How to paint a straight line?

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Tue Jul 05, 2011 9:28 pm

OK so I see all your fancy boats with the new pretty, shiney paint jobs on them. I thought about attempting this last summer when I had the keel out. At least, I thought, I'll do the bottom since I have bottom paint to put on the keel. I grabbed a piece of masking tape and began to run a line to paint to. after several feet I looked, and man was it crooked! Tell me how you get a straight line on a compoundingly curved surface.

Maybe I should have saved this for my question of the week, but I just gotta know!

sauerleigh · Post by **sauerleigh** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 2:34 am

I remembered this from the past, when I built model ships. The idea is simple, trying to do it on a life size boat, not so simple. http://www.building-model-boats.com/dra ... model.html

If you can get your boat squarely situated on the trailer, side to side (yaw) and fore and aft (pitch), with some help you should be able to pull the boat past stands set up with marking devices. Once the height of the stand is set you just need to move the marking into the hull.

The other way is the scum method. If you dock the boat for a season, you'll end up with a pretty good idea where to waterline is.

hp18carr · Post by **hp18carr** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 4:54 am

Scum method... now that's a good one, let nature work it out.

Terrence
Wilmington N.C.
chrysler 26' 1980
Pandora (for now)

J. Austin · Post by **J. Austin** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 5:37 am

Simple answer: if u can get your boat "level"; then, the expensive way would be a laser level. ( they can be rented cheap). The cheaper way is a water level. Feel free to expand on this everyone.

EmergencyExit · Post by **EmergencyExit** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 6:36 am

Good old method of snapping a chalk line worked for me..