And.... Done. This past weekend I was able to get the anti-slip strips glued in with contact cement (DAP). I brushed on both surfaces, let dry for about 15 or so minutes, then pressed the strips in place. After that it was just a matter of putting the door trim and the door back in place, and voila! I smile each time I walk down the steps... no creaks, no spongy feel, nothing... just a nice solid replacement that looks like it was always there - matching the stairs in the rest of the boat. ABOVE: The finished product. ABOVE: Father & Son. In the foreground are the first set of stairs that my dad remade (and I stained and varnished) for the boat back in 2013. In the background down low are my remade/refinished aft cabin stairs. So that's it... another project down on "What If..." Not many more to go!

John Even, I'm located in Clinton Marina - Clinton, IA...

A small update on the progress... They are almost complete! A few week's worth of varnishing and sanding.... so some progress pics. ABOVE: Sanding. One of a few sandings in between coats of varnish. I use Epifance Clear Gloss for the build up layers. Great UV protection, and the rest of the boat that has already been done has held up extremely well. ABOVE: The last coat of gloss. ABOVE: Nearly complete. As you can see, the gloss is gone. Throughout the interior of our boat (including these stairs), I have used Epifanes Rubbed Effect varnish as the final coat. I like the satin look, and for me it's a warmer feel. In this picture you can also see that I've just laid in the anti-slip rubber diamond strips after cutting them to length. I didn't have the right tools with me and I also wanted to let the final coat of varnish get cured for a week prior to installing them. Next Steps The final steps will be to use contact cement to put the anti-slip strips in, trim the salon carpet tiles to match up with edges of the stairs, and to replace the aft cabin door trim and door. I'll post one more picture of the final product once it's all done. C.

A week off doing the normal job thing and it was back out to the boat this weekend to install. While at home during the week, I took apart the stair assembly and applied a 50% cut of varnish to the backsides of all of the pieces to seal them up. The dried over the week, and out to the boat we went... ABOVE: Installed stairs. The band of fasteners around the top edge that locks the stair assembly into place were put in, then those were bunged and sanded flush. ABOVE: Yours truly, staining. A note here... My father is the guy that taught me all I know about woodwork, and specifically refinishing the interior of our boat - my biggest project. My parents owned "Seaquel", a 1966 38 Commander (Express). Dad refinished the entire interior of their boat, and so when we came across out boat, I had the confidence that I could do this too. Dad used a filler stain from a company called "Velvit Oil", and specifically a color called "Warm Cherry". I really liked it, and so I purchased the same and continued to use it as I stripped down and refinished every part of our boat. I was mostly done, when I went to check my supplies for this stair assembly and much to my dismay, the stain had succumbed to air, and had dried up. No problem, I'll order more. Problem... the company went ouf of business several years ago. Fortunately the guy that ended up buying my parent's 38 was looking to replace the helm area sideboards... he needed stain. He and I talked and I informed him about Velvit Oil no longer existing, and that I was going to be looking for a replacement. He went into action, and sent a mail to the company's Facebook page (still out there)... by some chance, someone wrote back and gave him an alternative - General Finishes Oil Based Wood Stain in Warm Cherry... as you can see in the picture above, it's pretty much an exact match. No need to mix up a color. Happy... yes. Very! ABOVE: Stained, and awaiting varnish. In this picture, it's easy to see the tracks that will be home to the treads once the stairs are done being varnished. Next Steps... The stairs will dry over the week while we are back home. When I go out this Friday, I'll start the process of varnishing. I won't put a ton of pics out for the whole process (kind of boring), but I'll share a few. I expect this to take two weeks, and we should be good - assuming the weather cooperates with my plans. Damp weather extends the time for the varnish to dry. If it's dry weather, I could be lucky enough to get two of the earlier coats on in a day. That's it for now! C.

Don't do it! It's one of the cooler features of the 42, and one we constantly get comments on when people see it. We also use it constantly... if we are out, all the windows are open, as well as the side door with the screen up. Great ventilation, and a huge area for some extra air. C.

