New or old water line

[SURV69]

Water might be level, but ground usually isn't.

So, a laser set on the ground won't mean the boat is at the right attitude.

I know(or have heard), that when boats are put on the hard, the stern is left lower for drainage . . . so a level might not work, although a laser set at the right level and adjusted to meet the "proper", waterline in a few places should work. Just make sure that you get the same results on both sides.

What I did, was to NOT have the boat pressure washed when it was hauled.

I'm a surveyor, so I had previously measured the entire boat.

So, all I had to do was take photographs of the waterline(sludge line), and I'll use those measurements as the basis to move my waterline . . . if I do.

[roverhi]

The water line is a straight line. The top of the boot top is also usually straight but covers more area where this a steeper angle to the hull like the stern of a boat. On our boat, the boot top at the stern was 6" or more wider than on the vertical side of the hull. Viewed from the side it looked like a straight line because of the parallax perspective.


If you have a transit or laser level, it's a simple matter to shoot the waterline and the top of the boot stripe. You can do the same thing with a water level if you don't have the expensive tools to do it. Get a length of small diameter vinyl tubing longer than the hull of the boat b 10' or so. Fill with water with water to the desired water line holding both ends of the tubing above the water line. Tape one end to the boat at either bow or stern. Move along the hull making marks for the waterline with the other end of the tube. Water level in the tube doesn't have to be exactly at the desired water level but you'll have to add or subtract from the water level to get the desired line height.

[model 10]

I must apologize for my obstinacy and any rudeness regarding my argument for a curved waterline. What I must be looking at on the blueprint is really a stylized way of drawing the top side of a boot stripe. This line rises at the front and somewhat at the stern kind of following the shear.