterline itself is parallel to the floor to shoot the paint line using a laser level? If the original scribe marks are still on the boat, I suppose the laser level could be adjusted to match as long as the adjusting is done parallel to the boat center line. Otherwise It could project an ark that's high or low in the center.

You can tell, I've never done it and hope I never have to. The thought of getting it in the right place sounds more complex than shooting a straight line down the sides while it's resting upside down on saw horses.

[gbraker]

I have a laser level, and I think all you have to know is where the waterline is at the bow and the stern, then line up the level so it goes across the two.

Seems simple until you try it.

[57 chris]

Gary's right,
You're just shooting a straight line from point A to point B regardless of whether anything is level.
The line won't arc if the laser is positioned fairly close to the same height off the floor as the stripe location, in other words, you don't want to position the laser so that it's beam is substantially higher or lower than the intended stripe location because that would give you an angled line creating an arc down the side of the hull.

[Mark Campbell]

Just a note: I have found that once the line is found and taped and painting is started , there is an art to where the stripe is painted at the rail. It appears to be the same thickness from a standing viewing point ...but when painting that area the line actually gets Thicker. I get numb toes when I have done this.

[jfrprops]

I just corrected the waterline on my boat while on the railway this year. It had sort of "crept" up at the transom after years of annual paintings. So it did not LOOK RIGHT on the water...dipped amid ships etc.
One thing: this is all about appearance and not geometry...she has to look right sitting on the water in her nomal loaded attitude. For instance, often on the big boats the line goes right through the middle of the exhaust holes etc.....in order to look right.
"Rack of Eye" and appearance at rest, is more important than laser straight in my opinion.

John in Va.