side deck stiffness

[dannyb9]

my ol 68 ds1 needs some refinishing. i removed the cockpit coamings and am thinking i can still sail while refinishing (not too cold here in southern sc). i am an old dinghy racer and am considering hiking, straps, etc for some hiking and upper body workout. after i removed the coamings, i tried some hiking positions (the boat was on the beach) and saw a lot of flexing in the side deck. so i'm assuming the coamings are contributing some stiffness to the side decks...the boat is pretty comfortable hiking without the coamings, so, what, do i need coamings? and if i do, whats the minimum amount? are there alternatives? i was thinking some temporary bracing under the side decks. whaddya think?

[seandwyer]

A lot of racers cut the coamings down so they are flush with the rail / deck and they seem to feel the remaining width is enough to keep things sturdy. I know guys on here have said they have done this to keep their butts a little happier on days when they have to hike out.

So - what are your thoughts about where to fasten the hiking straps? I've been thinking about doing this too.

[GreenLake]

The coamings are definitely needed for stiffness, and can't be removed in a class legal boat. But they can be cut down.

Somebody reported that they lowered their coamings so as to not have to cut off as much.

Some of the photos show coamings that were "notched" at the hiking positions, but retained full height at the aft end.

Any combination of these tricks would reduce the loss of stiffness. When you make this change, it's probably worth investigating your carlins. Those are the 2x2 sheathed in a bit of glass cover underneath the side decks and into which the coamings are screwed.

Rot or dry-rot is common for these in older DSs.

As an alternative to cutting coamings, former user "calden" built himself some hiking cushions so he could retain the coamings. Search for his posts on this site.

Hiking strap placement is discussed in Phill Root's "Rigging Guide" document (see link under "Technical Info" on this site). His personal gallery (phill) has pictures with rather extensive comments that go a bit beyond what's in the guide.

Still, it's interesting to hear other thoughts on this issue.

[K.C. Walker]

Hey Danny,

When I had my coamings off for refinishing and refitting I didn't notice the side decks flexing badly. I didn't really "beach hike" so maybe I just didn't notice. However, I think they were fairly solid. You might want to check and make sure that the reinforcement under the deck is solid. The racing rules do require coamings though they can be cut down. And, I'm pretty sure the rules were in place for structural reasons.

Because I got kind of obsessed about boat stiffness instead of cutting my comings down I moved them down and then trimmed them close to flush with the deck. It's a vast improvement for hiking, as you well know. I don't have any worries about jumping down from a dock on to the side deck. I drilled out the old screw holes and used a plug cutter to make some mahogany plugs. After staining they really didn't look that bad.

Because we spent so much time on the side deck or hiked out I've been thinking about adding some Seadek pads to the side decks.

As to the abs workout; I had a 17-year-old nephew out on a great day last August. We'd been working our way up the lake and it was a day where we were having to really hike hard. The kid was really having a great time and we'd been out a couple of hours at that point and I gave him the choice of going up around one more island or heading back. He chose the one more island, that is, until we were on that tack for about 4 minutes and his abs just gave up. It was time to go home and what a ride it was!

I'm glad to hear you're still sailing and I keep fantasizing about hooking the boat up and coming down to visit you.

[K.C. Walker]

Sean,

+1 on using Phill Root's set up for hiking straps. One variation on his setup that I used is to use ball bungees across the top of the centerboard trunk and attached to the hiking straps to pull them up out of the way when they're not being used. It helps keep me from stepping on them and tripping.

[algonquin]

I believe the stiffness of the side decks on the DS1s may vary partly due to the variety of manufactures that made the DSI. Mine was made about 1961 and the side decks are supported by built/molded in wooden brackets covered in FG. Generally they adequately support my more than adequate weight with or without the coamings installed. I have been careful not to step down from the dock onto the side decks because the boat tends to really roll more than I would like so normally I step onto the seat. Brad