New DaySailer Owner

[thistle3930]

I just bought hull number 7956. I also have an AMF Sunbird which I intend to sell, now. I also sailed and raced Thistles for about 25 years. I'm too old to single hand a Thistle and the fleet here has died. 7956 needs some TLC but I hope to have her on the lake (Arkabutla in north MS just south of Memphis) in a month or so.

From what I have read so far I think my boat lacks positive flotation. I'd appreciate any thoughts on adding it and on replacing the centerboard halyard. I suspect it is in bad shape. Any other hints will be appreciated as I search around the forum.

[GreenLake]

Welcome to the forum.

With your sail number and the "centerboard halyard" you mention, this sounds like a DSII.

If that's the case, the area between the hulls should be one big flotation chamber.

[Alan]

Well, it's a big flotation chamber until water blowing in through the centerboard line fitting turns it into a big water tank. That can happen quickly, especially in choppy water.

The easiest way to add flotation is to stuff pool noodles in through the inspection ports.

DSII's generally have random lengths of something that looks like styrofoam in the bilge. They're too long to fit through the inspection ports, so they must have been put in when the boats were built.

Besides that, there's an enclosure in the bilge, roughly halfway between the mast and the bow, that contains chunks of styrofoam. Here's a photo of it taken from forward:

DSII bilge flotation tank.jpg (208.08 KiB) Viewed 12972 times

And here's one that shows it from aft, with flotation stuff in the foreground:

DSII flotation tank - rear view.jpg (189.65 KiB) Viewed 12972 times

Besides that, the area forward of the bow bulkhead inside the cuddy is generally stuffed with styrofoam. It's a good idea to put an inspection port in the bulkhead so you can check the condition of the flotation material. It can become waterlogged. Several people have removed it and replaced it with pool noodles.

There's also a fix to keep water from entering the bilge through the centerboard fitting, that's been discussed pretty thoroughly in other threads.

You can also turn the cuddy into a big flotation tank by making a watertight door and sealing the mast opening in the cuddy roof.

[thistle3930]

Thanks, all. The Daysailer plate on the cabin doesn't the the "II". It has 4 inspection ports. One on the port side of the cockpit was obviously installed to repair a crack in the gunwale. That is the only one I have opened. One is is in the cuddy just forward of the mast stanchion. There are two in the floor of the cockpit just aft of the cuddy. I'll post some photos soon. I'm still cleaning and drying it.

[hsubman]

The 2 access ports just aft of the cuddy is a signature of the DSII. Access to the main flotation chamber under the cockpit floor.

[thistle3930]

I've got her cleaned up enough to start work. While cleaning I found the mast step in all the trash. With the cabin sole clean I can see there are no screw holes. The step was obviously epoxied in place previously. The mast step has two screws through it as the photo shows. What is the preferred method of attaching it? Screws only, epoxy only or both? I'm concerned about screws damaging the support between the cabin sole and the hull. The second photo show the fore stay chain plate with a shackle on wire role coming through a sheave. There is about 3 feet of wire rope that goes into the cabin with a large fiddle block on the other end. Is this a Jib tension adjuster?

Thanks,
John Garner

[Alan]

The forward part of the chainplate looks like original equipment. The aft (through-deck) part isn't original. I'm guessing it's a jib cunningham, which tightens the fabric of the jib along the luff. The shackle looks like it's meant to go through the tack of the jib.

I would guess that the becket block underneath is part of a purchase setup that allows you to adjust tension of the cloth along the luff (as opposed to the luff wire, which is tensioned with the halyard). If there's an unexplained block in the rest of the stuff that came with the boat, that might be the other end of the purchase.

Here are a couple of links:

https://www.jet14.com/jib-cunningham

https://coliesail.com/420-jib-cunningham.html

That's a pretty sophisticated setup - somebody put a lot of thought into it.

As for the mast step, mine is attached with screws and I haven't had any problems. In the second photo in this thread, which is taken through one of the ports in the cockpit sole, you can see the screws extending downward into the bilge, above and to the left of the arrow. Ideally, the step would be directly on top of the compression post, but apparently a lot of compression posts were installed in a somewhat carefree fashion.

[thistle3930]

Thanks, and a correction. There are five inspection ports. There is a flotation tank that takes up about 2 ft of the bow. It is full of stryofoam and has a large port. My mast support under the cabin sole looked like fiberglass where the one in the photo above looks like metal. I'll try to get a photo of mine this evening. I'd like to get the mast step in this weekend.

Thanks, all.

[Alan]

The bow port would have been installed by a previous owner. I did the same thing. It's probably a good idea to pull out the styrofoam and have a look at the bow hook attachment hardware - If there's a supporting wooden block, it may have deteriorated, and any washers and nuts on the inside may have corroded.