The search continues

[xraydude]

Hi all, last fall I started looking for a DS1 and just came across one today that peaked my interest. It has the usual wear and tear of an older DS1, CB that won’t go up all the way, transom rot around gudgeons, trailer needs work. There is no title for the boat, which according to the Mass. Environmental Police is not an issue, as long as there is no motor installed. The serial number plate is missing along with the forward bulkhead. Are the serial numbers engraved elsewhere on the boat? Should I consider making a new bulkhead? I am assuming that the boat is an early 70s vintage due to the keelson running up to the bow floatation tank with a flare. My main concern is the mast, it is a tapered Proctor Mast made in England. The masthead sheave is corroded and frozen, and I am sure over time the SS halyard is going to fray. The rope part of the main and jib halyards look like they are in need of replacing. Does anyone here on the forum have any experience servicing these types of masts? Are parts readily available or do they need to be custom made? Any feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks!
John.

[K.C. Walker]

John,

You don't mention the price. The boat sounds like it's a bit rough and would take a fair amount of work to get up to snuff. However, the Proctor mast is highly sought after by those who race. Unless the structure of the mast is compromised everything else should be something you could fix, without having to make custom parts.

[xraydude]

Thanks K.C. They have lowered the price to $500.00. There are no sails. Do you know if O'Day engraved serial # on the hull other than on the plate that is missing on this particular boat?

John.

[K.C. Walker]

As far as I know, the only two places that O'Day put serial numbers was on that plate (for the early boats) or (starting in the 70s) embossed on the transom.

[Mike Gillum]

John,
Two years ago we restored to new an old tapered Proctor DS Mast as follows;
1. Removed all existing hardware leaving the Mast virtually naked.
2. Welded closed all existing fastener holes and sanded smooth.
3. Removed the original Main Halyard Sheave by drilling out the pin that appears as a round bump on both sides of the mast.
4. Welded a couple of aluminum tabs top and bottom of opening to be able to mount a Harken HK302 Line/Wire High Strength Block using SS Pop-Rivets after the Mast was powder coated.
5. Similar approach to the removal of the original Jib Halyard Sheave.
6. Fully drilled out the bottom of the original aluminum Sheave Box that the Jib Halyard Sheave was housed in to allow the new Jib Halyard to eventually run vertically inside the mast.
7. Shaped a piece of .125 aluminum Sheet to match the front profile of the Mast, cut to size and welded it in place to cover the old Jib Halyard Sheave.
8. Cut a rectangular hole after the Mast was powder coated for a Harken HK302 Line/Wire High Strength Block and mounted using SS Pop-Rivets for the new Jib Halyard Sheave.
9. Reused the original Spinnaker Halyard Sheave which is a piece of 1/4"+/- diameter aluminum Tube rolled into radius that's welded at the front of the mast and allows the Spinnaker Halyard to run vertically in the Main Luff Track.
10. Cut a rectangular hole between the Hounds and Spreaders after the Mast was powder coated for a Harken HK302 Line/Wire High Strength Block and mounted using SS Pop-Rivets for the new Topping Lift Sheave.
11. Cut about 15"+/- off of the base of the original Mast that was severely rotted from the original Oak Plug in the base of the mast and sleeved in a new section using remnants of a broken DS Mast from Dave Keran's collection.
12. Installed a used Proctor Three-Sheave Mast Butt (Waterat) for the Main, Jib & Topping Lifts after the Mast was powder coated.
13. Installed a new Proctor/Selden Spreader Bracket (APS) along with refurbished Proctor Spreaders (Waterat) after the Mast was powder coated.
14. Installed new T-Terminal Shround & Forestay Terminals by cutting an oval hole, a pair of fastener holes and a pair of SS Pop-Rivets for all three terminals after the Mast was powder coated.
15. After installing a Thistle style Gooseneck after the Mast was powder coated I eventually cut out part of the sail slot out and installed a Ballenger Gooseneck Fitting that works better as the larger sail track didn't allow us to adequately fasten the Thistle style Gooseneck .
We installed the restored Proctor Mast on Ryan Anderson's SLI #14028 and have found it to have similar bend characteristics and the same performance as my tapered Ballenger Mast for a fraction of the cost of a new DS Mast.
Mike Gillum, DS #2772 BUBBA

[K.C. Walker]

Mike,

That is truly an amazing restoration of the Proctor mast. Did most of the work get done at your shop? What would you think an early Proctor mast is worth in restorable condition, or for that matter in usable condition?

