My better half bought a DS I and I need maintenance advice

[SailYona]

I can't believe we drove it 50 miles on a trailer so rusted that pieces were flying off down the road. But it is now safely in water and am disassembling the trailer and looking for a used one to replace it.
We were very lucky indeed!

I'm wondering the following and any advice is helpful!

The sails look to me like they are blown, especially the main. The last foot just hangs, there are no reefing points to pull it in some, so other than buying new sails what can I do? I've tightened it all it can. Is taking them to a sailmaker to recut worth it? Its unfortunate because otherwise they are in good condition. It doesn't point worth a darn.

The centerboard house has a couple holes on each side near the top that look machine made. They spout water when moving. I'm wondering if this is for some type of pin to hold the cb up when trailering?

The tow hitch ring was very loose and upon inspection the bolt was actually bent. I've replaced it with a rubber gasket on the outside and tightened it up. Any other ideas are welcome.

The mast hole on the deck has been cracked and repaired many times for the obvious reasons. I think this is the only downer about the boat, that mast is so tall and unwieldy. We've managed (with great back strain) to step the mast without putting pressure on the hole by up-righting it in the boat and lifting it straight up and down into the hole. I would like to be able to use the hole but fearful that additional pressure will crack it. Before I start repair would love to know of anyone's attempt to strengthen this area enough to use it.

The rigging does not have turnbuckles. Will I need to re-rig the mast in order to install these?

I think that's it for now. I'm looking forward to cleaning it up and getting some sailing in before winter starts!

Thanks for the forum. It's been a great resource.
Yona

[Imgaryo1]

Congratulations on buying the daysailer. Its a great boat and with a bit of care will last you for a very long time. I would like to take this opportunity to ask if you have considered joining the Daysailer association? Its a great bunch of people.

Now to your questions. Regarding the main. Make sure you have hoisted it all the way up with the outhaul off, then tighten up the outhaul. Also check your cunnignham adjustment if you have one.

The centerboard holes were probably used to mount something. If they are forward, maybe they were used for the jib cleats. If they are aft, could be anything. Pictures would sure help. To hold up the centerboard, you should have a lock at the foreward bottom edge of the centerboard handle. I am not aware of any pins that would be used to hold up the centerboard unless it was something a previous owner installed themselves.

Regarding tow hitch ring, if you are refering to the bow eye at the very front of the boat, check to make sure that it is "backed" on the inside of the hull with a firm piece of wood or similiar. It should be through bolted thru the hull and thru the wood.

Regarding stepping the mast thru the partner, be careful what you do regarding the partner. If you plan on racing the boat (daysailerI is the prefered model), make sure you check the handbook. You could make the baot so it is no longer a class legal daysailer. some people have glassed structural support underneath the cuddy. Just make sure you do not modify the opening itself. You need to maek every attempt to restore it to the original dimensions. If there are any other daysailers in your area, watch them to see how they step the mast. There is a technique that when you get it right makes the process much easier. Another option, depending on where you sail, is to launch the boat and bring it over to the shore. Heel the boat over on its side and insert the mast. Attach the shrouds and forestay, then use the jib halyard to SLOWLY right the boat again.

Regarding turnbuckles. In order to install turnbuckles or staymasters, you would mostl likely have to shorten your shrouds and forestay.

Regards,
Gary W. Ogden

[Baysailer]

Yona,

Welcome to the DS. Definitely put it in the water and sail out the year. That more than anything will tell you what the boat needs.

Turnbuckles: Some older models (pre sail#1500 or so) don't have turnbuckles, I don't. Instead the rig tension is made by a screw type mast jack that sits at the base of the mast. You can of course upgrade to stays with turnbuckes, D&R has them and can tell you if you need to rerig the mast any, but I doubt it.

http://www.drmarine.com/products.asp?cat=121

Mast Raising: There's a lot of tricks to make raising easier. Some people cut the mast above the cuddy and put a hinge in but there's some percieved negatives there. You could also make a lifting rig. I've made and used some but prefer to do it manually. I stand the mast upright next to the boat and lift it up and lower it into the hole.

