New to day sailor

[ejr]

I have two holes that run from the cuddy to the cockpit, what should I use to plug them or use nothing at all? I have the Starboard side cuddy door, the port side is missing, were can I get a drawing of how the old door looked, so that I could make my own, or can I just flip the other door over and trace it and cut it out? Were can I find my hull number, I would like to add the numbers to my sail.


Thanks, Eric

[fatjackdurham]

Hi and Welcome.

Leave the plugs open. They are for draining water out of the cuddy that may splash through the CB trunk openings.

[GreenLake]

Welcome to the forum!

I moved that to the DaySailerII Only section of the forum, because the items discussed, holes from cuddy, doors, are a bit specific to the DSII hull / deck design.

For the door, look in the older posts for the DSII, there were some nice projects discussed that people did for those doors.

One guy split the door horizontally - the top 1/3rd could fold out for accessing some stuff during a trip, while the bottom 2/3rds stayed securely in place (until he took them off at night for camping). With that design, he could mount some nets for items like VHF, binoculars, etc. on the bottom 2/3rds as well as mount a compass.

Hull number: I'll let the DSII owners speak up - the DSII was built after the modern regulations for HINs were adopted, so hull number location should be standardized.

PS: btw, it's DaySailer (while the person sailing it is a day sailor )

[Lil Maggie]

He could be referring to the doors that cover these holes (port and starboard forward storage on a DS I)

My boat has the rings were the bungies that held the doors (hatches to be precise) in place; my boat came without such doors...er....hatches.
Hard to say without a picture...

Mike

[GreenLake]

Mike,
somehow I don't think so. But just in case, here's a picture that's not as dark:



The "holes" on the DSII are "run from cuddy and cockpit" and look like something you'd might want to plug, because they look like water could get into the cuddy that way; most people not used to a DSII fail to realize that DSIIs have that built-in water gun that liberally squirts the inside of the cuddy when the boat is moving (water spout out of the uphaul line fitting, due to dynamic overpressure inside the CB trunk).

I have seen people fit a flap over them to form a one-way valve; allows the cuddy to drain but prevents backflow from the cockpit. Not sure how much that buys you (that is, how likely it is for the cockpit to have standing water that didn't come from the cuddy.)

[Lil Maggie]

yeah, I was a little confused when he mentioned port and starboard "doors"....

Mike

[ejr]

Thanks for the advice, I was talking about the cuddy doors, the port door is missing, they were the originals, are they made of solid wood or teak plywood?

[GreenLake]

I'm not a DSII owner, so I can't answer that question. You can wait for a DSII person to show up in this discussion, or you can go look in the older posts. I know the doors have been discussed here extensively. In the "how to use" section of the forum you'll find suggestions on how to search.

While I do recommend that you read up on what other owners did, I'd like to throw in that there's only limited upside to trying to match the original design of these doors. If you make the effort of building something, you might aim for a design that promises the best functionality coupled with ease of assembly (and that's where the description of these other efforts will come in handy).

Whether you rebuild just one half or build a new set, my general advice would be to watch the tendency to "overbuild". Get marine plywood if you can (you can always stain it to try to match colors) and go for a thinner one than you think you might need. Then glue a strengthening "frame" or strips on the inside; if done right, you'll end up with something light, but stiff.

Those old posts will have additional suggestions.

[ejr]

ok, another question, what is is a boom bail for, attaching the boom vang, looks like I HAVE one on the bottom of my mast.

[GreenLake]

When it comes to sailboat rigging a "bail" seems to apply to a U-shape fitting that attaches to mast or boom. Usually to attach an vang in the case of a DS. The factory supplied fitting for the boom would have been a T slot to fit a ball on the end of a wire. This allows for quick disconnect. But for retrofitting a bail is fine. A simple eye strap would have the disadvatage that the connectors would be loaded more or less inline (direct pull) which is not where they are strongest.

Here's someone else's picture of a T-slot fitting.


You find the thread in the Rigging section.

[DigitalMechanic]

That boat looks familiar

I used a swage tool (think that is what it is called), to nicopress the wire back together keep the old ball for the fitting. They are laying out at West Marine (if you have one around) for the public to use.

[TIM WEBB]

This little fella works in that T-slot as well:

http://www.intensitysails.com/hoalcuvakeyf.html

[Shagbark]

When it comes to sailboat rigging a "bail" seems to apply to a U-shape fitting that attaches to mast or boom. Usually to attach an vang in the case of a DS. The factory supplied fitting for the boom would have been a T slot to fit a ball on the end of a wire. This allows for quick disconnect. But for retrofitting a bail is fine. A simple eye strap would have the disadvatage that the connectors would be loaded more or less inline (direct pull) which is not where they are strongest.

Here's someone else's picture of a T-slot fitting.


You find the thread in the Rigging section.

Greenlake,

I plan on using a simple eye strap on my mast for the vang, but placed on the FRONT of the mast. Then I'll use a line wrapped around the mast to hold the vang, with the eye strap holding the line in place. That way the load is off the eye strap and on the mast itself.

[GreenLake]

That eyestrap in front should work, if you just run a loop through it, the main force will be on the mast surface and the remainder (upward) is going to load the screw/rivet on shear, which is preferable. (On my boat, I can't do that, because my mast-raising gizmo doesn't leave room for a strap in front. Otherwise, I would probably have chosen that method myself.)