[Mike Gillum]

K.C.,
One of the benefits of owning a business with a top notch Welding Shop is that I had already stripped the old Proctor of all of its old rigging and fittings, cut off the rotten base of the mast, sleeved and riveted a new section in place and then identified and marked all of the fixes before I got my now retired senior business partner to spend a couple of hours of his time to perform his magic!
After powder coating the rebuilt Proctor Anodized Silver TGIC Polyester it looks like a new mast though not nearly as perfect as a new clear anodized aluminum mast but it still performs like a new mast.
The only drawback is that the old tapered Proctor has a very wide open sail track that extends nearly down to the gooseneck that precludes using a standard tack slug that we normally feed back into the sail track below where we feed the bolt rope into the mast to hoist the main.
We've lashed the tack of Ryan's main to the mast using a piece of 1/8" Spectra to allow the tack to float rather than using the tack pin on the boom at the gooseneck as a floating tack is preferable to our style of sailing.
My solution is to have Dieball Sailing fabricate and sew in place a Webbing/Velcro/D-Ring arrangement on the tack similar to a Laser Clew Strap when Ryan gets a new main solving the final problem.
Out here on the Left Coast and specifically Sailing Siberia (Sacramento Valley) we don't have easy access to new spars that doesn't include high freight costs tacked onto the already pricey costs of spars so we've been creative in using spars that others might otherwise have scrapped.
In Ryan's case it was a matter of keeping expenses to a miminum while putting together a DS NACR's competitive Day Sailer for a teenager.

[xraydude]

Mike,

That is truly an amazing restoration of the Proctor mast. Did most of the work get done at your shop? What would you think an early Proctor mast is worth in restorable condition, or for that matter in usable condition?

You can say that again!

Mike,
I don't think I'm going to go that far into the restoration of this mast. I was actually thinking of spraying the area around the sheaves with "PB Blaster" penetrating oil, but I'll probably drill out the old sheaves and find something comparable to replace them with. I sure do have my work cut out for me with the rest of this boat. I guess the satisfaction of bringing a boat back from the dead is worth it, especially when I get to work on it with my 14 year old son.

[Mike Gillum]

John,
I have two daughters 19 & 25 years old who crew for my wife and I in the Thistle now as well as be sought after crew by my fellow Thistle & DS skippers.
Ryan Anderson is the son Mardi and I never had and the brother our daughters never had.
Post some photographs of the DS so we can get a look at it to give you better advice as its free!
Wood Benches or Fiberglass Tanks? Mike

[xraydude]

Mike,

I haven't been able to get to the boat until yesterday. I have not purchased it yet because I wanted to take a closer look at the bottom, was just waiting for all of the snow that was around it to melt.
Here are some pics that I took.

[xraydude]

Here are pics of mast

[xraydude]

A few more pics, two main sheet blocks on boom? Don't know if there is anything missing from the turnbuckle assembly.

[Mike Gillum]

John,
Judging by the photographs it appears to be later model O'Day or someone bought and installed the fiberglass centerboard cap cover with the molded-in Jib Sheet Cleat mounts?
Double blocks on the boom would be for a mid-boom traveler but I don't see a traveler in the photographs so maybe it came off of another DS?
Tapered gold Proctor appears to be in good overall shape for its age and the SS Gooseneck is a Proctor.
The shroud or forestay in the photograph is missing the SS Pin to attach it to the chainplate or forestay plate but I would recommend replacing both shrouds & forestay if you buy the boat as that is probably original.
The galvanized trailer looks good from the one photograph from astern.
Keep in mind that you're looking to buy an inexpensive 40-50 years old mass produced one design dinghy and most if not all of the cracks in the fiberglass are probably stress cracks from sitting outside all of its life in extreme conditions and are not structural except for possibly the fiberglass tanks taped to the interior of the hull being popped off from the water in the bilge and tanks freezing, thawing, freezing,.....! Mike

[xraydude]

Thanks Mike,

There is a traveler sitting on the floor (not attached to the boat), and a spinnaker pole. Is the stainless steel pin you're referring to a clevis pin? The mast is straight along with the spreaders, do you know what the round disk at the masthead would be used for? There is a mast step on the keelson (Attached Picture), does the mast just fit between the pins?

Thanks again for your help.

John

[xraydude]

Brought the boat home last night, and now wondering how to remove the little drain plug that sits 2" behind the CB trunk. Tried to turn with a screwdriver then pliers and a screwdriver, and this thing won't budge. It might have been glued from the previous owner. Should I just leave it alone?