If you have upper stays they can be removed too. It will reduce weight aloft and make for fewer snag points. Supposedly has some performance benefits too Mine are still in place though so I must not be sold on it yet.

Fred DS #1351

[SailYona]

I noticed that some members are using their boat numbers. I'll need to check ours out, would it be the same # as the sail? In that case #2336. But ours does have a mast jack.

I love the idea stepping the mast with a beached boat. Should we put fenders under her to protect from gravel, etc?

I'm realizing now that any modifications should require forethought as to race regulations even if we are not regular racers.

So, I think I'll take some pictures this week so I can ask detailed questions.

Since our rig does not employ turnbuckles we were considering installing them because the forestay becomes tight while the shrouds are a bit sloppy. I thought that installing turnbuckles might help this. I don't want to start a big project and will wait till winter if need be.

The 2 horn cleats on the deck for the halyards have been removed, not sure why, and I'd like to replace them and support them with a chain plate or such, would this be advisable and are they to be of a certain size?

I will consider joining too.

Yona

[GreenLake]

I would replace the "tow hitch ring". It's a $10.00 part, but if it breaks while you are trying to retrieve the boat, that's not fun. Paying attention to the backing was already mentioned, but you wrote it was "bent", so I would replace it. I had one break late one evening at a boat launch...

Your sails may not have the correct sail number - people do buy used sails and if they don't race, they may not bother to remove the number.

If you end up concluding that the sails need to be replaced or recut, I would base this on what a sailmaker can offer you compared to what a new sail costs. If they say the sail's worth fixing and can do it for less than a new sail, I'd go for it, and hold off on new sails until you are a racing competitively. Assumes you have easy access to a sailmaker.

Raising the mast. I have a keel-stepped mast as well, but have never tried the method of raising it to vertical next to the boat, then shifting it over, etc. My boat came with a clever home-built "sliding hinge" that would hold the mast foot in a hinged sleeve next to the deck opening and give a pivot point so you could raise the mast directly where it had to go. Once vertical, the mast would slide through the sleeve so you could drop it down on the mast step on the keel.

With this setup, I found it possible to raise the mast by myself, but with two people it's much easier and fairly quick. However, I still found it harder on my back than I like, so I constructed a tripod to allow me to use a pulley to raise and lower it.

If you follow the link you see a drawing (also of the hinged sleeve) and a link to some photos. It's easy to build, and while it adds a few minutes to the rigging time, my back's been thanking me.

[SailYona]

I live in Enumclaw and trying to find a local DS club. Closest I found was Oregon.
Anyway thanks for the link, I will look at it more.

Since this main I have does not have reefing points or a claw for internal boom reefing, I'm trying to figure out the best way to tackle this issue.

I spoke to a sailmaker and they said it wouldn't be worth it to cut them if the sails are blown, might as well get new. Not in the budget this summer.

thanks for your help
Yona

[seandwyer]

with regards to the mast stepping issue - why not just get a tabernacle and cut the mast just above the cuddy? I know cutting the mast is creepy, but it is so easy to put up! I never mess with my shrouds - they stay fastened to the mast and deck all the time. I only disconnect the fore stay - and best of all, since becoming more comfortable with the boat and the stepping procedure, I can raise the mast and do all the rigging easily by myself! This is quite a boon for someone with a 7 year old crew! Unless you sail somewhere that is particularly rough with high winds I don't see a whole lot in the way of draw backs - if someone can eleborate, please do so I am aware.

As for reefing (not that I know much about this having never done it) you might have roller reefing on your boom - did and didn't know until I tried pulling the boom away from the mast - and sure enough it was spring loaded with the locking mechanism. I believe you may not need the points in the sail with this - but like I say I could be wrong. Check pout your boom though.