I'd go with some recommendations from Jeremy (he's a real professional and his work is out of this world)... but... I used a filler stain made by a company that is unfortunately no longer in business (Velvit Oil). I used a shade call "Warm Cherry." I am looking for a replacement for our aft stairs I am working on now, and also for the helm area headliner trim that I'll hopefully start working on this year. But... my steps were as follows for the interior... 1. Stripped 2. Sanded (Mostly 180 grit, but where I had to work paint out of the fibers of the wood, I started with 80, being careful not to get too crazy on the plywood - the old stuff is thick, but still, you don't want to burn through it). 3. Stained - using the filler stain. 4. 1st coat varnish - Epifanes clear gloss - thinned 50% with Epifanes thinner. 5. 2nd coat varnish - Epifanes clear gloss - thinned 25% with Epifanes thinner 6. Sand (hand sanded with a larger sized surface (I used 3M sandpaper - it's purple, and does not clog easily from the varnish - 120 grit) 7. 3rd coat varnish - Epifanes clear gloss - thinned about 10% with Epifanes thinner 8. Sand - 120 grit, use a tack cloth to wipe down - you'll start to see that your sanding will leave a mostly "white" surface... to show you easily that your surface is starting to get smooth. 9. 4th coat varnish - Epifanes clear gloss - thinned about 10% with Epifanes thinner. 10. Sand - 220 grit, tack cloth 11. 5th coat varnish - Epifanes clear gloss - thinned about 10% with Epifanes thinner. 12. Sand - 220 grit tack cloth 13. 6th coat varnish - Epifanes Rubbed Effect - not thinned. This left me with a non-gloss satin finish. I really like this look (my dad did it in my parent's 38 Commander and I like the "soft" look of it. One coat usually worked fine .. In some instances, I needed a second coat of it (no sanding in between), but usually a single coat was just fine. 6/7 coats of varnished worked well for me, and after about 12/13 seasons now, and varying degrees of sunlight, I can say that the Epifanes varnish has held up great... it looks the same as it did when I put it on. Epifanes has a good content of UV inhibitors in it. You'll have a lot of opinions on varnishes, stains, etc... read comments do some research, and pick what you are comfortable with. Oh, for anything exterior, skipped the Rubbed Effect Epifanes, and just went with full clear gloss... although I've had some frustration with dust - Jeremy has told me (and probably this year I will attach my aft seating table) to sand it down with a high grit paper and go at it with compound and a buffer. Hope this helps, but for sure I'm not a pro... I did what worked for me, and I tried to do the best job I can, keeping in mind that we want to use the boat, not show it - and I don't want to freak out if something get scratched... although a nice thing about wood and varnish... it can be fixed fairly easily. Take what I've provided... ask others, and as you go you'll see what works best for you! Chris

My 1968 35's mahogany was finished in "Golden Walnut"... not sure what yours originally was, but I know you can still get the original stain - I believe from Sandusky (mentioned earlier). I wasn't refinishing the whole boat, so I wanted to keep it matched to what it was. it was spot on... On my 1967 42, I purchased a boat that was covered in white paint. The orignal stain that remained on the cabin stairs, and hidden under my aft stairs was a muddy brown that was not all that attractive. I stripped and sanded it all, and ended up where you are... naked wood. From there, I went with a cherry color. It's scary, but in the end, it works out... Maybe these pictures will help you visualize... ABOVE: When we bought it... ABOVE: Sanded... Ready (sort of, lol) for stain. ABOVE: Stained, and first coat of varnish... ABOVE: Mostly (it's never really entirely) finished product. C.

I'll hop on this... I ahd the same happen with my 42's screw...stripped, and no longer usable. A note, on the 42, it was an option I think... I remember Rob & Jamie's 42 having one and I was super envious. I'm still envious! I would like to get one to put on our boat sooner rather than later and it seems like it would be fairly easy to put in place.. my only issue with the ones I see is that there are no "covers" to hide the motor/wires. I suppose I could try to fabricate something out of wood, or make a snap on canvas cover to make it looks nice. Anyway... count me in. I just don't quite know what I'm looking for... EDIT: Hey Lee... I see they have a "tubular" option... maybe that's the ticket for me. Then all I'd have to do is get the mounting brackets (and be sure that the mounting bracket for the window will fit)...

