DaySailer.org Forum

The boat I'm looking at is a 1965 DS1 in reasonable condition but
some concerns- the biggest problem I can find is that the inside of
the transom near bottom is rotten. The area around the bolts for the
lower pintle is very spongey and the surface paint or fiberglass (so thin
its hard to tell what it is) has flaked off. I can't tell how
extensive the rot is - does anyone have any experience is repairing
rotten transoms? Any idea on the time, skill, or cost for DIY or
professional repair?
The few square inches around the worn spot is very soft, but I'm
wondering if the rot extends far along the width or height of the
whole transom. I've found some pistures online of people scraping
out the entire transom and replacing it with new plywood and epoxy
layers and a new fiberglass interior layer - it doesn't look very
quick or easy. I have woodworking/carpentry experience, but no boat
repair experience.
Are there any other potential problem areas I should look out for?
The exterior has pretty extensive crazing, but no other major
cracks, but there is a moderate sized gash in the foredeck near the
hole for stepping the mast where it was dropped once. Seems more
cosmetic than structural, but not a nice thing for a boat to endure.
Should I wait for a better boat? The seller is asking $1900 but has
offered to repair the transom himself, though I'm not so sure of his
repair experience.
Thanks for any advice or experience you'd like to share,
deposada at yahoo dot youknowwhat

You don't say where you are so it's hard to say if that's a good price for your area. Around here, that would be a boat in excellent condition, not one in need of serious repairs. Look on Ebay right now there're a couple posted. I paid a little less then half that amount for mine (a '68) in great condition. Maybe I was just lucky.

IMHO (in my humble opinion) it's not a great deal.

Good luck!

$1900 sounds high for the condition you describe but again it depends on the area you are in. You may find a better boat but have to drive 6 hours to see it. As far as the transom repair it was fairly simple to replace the wood (or now use some of the vinyl that is used on outdoor trim) and keep in in place with West System epoxy. If it isn't to bad you could just add a wider backing plate on the interior where the gudgeon goes through the hull to spread the load better. I have used aluminum plate and this is inexpensive and works well.

For comparison purposes, I just bought a DSI for $1800 in better shape than what you describe. Came with a trailer and outboard as well. Needs some work, mostly cosmetic like refinishing the coamings, but it's sound. I can see some beginning issues with the lower gudgeon screws on the inside of the transom, but it doesn't appear anywhere near rotten yet.

I live 355 miles away from where the boat was, and didn't want to go inspect a boat unless I was fairly well assured it was what I wanted for the asking price. I found a sailing club with Daysailers in the area of the boat and made a few phone calls. These sailing types are pretty friendly as a rule, and after offering some locally brewed beer and other enticements humorously offered, I found someone who generously agreed to go pre-inspect the boat.

You could probably do that if you spot a boat that's not convenient to go see but you'd drive to get if it were the right one.

Carlos

I paid 1600 for my '62 DS1. It had rot in the stringers and in the coamings. I'm also a woodworker/carpenter who happens to have lots of experience with epoxy. So maybe it wasn't such a good deal but I wouldn't trade the experience of overhauling this boat for anything (well maybe for more sail time).
I think 1900 is too much for this boat, but if your handy and motivated, you might be able to use this to your advantage in the negotiations. Otherwise look else where...

I should add a little more to the above reply... I had spotted this DS1 at Port Townsend, WA. I had sailed there with some friends for the Wooden Boat Show. They actually looked over the boat with me and pronounced the hull sound and the trailer kinda' sound. They also missed the rotted stringers and coamings. These friends have also been a wealth of help and info in the overhaul.
The bottom line is definitely "Caveat Emptor". Good luck!

Thanks all for your helpful replies. Its been very encouraging to find such a supportive community of DS owners. To clarify, the boat is in Portland Oregon, where there is a small DS fleet, so there may be other boats available in the (near?) future.

The boat has some strong points - 2 sets of sails, a cruising/reduced spinnaker, 2 covers, tuned up but old 2 hp old johnson motor, okay trailer, wooden floor boards, new tiller extension, reasonablely new lines & sheets, mostly new harken hardware, beefed up rudder/tiller connection. I can't tell if it's rigged for racing b/c the seller doesn't race (mostly single-handed) and I'm not familiar with DS race rigging, but it does have boomvang, outhaul, jib blocks on tracks, spinnaker pole & sheets, whisker pole, and some other cam cleats and lines which run aft to the cockpit... The seller also replaced much of the woodwork which is faded but in pretty good shape.

I'm getting an estimate from a local boatyard on the transom repair to help with price negotiations and have gotten some very generous offers from experienced local DS sailors to help look at it or show me other similar boats nearby.

One last question - do other DS1's of this era have fairly extensive crazing over the hull and side decks? If you were going to race (casually) would you refinish the hull?
Thanks again,
David