Passenger Load

[Interim]

I have a 1979 DSII, on which I think the displacement is 575.

I would like some advice about the number of passengers that is reasonable. The previous owner said you can put four on it, but I am wondering if this is a good idea.

If so, do you put three on the high side, and one on the low side? Seems a little tricky to get two bodies across with two already sitting on each side.

And can passenger weight exceed the displacement?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts,

--john

[GreenLake]

I have a 1979 DSII, on which I think the displacement is 575.

I would like some advice about the number of passengers that is reasonable. The previous owner said you can put four on it, but I am wondering if this is a good idea.

If so, do you put three on the high side, and one on the low side? Seems a little tricky to get two bodies across with two already sitting on each side.

And can passenger weight exceed the displacement?

From experience, I can tell you that sailing with 6 teens/adults is eminently possible in moderate conditions and flat water. We did put the heavier people on the high side, and forward, but while we had good wind, it wasn't anywhere near the limit. The DS behaved well.

For theory, you would need to know "maximal" displacement, which I believe is the value you get right before she swamps. The normal displacement figure would be minimal. The difference is what is theoretically available to float the passengers and gear.

However, you don't want to load your boat until the water reaches the gunwhales. So you need to take a fraction of that value. The art is then in figuring out which fraction. At that point, you might just go back and look at experience.

One other theoretical number is how much water is displaced for every inch the boat sits lower in the water.

16'9" times 6' times .75 (to account for the pointy bow) times 1" * density of water = 375 lbs.
So, for 6 people you might loose 3" of freeboard, which seems acceptable under the conditions I mentioned. (When we did it, it was not enough to be noticeable from within the boat.)

[Interim]

Ok. That makes me feel better.

How did you 6? Does the skipper stay on one side so he/she is not climbing over people during maneuvers?

--John

[GreenLake]

In moderate conditions maneuvers can be carried out slowly and deliberately. We used a DS1, so we had an open cuddy and the smallest one in the group would duck in there during maneuvers. We had plenty of room to switch and get sorted. I don't remember every single detail, but it was a very enjoyable and fun cruise. We had good wind so it was easy to get the boat going but there was no fighting the elements...so things were relaxed all around.

With four, you can do 2+2 or 3+1 depending on conditions. Depending on how they pair up for balance, you may have two people that don't have to move sides.

[SUNBIRD]

O'DAY "rated" the DS to hold up to 6 persons (165# each). I have had upto 3 adults aboard (including myself) and my 2 "passengers" sat one on each side of the cockpit forward against the cuddy bulkhead, I sat aft and switched sides on each tack so I was always on hte windward (high) side. That was in somewhat moderate winds, with higher winds, I might have preferred all of us on hte windward side. Last summer I had 2 adults and 3 children aboard, (my nephews, 6 and 10 Years old, and my 76 year old Dad) again, they mostly stayed in one place and I again switched sides on each tack. I don't think I've ever had more than 2 people aboard while sailing with both main and jib (used just main for the above mentioned trips) but that might affect crew sitting positions.

anyway, O'DAY said "6 persons", but I think 4 adults is more comfortable, again weather and sea conditions will affect these choices!