A weekend update... Well, it took them a week, but it's finally done. All of the exhaust hose and clamps were all replaced with new. The "new" mufflers were put in place, new muffler straps were made, and, the F-pipes and elbows were polished. While I don't have a picture of the installation just yet, I do have a picture that should be of interest to some... ABOVE: Broken Hose Clamp. One of a few... I got the call the day they started to take everything apart, and my shop owner said "Did you get my text?" No, I hadn't but I quick looked... He told me that the very first clamp they went to remove just broke. It was one that secured the last bit of the exhaust hose to the fiberglass going to the outside of the boat. Sure, without really messing with them, they could probably last a while... and they are all doubled up... but still. It was clear that after 58 years... some things might want to give up the ghost. Even more so, one of the 4 brass straps (2 each side) that held the mufflers in place had broken as well. Just saying... it might be a good time to check your lesser seen areas of the boat to make sure things are ship shape... I didn't have a chance to take a picture of the installed copper pieces, but they sure do look nice... and I'm probably going to have to get the copper tubing on the engines buffed up to match now. Pictures to come next week I hope. Cheers! C.

I'll second Jeremy's statements on the minor color differences. They shouldn't be a big issue once you've stained/varnished. I have stripped (or replaced when necessary), sanded, stained, and varnished every bit of wood on our 1967 42 Commander. There were time when the wood looked a bit different in color, but in the end I only recall one time when I used a second coat of stain to get the wood to more closely match. Other than that, the subtle differences are not glaring... just a product of wood being wood. Chris

After the weekend, another update.... We were lucky enough to get into the water this weekend after getting replacement mufflers, all new exhaust hose, and new hose clamps done... but that's another post. After the boat was in, I was off to continue the work on the aft stairs. Time to get the last step and two risers taken care of. Here are some pics... ABOVE: Staples out... or so I thought. All the tools of the trade to get the last of the carpet staples out of our boat. I don't know how many there were here, but I'm going to guess north of 50. Some needed a lot of coaxing, some wanted to stay in. In any case, most came out, and the ones I could grab, I hammered in so the scraper and sander wouldn't catch them. You can clearly see here the remants of the white paint that was used to coat pretty much the entire interior of our boat. Grr... with 1967 being the only year with a wood interior, it was important for me to let it be seen. You can see on either side of that last step the finished product of much earlier work. ABOVE: Staples out, and ready to strip. ABOVE: Tucked in, stripping away... That's pretty much where I lived for the weekend. not the most space, and a few cramps along the way, but enough room to get the job done without too much difficulty. ABOVE: Stripped. ABOVE: Mostly sanded stairs. A little more to go... I'm not so happy about the staple stains, but I have to keep in mind at this point that the wood is still damp from soaking it with stripper to get the now 58-year-old varnish off. As I stripped the wood, I can see that I could pretty easily replace the step (I'd have to make a new one), and probably the other two risers... But, I also know that this bottom step and where it's located is not bathed in light, and will also have a darker stain on it. I decided to let thigns sit for the week and go back out and reassess. I'm not excited about having to make a replacement for a marginal gain in appearance. Pondering... C. 1967 42 Commander "What If..."

A small update... We were out at the boat this weekend for the first time. Luckily we were given a spot in the shop to get our "new" mufflers put on. In order to do that, I kind of needed to get the aft stairs in. So, off to the boat with my fresh made stairs. A little bit of sanding and they slipped right in! ABOVE: Like a glove! Yeah, that last original finish and abused step really stands out now... so you get the trifecta. The last bit of originally finished wood from when the boat was made, the refinished wood that reflects how the rest of the boat looks now, and the fresh, not yet finished mahogany of the new stair assembly. Coming together nicely, but I do note that I need to take about 1/8" or so off the height of the stairs so they meet up even with the salon floor. An easy enough adjustment. I think I walked up and down those steps about 10 or so times... each time with a huge smile on my face. Probably going to be like all they way up until the end of the season... lol C.

Another update, because I just got a pic from the marina... a little more bling for the engine room... they are going to polish the F-Pipes and elbows.. ABOVE: One F-Pipe done...

