Restoration time for DS II

[RussH]

I was recently on the verge of buying a nice Catalina 25 when suddenly I realized that no one else in the family shared my zeal for sailing. I had forgotten that deep in the far reaches of the back yard lay my old DS II.
It hasn't seen the water in about 7 years and as I uncovered it and pumped up the trailer tires I remembered that on the last trip the center board cables had broken and I had removed the CB prior to relegating it to the back forty.
After a good pressure washing it seems the boat is in good shape. The sails are trashed as is the running rigging. But overall this boat is can be made ready for a lot less than I was about to drop for a larger rig.
I was glad to find this site as I was a frequent user of the former site.
Here's the plan.
a. Have the boat"s hull and bottom repainted by a professional painter.
b. Paint the topside, mast, and boom myself.
c. Repair/ modify the CB cable system.
d. Fashion a tiller handle that is stronger than those commercially available.
e. Purchase a full compliment of new sails.
f. As I normally sail singlehanded I may install a furler and I may pass on the spinnaker, depending on the input I recieve.
There are a couple of very good local boatyards which can do the painting. I know that for larger boats they will normally charge $175-$225 per foot. Does anyone know the going rate for painting a boat like the DS II?
My DS II is hull # XDY D6301 1172
Would the sail number coincide with the hull # of D6301?
And finally. In keeping with long standing tradition that every DS II thread must include at least one CB question, here's mine. I've looked at several of the threads and drawings of CB's and mine doesn't match any of them. Both of the cables on my CB are attached to the top aft corner of the board. They were of different dia. of SS cable. This doesn't seem like a very good setup. It would seem that a better way would be to attach them to opposite corners of the top of the CB. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[RussH]

Well so far so good, well maybe. I got quotes for the paint job and decided to do it myself. Sanded the bottom and applied two coats of Interlux bottom paint. Sanded the hull and repaired gelcoat cuts, scratches, etc.
Decided to use Rustoleum paint for hull. Results are questionable. After priming I sanded and applied 4 coats of Navy Blue. I sanded between each coat but due to the extreme heat of the last several days the finish has orange peel. I plan to wet sand with 3000 and either apply another coat or try buffing out the orange peel.
I got my order of repair parts from Rudy so I can repair my mast and centerboard. Ordered a complete set of new sails from Karl at SLO Sails. Karl fixed me up with an asymmetrical spinnaker and my wife chose the color scheme and it should look good when flying.
Remaining tasks include flipping the boat upright, repairing the gelcoat on all topside surfaces and repainting the topsides, seats, and floor.
Still need to order a sock from ATN and add new hardware to mast.
Am undecided about painting mast but leaning towards doing it despite the anodized obstacle. Oh I have to fabricate a CB bushing but I have a plan for that but would appreciate input from others on this topic.

[adam aunins]

I plan on painting my boat with Rust-o-leum so I'm interested in your results with it.

My first question is did you use the the marine grade or regular rustoleum?
How did you apply it? roll & tip, just brush or did you spray?
How thick were the coats of paint you put down?
Did you thin down the paint any? If so what did you thin it with?
How long did you wait between coats of paint?
What did you use for primer under it?
What was the temp and humidity like when you painted?
Did you let it dry in direct sunlight or in the shade?
Were you able to sand and buff the orange peel out?

I know it's a lot of questions but the more I can learn from others the better off I'll be.

[RussH]

I had put 5 coats of Rustoleum Marine Topside on my hull but the orange peel effect was kicking my butt. Today I called their Customer Support and learned the following.
a. Do not sand between coats. (my 1st mistake)
b. Do not thin (my second mistake)
c. Do not clean hull with acetone or any solvent between coats (my 3rd mistake) Clean hull with dry tack cloth only.
d. Use 1/4 or 3/8 nap rollers ( I used foam)
e. Tip brush immediately if not sooner.
f. Wait at least 24 hours between coats. (my biggest mistake)
So this paint is not like any marine paint I've ever used.

On their advice I've sanded the entire hull nearly back to the primer. They told me to wait 48 hours before painting.
Hope this works because I've bought the last can of Navy Blue that our Lowes had in stock.
Although this paint seems popular on this site if I had it to do over I would have used Interlux or AwlGrip.

I would put this paint on a little heavy and have a helper right behind me tip brushing it immediately. Try to do the painting in the coolest part of the day ( it's been really hot here). Do not paint in direct sunlight. I've put our tailgating canopy over my boat for shade.
Let their be no doubt...I'm spraying the cabin top and interior seats and floor.

[Roger]

it had the cb cables both coming up through the top of the trunk. One was near the back of the trunk, exiting through a metal sleeve... sound familiar?

