Mast Step Clevis Pin

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Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby Cheater » Wed Jun 25, 2014 2:39 pm

This is my first post to this board, but I have read a great many already. I purchased my DSII in May 2014, it's a 1979 and came with original sails. I owned one very small single sail boat as a teenager, but only sailed it a few times. I did however grow up sailing with my dad on a 27' Cal. All that being said, I was very excited to get underway with my DSII. I read a lot about the boat, read a lot on this board, and managed to do two things right. 1) I rigged up in the driveway to make sure I had everything. 2) I read all about the buoyancy chambers and how to self rescue.

After that, I pretty much did everything wrong.

1) I took my 2 yr old daughter and boyfriend with me who had never been sailing. 2) Though I managed to get launched and the sails up, the centerboard was fouled. 3) I did not have the ability to reef the sail and though didn't put up the jib, still was overcanvased for the conditions.

In the attempt to tack to abort the trip since I could tell about 10 minutes into the trip that it wasn't going to end well, I managed to capsize the boat. Though I did release the main sheet, as I was falling, I still had it in my hand. Fortunately my boyfriend had the baby (in her life vest) under control so I went around to climb on the centerboard.... which was still stuck in the trunk. I lost a few things that day... along with my pride, to the bottom of the bay. The police boats did pick us up and take us back to the marina which was still in view and I got a few friends together to help me retrieve my boat.

This entire time (approximately 10-15 minutes), the DSII did not turtle. When returning we weren't able to right the boat nor tow it on it's side. I was able to release the forestay and clevis pins on the mast which allowed the mast to trail behind the DSII which immediately turtled. We towed it back, flipped her over, and bailed her out.

I managed to maintain almost everything with a few exceptions. I tore the main and lost the jib. I replaced them with Intensity sails. And one mast step clevis pin. I've been looking everywhere and haven't been able to find that one part. I did check D&R Marine, and they only have the small ones for the stays/shrouds. Any recommendations?
Cheater
 
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby jeadstx » Wed Jun 25, 2014 3:23 pm

You can get the pins from Duckworks http://www.duckworksbbs.com/fasteners/rigpins/index.htm You need the 1/4" pin for the mast hinge.

As far as righting the boat in a capsize, the board should have been out. Are you sure you lowered the board before you headed out? It might be easy to overlooked if you have not sailed in a while and your trying to remember everything you need to do. Working the centerboard lines might be hard at times. In a capsize, put weight on the centerboard to pull the boat over. The two times I've capsized, one time I needed a second person to help me right the boat, the other I swam the boat on it's side to water where I could stand and was able to right it. After my first capsize, I made a hatch cover for the cuddy cabin to keep things in there in case I did that again, which I did and stuff stayed put.

Before towing the boat you should have someone help you right it rather than drop the mast.

It's good to get familiar with the boat before taking non-sailors out. You should be able to find a sailor in your area to sail with you and help you get familiar with the boat. Sailors are helpful. Your sailing experience from the past will come back to you. The Day Sailer is a good boat.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby Cheater » Wed Jun 25, 2014 3:46 pm

Thank you!!!!! That's exactly what I was looking for.

As far as the centerboard goes, every attempt at lowering it failed. I knew it wasn't down very early into the trip which was definitely one of the big reasons I was ready to turn around and go back. It was stuck in the trunk, and I'm sure I'll have to figure out how to unfoul it prior to my next trip out. That being said, I couldn't get the centerboard out from my position in the water (and my very wet fingers) so there was nothing to climb on to.

I did loose my cuddy doors in the capsize since they weren't locked in, but I think in the future I might rig something up to keep the cuddy contents from floating away if I happen to make the same mistake twice.

Any advice on unfouling the centerboard? I have it on a trailer now, is that something I can do on land or would I need to launch?
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby GreenLake » Wed Jun 25, 2014 4:23 pm

As this started about a sailing mishap, I was thinking about whether this should be moved to the Seamanship forum, but I can imagine that this is going to turn into a long discussion of DSII centerboard issues. :)

About the CB: you can launch your boat on the hard. Rather than repeat everything here, I would suggest that you to look around the forum for "careening" and "centerboard" related topics. You might find all you need and then some. For the latter, look in this DSII section, for the former check DS1 section, repair, and miscellaneous sections as well.