An update.... I will not be physically putting the mufflers in the boat. I don't know if I mentioned it, but I wanted to be clear. With that being said... ABOVE: Reay to get installed Winters up north for a boater are... long. Don't get me wrong, putting the boat away in fall gives me the chance to get all of the neglected home stuff from the boating season done, and it's nice to shift gears and see the snow. But, along come February... well, time to call it quits and look forward to spring. It's that time, and for us.... a bit early of a splash perhaps. As I am having our marina workshop install the mufflers, I got a call a few weeks ago asking if we'd want to go in early as there was some room inside the shop (only spots for two , maybe three big boats)... "Uh, yeah!" So out to the boat we went this weekend to clear out the aft cabin & salon (for access to the entire exhaust system), and to wash, wax, and paint the hull. Mission accomplished, but one thing was a bit challenging... Access to the port side exhaust runs is pretty easy... empty out the bottom shelf of the storage at the base of the stairs, and pull up the two wood panels. Voila. mostly easy access to the clamps, and all the beautiful copper exhaust pieces. On the starboard side... you'd think it'd be the same... just take out off of your stuff under the sink behind the sliding doors, and pull up the boards hiding the exhaust. You'd think. Turns out, they nailed 4 boards down. So, what I thought was going to be the last little 5 minute task to be nice and open everything up, turned into about 45 mintues of digging out two nails from one side of one board, the prying it up, then prying the other 3 boards up and removing them...all held in with nails. Needless to say I will be putting them back in with screws. lol Now, I know that there is going to be a challenge to get the F pipes off, and everything fitted back together (why I'm not doing it), but hopefully by the end of the week we are ready to go - all new clamps (I was given a picture today of a clamp for the exhaust hose by the outlet at the transom that had broken in two just with minor fiddling), new hose, polished copper tubing, and... some blingy mufflers to match! C.

I was mentioned a few times but honestly, I'm not the best candidate for the discussion... in fact, I'm the opposite. When replacing the teak toe rails and painting the decks of our 42, I decided to take the windlass out completely and fill the holes. I like the look of a clean deck (and bow), and on the Mississippi where we are located we generally don't run into any issues with droping or pulling the anchor. That being said... Byron Smith is the guy you need to chat with. He has a 42 (a '71 I believe, and he's got a windlass. He'sin the process of rebuilding his pulpit. He's down in Delray Beach, FL, and would probably be able to offer much better insight. Either way, follow Mr. Shriber's recommendations... all considerations that will need to be taken into account for a quality installation. Chris Orphal 1967 42 Commander "What If..."

Mike Watson... The material I'm using is a larger sheet of rubber material. It's probably a bit more than 1/8" thick. I'll put it down with contact cement. The other strips of it we have on the other steps in the boat have held up well for the past 5-7 years. I only have one that came up, but that was more of a me error on how I applied the adhesive. Thanks to all for the positive comments. It's been a fun project, not without a little emotion involved.

A bit more of an update after a day's work on the non-skid for the stairs. ABOVE: Channels for the non-skid. The non-skid material is rubber with a small diamond pattern to it. In order to keep it from going anywhere, and to match what my dad had done with the rest of the steps in the boat, I made 3 inserts into each tread. The drop was a bit more than 1/16", and it allows just the diamond patter to be above the surface of the wood. This picture is taken prior to using a chisel to square off the ends. ABOVE: Flush non-skid. After squaring off the ends of the channels, I then cut strips of the rubber non-skid material. As you can see, just the diamond pattern is above the surface of the wood. I'll use contact cement to put it in place once the stairs have been put in place, stained, and varnished to match the rest of interior of the boat. ABOVE: The unfinished product. Still need to finish sand and use fasteners to put the assembly together. Stay tuned...

Mike, Dedication or craziness... take your pick! For those of us that have continued to be stewards of our Commanders, I think it's a bit of both. I totally agree... The design of the stairs left a little to be desired.. I was able to improve without much change. But then again, as Dick Avery said, they designed them to last 13 years. My stairs gave out in year 57... so I guess I won't complain. The good news is, I won't worry about them ever again! I am a bit concerned about how the 3rd built-in step is going to look once I get all of the paint, remaining staples, and varnish off of them and get them sanded down. I know that thier location, and the darker stain will hide a lot though... It'll just be part of the story of the boat.

Hi all, the 60 Commander is pretty awesome, and a good number of years ago at a Commander Club Rendezvous, I was fortunate enough to be the winning bidder... and took home the closest thing I'll get to owning a real one... a framed original line drawing of the 60 Commander, signed on the back side by Dick Avery himself. It's proudly displayed in our dining room, and I was even recently able to get some original sales information... Char, maybe I can scan and provide you with the sales stuff for the article? Cheers! C. 1967 42 Commander "What If..."

Hello Hap. Sorry very to hear about your loss. Unfortunately I did end up selling the mast. Chris