Hello,
I recently purchased an 83 DaySailer II. An experienced sailor/racer friend is teaching me to sail. We went sailing last Saturday (5/11/2013) from a private boat landing on the Pamunkey River, just a bit upstream from West Point, VA. Not the best day for my first sail due to shifting winds and 20 knot gusts, but the trip was successful and exhilerating. We managed to have fun, and return safely.
We discovered that the center board downhaul line is frayed, and my friend suggested I replace it before the next sail. What are the specs for that line?
Also, with the uphaul line taught, the center board does not retract fully up into the hull. Is that normal? It does retract up enough to get the boat off and on the trailer.
The boom vang rigging is not typical according to my friend. It looks like the one D & R Marine has, but the mast has a fixed bail rather than an eye fitting. There is a block riveted to the fiddle block (with V jam cleat) in the boom vang where it should connect to the mast. We used a short rope between the block and the bail, but it was rather kludgy. The other end of the boom vang attaches to the boom with a cable through a keyed slot on a bracket on the bottom of the boom. My friend said I might need to replace the fiddle block with a better one with a clam cleat.
He commented that the mainsheet did not have much leverage, since it is attached to the center of the boom. He said he is used to hiking out with hiking straps, which enables him to use his body weight the tighten the main sheet. He said setting down in the boat, he needs to use more of his arm strength to operate the main sheet. I think the main sheet block (3:1) with cam cleat is stock. Maybe a 4:1 block would be an improvement at some point in the future.
The rudder kept pivoting up while we wire sailing. When we de-rigged the boat, we rerouted the rudder downhaul line to get more leverage to hold the rudder down. We'll see if that works next time we sail.
My wife and I want to go sailing soon on a clam day. I'm thinking of only using the mainsail, so we can master handling the main and the helm. Once that is done, we'll add the jib.
Thanks,
Keith