One thing, with the CB up, the DS should be less likely to capsize, because there isn't the CB to 'trip' over.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby jeadstx » Wed Jun 25, 2014 4:29 pm

There are several discussions on the forum concerning the centerboard control lines of the DSII. It is prone to jamming. Most common reason to jam is one of the control lines gets alongside in the trunk. The line (if it has not been altered) is one continuous line. If the line is cleated it will not move. The line coming out of the top of the forward end of the trunk is the downhaul line (centerboard goes down), the line coming out of the front of the trunk is the uphaul. The downhaul can get jammed. On the trailer, get a flashlight and look up alongside the board inside the trunk to see if there are obstructions. The board won't move much on the trailer.

You might not have been able to get the board out in your capsize if it was still cleated.

In 2011 on the Tx200, we got mud, sea grass, and shells jammed up along the centerboard and had to sail about 6 hours with the board up, fortunately we were running down wind. When we got to camp, with some help from those that know how to do such things, we carreened the boat. With the boat on it's side we were able to get the board out and clean out the inside of the trunk. Lots of heavy black mud in there. Once the board was moving freely, we let the boat back up. Sailed the rest of the week without a problem.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby TIM WEBB » Wed Jun 25, 2014 10:35 pm

Oh yeah, this thread could take off wildly in any manner of directions!

Cheater: sorry to hear that you had such a bad first experience on your boat. There are a whole bunch of us on here who can say "been there, done that, didn't even get the T-shirt". Don't get discouraged! All of the problems you experienced are easily remedied.

1. Do as John suggests, and try to find a "local" to sail with, on this boat, before taking "passengers". You have some sailing experience, but there's no substitute for "time in type", as we say in aviation. If you are going to take non-sailors sailing, you better be pretty good at single-handing *that boat*, and then some (they tend to get in the way). BTW, we took our daughter sailing at age 2-1/2, but waited until conditions were *perfect* ... ;-P

2. Know how every system on the boat works before heading out. I know you rigged up the boat on the hard first, but the CB controls on the DS2 are quite peculiar, and having a good working knowledge of them before you go out again will help you avoid future problems. Start by familiarizing yourself with this illustration:

1769

3. Your immediate problem is definitely the stuck CB. You will probably not be able to fix this with the boat on the trailer. Depending on the trailer, and what available space you have where you keep the boat, you may be able to "yard launch" the boat and fix it. Put up the rig, tie off the stern to something strong, and slowly pull the trailer out from under the boat. A large grassy area is good, and make sure you have room to pull her over. If you have a tilt trailer this is pretty easy. If not, it's tricky, especially recovering the boat back onto the trailer. Once the boat is on the ground, use a halyard to pull her over on her side. Now you will have easy access to both CB uphaul and downhaul controls, and you should be able to un-jam whatever is jammed. John mentioned the DH, but when it happened to me, it was the UH. Both control attachment points are accessible from below. Worst case scenario is you need to drop the board (remove the CB bolt, accessed through the ports in the cockpit sole). This can also be done with the boat on the trailer, depending on the trailer. If you're lucky, it's just muck/whatever packed up into the trunk - hose/scrape it out and you're done. With the boat careened, you can work the controls and see if it's moving smoothly. You could also launch the boat and careen her on a beach in order to effect repairs. If you have the original continuous line CB control, a good idea to prevent future jams, is to keep tension on both UH and DH ends when raising/lowering the CB.

4. If your new main sail did not come with reef points, do yourself a favor: have some put in, and put in a jiffy reef system (lots of different ways to do it - search the site for reefing). You didn't explain what exactly caused your capsize, but even if you hadn't, the likelihood of you having been able to make any headway back with no jib and CB up is slim to none. At least with a reef in, you'd have had a bit more "manageability" ...