[adam aunins]

Are you going to use rustoleum for the top side or an other brand that you listed?

Let us know how the spraying goes, I might try that on part of an other boat I'm going to do a test run on to see which way I want to apply this paint.

P.S. From what I've read everyone says to let the rustoleum fully cure for about a week or so before use. From the little test I've done I would say it takes a long time for this paint to harden up.

[RussH]

Scratch the HVLP spraying. My hull now has more sags than Phyllis Diller's butt. I will be rolling the LAST coat.

[talbot]

This isn't as big a deal as the hull painting part of your restoration, but for what it's worth:

My approach to the tiller has been to install long thin stainless screws just forward of the fork. They go through the wide dimension of the tiller. I figure that what would break is one of the forks, and the screws are supposed to inhibit the wood splitting. The screws are epoxied in and countersunk, and the heads then buried in epoxy so the surface is flush.

I had a tiller that came with an earlier boat where the same kind of thing had been done with what looked like a long rivet. That tiller also had similar rivets through the tips of the forks, apparently so that the rudder bolt wouldn't split out.

All DS II wood tillers I've had (3) didn't fit tightly on the rudder. I don't know if this is a strength issue, but the wobble bugs me. So I shim my tillers with thin strips of oak. I epoxy the strips to the inside of the forks, coat them with epoxy, then sand the whole mess down until it fits smoothly on the rudder head.

Probably a silly thing to do, but if there is a constant sensation while sailing, it is the feel of the tiller in your hand, so it seemed worthwhile.

[RussH]

Thanks talbot. You've provided some good scoop.
I'll give it a try.

[algonquin]

From what I've read everyone says to let the rustoleum fully cure for about a week or so before use. From the little test I've done I would say it takes a long time for this paint to harden up.

On boats that I have painted with “standard” Rustoleum it does take a week or so as you mentioned. I have been able to reduce the curing time and hurry the hardness between coats by waiting about 12-18 hours and then gently spraying the new paint with cold water from the garden hose and then buffing it dry with a soft absorbent cloth. This seems to enhance and reduce the hardening time. In addition this same process also works to really harden and bring out the shine in a new wax job. Brad.

[RussH]

Once upon a time someone had posted a great drawing of how to install the two control cables (with tangs)(from D&R) on a DSII centerboard. I can't find it. Can anyone provide the link?

[talbot]

No, but I just did that installation on my boat, so I might be able to help.

I should note that I did this on an older boat, so my uphaul exits high on the leading edge of the trunk inside the cuddy, while the downhaul exits through the top of the trunk aft of the jib cleats into the cockpit.

On those models, the tangs face each other on the top aft corner of the board (when the board is down). One tang is mounted flush to the starboard edge of the board, the other flush to the port edge. That way the cables just miss each other. I kept the two tangs far enough apart that the cabel swaging didn't touch, and allowed a few extra millimters for stretch in the cable over time. I was starting with a new board, and had to sand it more or less square at the points where the tangs mounted. I also finished the raw gel coat with epoxy bottom paint. I sealed the screws with epoxy.

On newer boards, the uphaul is in the same location, but the downhaul is a rope that is epoxied into the board and exits through a hole on the top of the board (when the board is down) near the forward corner. That's so it can pull straight up into the cuddy (rather than back into the cockpit as in the older boats). To get the same angle of pull, the tang would need to be mounted on the leading edge of the board when the board is down, which means that the tang would be exposed on the bottom of the boat when the board is raised (and the cable at some risk for slipping off the edge of the board and fouling -- a famous DS idiosyncrasy.)

If I were installing a board on a newer DSII and wanted to keep the in-cuddy downhaul control, I would only use the uphaul tang. I believe there are directions on this site and in Roger's book about how to install the new-style downhaul rope pennant.

[adam aunins]

I think the article you're looking for is in Bob Harkins quarterly articles. There's a link on this site somewhere but I'm doing this on my phone and can't navigate to it very easy.

[Roger]

send me an email at roger02 att mts dott net and mention your request, and I will send you a copy of the schematic scan. It also may be online somewhere, but its easier to find and send from my computer since I know where that image is.

[RussH]

Thanks Roger for the drawing.

And now for the good news. I've sanded the hull again and just finished SPRAYING (ie conventional air spray) a thin coat on and it already looks 10 times better. Forget the roller, forget the brush, get a spray gun and a compressor. I see a few places I'm going to have to sand before the next coat but the boat is gonna look a lot better.
btw I apply the same theory to my sailing as I do my cycling:
"If you can't be fast, then at least look good".
I'm out.