Bought my first sailboat!!!

[IndianaSail]

Hello everyone! My wife and I just bought our first sailboat. It is a 1974 O'Day Daysailer II. We got what I think is a great deal on it. It seems to be in great working order. We haven't had it out yet, water temps are pretty low and we are fixing a few trailer issues at the moment. I hope to learn more about the boat as we begin to use it. I'm very glad that I found a site with loads of information and knowledge to be shared.

I learned to sail when I was about 8 or 9. My dad had a little Chrysler Lightning (?) that we kept at my grandparents lake. It was a ton of fun I remember taking it out on my own and just tooling around the lake. We are pretty excited about this new adventure we have begun. Happy sailing!!!

Our boat (still needs a name), and my wife (she's pretty excited)...

All the gear that came with it...

[jeadstx]

Congrates. Welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of info here. If you find yourself in any need of any parts, D&R Marine has them. http://www.drmarine.com/categories.asp?cat=60

John

[Alan]

Woohoo! Congratulations and welcome. Your boat looks a lot like mine.

Looks like you've got a good collection of stuff there. One recommendation: Check the diameter of the shrouds and forestay. If they're 3/32 inch, they should be replaced with 1/8-inch shrouds and forestay, which you can get from D&R Marine.

[klb67]

Congratulations. That looks like a similar package to the 1976 DS II I picked up 2 falls ago at an estate sale, to upgrade from my sunfish (I still have that too). I will tell you that your wife's excitement about it is definitely the best thing you have going. I'd put my wife's level of interest at general support and tolerance, with a dash of annoyance. Enjoy the resources on this site.

[GreenLake]

Welcome. Enjoy your boat. Take some time to read the old posts, there's much useful stuff. The DS1 and the DSII differ most decidedly when it comes to the CB and interior. So much of the material posted under "DS1 only" isn't really exclusive to the DS1 and probably worth reading. Recently, we've tried to move the "generic" topics to the sections on Repair, Rigging etc., but there's still a lot of stuff that's not fully classified - so have a great time spelunking in the old threads.

[IndianaSail]

Thanks everyone for the welcoming! I have been doing some reading around the forum and found some good stuff. It been quite a while since I have sailed, and I'll admit I'm a little nervous, but also excited to get out on the water. I'm pretty sure the boat is sea worthy, but first I've had to make the trailer road worthy. I had a couple of issues towing it the first weekend. Got a flat on the way home from purchasing it, and decided the 8 inch rims were a bit undersized, so upgraded to 12's.

Then the next day we were going to go see if it floats and bent the coupling coming out of our alley onto the street.

New bling....

One quick question. I'm still learning the terminology for things so please forgive my ignorance. I've had to look up a lot of words reading though the forum, but I'm learning. So I will probably use a lot more pictures if I don't know what something is, or if I don't know how something is supposed to work. That said, does anyone know what this is, and what is it used for? It is on the starboard side of the bow (look I used two boating words).

[owldraco]

That last one I believe is a bow chock. It's like a cleat for the anchor line. My boat just has two regular cleats to the sides of the forestay attachment. Give your boat a wash, I know mine needs it, pump up the tires and get on the water.
The people here are great, friendly, and knowledgeable. I have the website set as my homepage. Look thru the old photos, that's where I got some of my ideas.
Welcome and enjoy.
Owldraco
Central Ky

[GreenLake]

I've heard this one called by various names. It's not actually a cleat but rather a fairlead, or bow fairlead (with lips) where you lead a mooring, dock or anchor line through that you then cleat on the standard horn cleat in the middle of your foredeck. It has the overlapping "lips" so you can insert a line without threading it through, but it won't come out under load. The purpose is to lead a line that you cleat on the foredeck to as close to the forward end as is possible without getting in the way of the forestay.

As for terminology, that is a wide field. The common reference works are usually focused on the classical period of tall-ship sailing, and some of terms there are not the ones one would use for small boats (or there is more than one usage for modern boats). Take "shrouds": on the old ships these were multiple on each side and had the ratlines tied to them so the whole setup looked like a bit of funerary lace, hence "shrouds". Many people still use that term for small boats, others use "side stays".

We'll be happy to point out the common (or the "correct" name) for anything, so just go ahead and ask.

PS: when you link images from photobucket, please don't delete them from there, because then this thread will become unreadable...

[jeadstx]

I always refered to it as a chock, but GL is right that it is a type of fairlead.

John

[IndianaSail]

I've heard this one called by various names. It's not actually a cleat but rather a fairlead, or bow fairlead (with lips) where you lead a mooring, dock or anchor line through that you then cleat on the standard horn cleat in the middle of your foredeck. It has the overlapping "lips" so you can insert a line without threading it through, but it won't come out under load. The purpose is to lead a line that you cleat on the foredeck to as close to the forward end as is possible without getting in the way of the forestay.

We'll be happy to point out the common (or the "correct" name) for anything, so just go ahead and ask.

PS: when you link images from photobucket, please don't delete them from there, because then this thread will become unreadable...

That makes sense, there is a cleat in the middle of the foredeck! Now I know! Thanks for your help.

[Moose]

Congrats on the new boat!

I have that same motor! runs great except for at idle, but it does not mount to the transom and reach the water. How is yours mounted?

best,
Moose

[Alan]

Moose,

If memory serves,you have a DSIII, and DSIIIs have the jib cars on top of the coamings. If that's the case with your boat, would you be so kind as to go over to the jib car tracks thread in Repairs and Improvement

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4411

and give us your thoughts on how well that location works?

Thanks,

Alan

[Moose]

Alan,

I will head over and comment, just happens that one of my jib cars broke last season and I am looking for replacements.

Moose

[Skippa]

Welcome to the site and the wonderful world of the Daysailer. I have had smaller sail boats and bigger sailboats and my DSII impresses me more every time I take her out.
My $.02 is as follows. Your wife looks as excited as you sound about the boat. If you want to keep it that way...... Take it easy as you both get to know the sailing characteristics and build your skills back up. Try and avoid the adventure sails for a bit. Don't ask me how I know this.... As you both gain skill and confidence this will be a great boat for you guys. Have fun!

[IndianaSail]

Congrats on the new boat!

I have that same motor! runs great except for at idle, but it does not mount to the transom and reach the water. How is yours mounted?

best,
Moose

Here is how my motor will connect. There is an adjustable transom.