Please don't take what I've written as "scolding" - it's not. You know you made mistakes - we all have. We're here to help you avoid more of them! ;-P

BTW, can you post the HIN # of your boat? It's stamped on the back of the transom, usually between the rudder gudgeons. Just curious, as The Red Witch is also a '79, #10099 - would be neat to see if our boats are "kissing cousins"! ;-P

Along that same vein, be sure to go here

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1388&start=120

and add your boat to "the list".
Tim Webb
1979 DS2 10099 The Red Witch
(I used to be Her "staff", in the way dogs have owners and cats have staff, but alas no longer ... <pout>)
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby GreenLake » Wed Jun 25, 2014 11:28 pm

If you don't have a tilt trailer you can try some variation of launch to platform.

If you can build a platform from stacked pieces under the transom, pull the trailer (partially) forward, build another one, you should be able to get the trailer out.

At this point, you have two choices. You can enlist two buddies to lift each end in turn to either a) raise or b) lower the platforms by a) adding or b) removing layers.

You will then end up either on the ground or high enough to swing down the CB from the raised boat. (That option requires really stable platforms that you can trust your life to, not just your boat ... :shock: )

That said, option c): The tricky part with not having a tilt trailer is retrieval. Launching to ground (on top of some padding like old carpet) will still be possible, but might benefit from the use of strong helpers to ease the boat down. To retrieve, the same helpers will need to lift the boat to the level of the trailer, with or without the help of building a bit of a platform under the transom to level out the boat a bit at or near the height of the trailer.

I've used the "platform" method to raise an overturned DS to working height. We needed two strong guys and a teenager to place blocks/tires for the platforms. (We used mainly lumber, but added stacked tires as backup, to catch the boat in case of platform failure. On their own, they were too soft to hold the boat for working on it, but for temporary lifting they might have sufficed on their own.)

Some people have used forklifts, trees or garage beams with block and tackle - there are plenty of options. If your ramp is nearby and has a beach, floating the boat and tipping it over on the beach is another option, for quick inspection/repairs. For example, to remove stuff wedged into the trunk.

Here's a picture of some people careening a DS
1804
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby ChrisB » Thu Jun 26, 2014 10:20 am

Cheater,

If your ramp has two parallel docks, the boat can be careened at the dock for a quick inspection of the cb. Tie bow and stern of the boat to one dock, attach a long dock/anchor line to the main halyard, then walk to the other dock and pull the halyard so the boat rolls onto its side in the water. From the first dock or standing in shallow water you can inspect the CB and clear any jams you find.

At least one reef point in your mainsail is a must. It will allow you to use your boat on windier days and make the ride much more comfortable (without sacrificing boat speed). I had a local sailmaker add a second reef point to my Intensity main and it cost me $100.
Chris B.
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby Cheater » Tue Jul 08, 2014 2:32 pm

Thank you for your help! I got the new pin, though I haven't checked to see if it fits, it does look like the holes are not as close to the ends of the clevis pin, so I'm wondering if it will be long enough. I was able to clear the CB from the trailer without having to careen it. I took it out (with my dad since I'm not feeling very confident at all) and had a wonderful sail. Hopefully a few more trips out and I'll be feeling like I might be ready to take it out on my own. Fortunately I do have one reef point in my main!
Cheater
 
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby jeadstx » Tue Jul 08, 2014 5:18 pm

Good to know you got the boat out sailing again and that you got the centerboard working. Get comfortable with the boat and get to know how it feels before taking non-sailors out again, that way they'll have a good time.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
jeadstx
 
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby Cheater » Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:07 pm

Just a note incase anyone is looking for a mast step clevis pin. The link provided did get me to a company who was able to supply me with the pin. I want to mention though that my original pin was 2 1/2 inches long, but due to the location of the holes in the clevis pins on the website, the 2 1/2inch pin didn't fit. I ended up going with a 3 inch pin. Still very happy with the purchase.
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Re: Mast Step Clevis Pin

Postby kokko » Thu Jul 17, 2014 9:39 pm

I am using a pin from an old door hinge that I drilled for a cotter pin
DS1 Truelove
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