What to look for when shopping for a daysailer

[domromer]

Hi all,


This is my first post. I've been reading a lot and decided to finally ask a question. I've been sailing for a few years. Mostly hobie cats. I've decided that I'd like something that I can put an engine on and use for exploring and beach camping. My sailing club has a daysailer which I've sailed a few times and has grown on me. I'm still deciding between this and a cat22 but for now I thinking I'm leaning towards the daysailer. The simplicity of the daysailer appeals so me. I want to spend my time sailing and not with upkeep and it seems the cat22 is going to require more upkeep. Basically I'm wondering what I should be looking at and asking when I go see this boat that I found on a craigslist that isn't too far from me.

http://orlando.craigslist.org/boa/4557262838.html

[Alan]

The boat and trailer look good, judging from the photos. The price is at the high end for a 1976 DSII, but if it's ready to go (including the trailer) and doesn't need any money spent on it, then it's a decent buy.

I'd look first at the sails. Since you're an experienced sailor, you'll be able to tell if they're tired - something not at all apparent to a novice.

If the hull is sound, and the trailer (tires, springs, wheel bearings) is good, everything else can be fixed at reasonable cost.

Ask about water collecting in the bilge while out on the water (but not while moored). It's a common problem with DSIIs, and there are some elegant solutions here.

[TIM WEBB]

Wow - at first blush, she looks like a beauty! Only a year older than TRW, but possibly not as "rode hard and put away wet" ... ;-P

Nice trailer too, except for the vertical bunks. No matter - go check 'er out!

You are correct: the C22 is a very nice boat, but you will not sail it as much as you would the DS, guaranteed. Two different animals. While the '22 is a fine cruiser, the DS is a much better "gunkholer", meaning less draft, easier to get in and out of shallow anchorages, etc., and a much better "camp cruiser".

Since you are in the Orlando area, whichever boat you eventually decide on, if you want to do some adventure sailing/camp cruising, check out the WCTSS:

http://ftp.ij.net/wctss/wctss/

It's a great group of folks who get together a few times a year to explore the many places that FL has to offer for small sailboat owners who want to get out there and see the REAL Florida!

(Gawd, did I just sound like some cheesy tourist promoter? I hope not!)

[domromer]

Thanks for the feedback I appreciate it. I terms of price range what would you guys offer? I know little to nothing about the value of these older boats. I found another daysailer on the east coast of Florida for next to nothing. I'm guessing it's a serious project. I'm looking for something that is turnkey. Also whats another good place to look online for these boats? I looked at boat trader but for some reason it pulls up no daysailers within a few hundred miles of my home in Indian Rocks Beach Florida.

[kokko]

I own and regularly sail both a Catalina 22 and a DS1. THey are different boats and are different sailing experiences, and I love them both.


I still think that small boats make the sailor, and my DS1 is a move intimate sailing experience. I feel connected to the wind and the boat.
On the other hand, my C22 Surprise is much less effort to sail and mor ecomfotable for those "social sails" when taking out friends.

If you trailer, the DS is much easier to rig and get on the water.

[jeadstx]

Looks like a good boat and trailer from the pictures. Doesn't appear to have any modifications done to it.

Things to look at, sails as mentioned, stays (shrouds), condition of centerboard lines on a DSII, hardware, etc. The DSII is a good boat for camp cruising as Tim said.

Another site for looking at boat ads is Sailing Texas http://www.sailingtexas.com/cboats99oday17.html Their ads cover the country. The link will take you to the Day Sailers. It lists both "For Sale" and "Already Sold" boats. There is a section for currently available as well.

One thing nice about the Day Sailer is that the boats are still in production, so parts are readily available from places like D&R Marine and Cape Cod Shipbuilding (current manufacturer).

John

[jeadstx]

On Sailing Texas site, if you put "Day Sailer 17" in search, it will provide a list of all the Day Sailers built by the various manufacturers (O'Day, Spindrift, Cape Cod, etc.) over the years.

John

[tommy4132]

I also sailed Hobie Cats for about 20 years. I just recently got a daysailer (DS1) and love it. I use to crew for my father when he raced on a daysailer when I was a kid but never actually sailed one. I found the boat a lot of fun to sail and very comfortable compared to the hobie, Now I race against my father instead of with him. He pretty much destroys me, but I have a lot of fun trying to catch him .

[domromer]

Found another day sailer. This one is a daysailer one. I asked the seller if it's a project boat and he mentioned a leak.

Here is the exchange. Do you guys think this would be worth looking at based on the description of the leak?

http://daytona.craigslist.org/boa/4583424317.html


"NO it’s NOT a project boat! It’s in excellent condition, yes the sails are in poor condition, and there is a leak around the centerboard arm, I think it’s missing a gasket, or something, it leaks about 3-4 gallons every 45 min’s or so. I put a bilge pump in for that reason. I really don’t know how to fix it, and I haven’t looked for a gasket on the net, if that's what it needs, it may just need tightening ??? I’m not a mechanical person, I just installed the bilge pump"

[jeadstx]

Doesn't look too bad to me. The lever for the centerboard works better than the lines on the DS2. If it is a gasket, D&R Marine sells all the parts for the lever. The DS1 guys can tell you more about the boat. I do know that the DS1 is faster than the DS2.

I would check around the base of the centerboard trunk for any cracks that may need repair. Check D&R for prices for parts. Also, Intensity Sails sells sails for the Day Sailer reasonably priced since the guy said the sails are in poor condition.

John

[kokko]

Are you certain it is a ds1? The one pic seems to shows a cockpit sole liner like the ds2. The ds1 has floor boards. Then again, the ds1 has a lever arm for the cb and the ds2 has lines for the cb.
One thing about the ds1 is that the low point in the hull is at the mast. Water will collect there. If you leave it on the water you must keep it covered. With the double hull of the ds2, water will drain

[domromer]

It's listed as a Oday/Spindrift. I don't know if the fact it's a spindrift would account for some of the differences.

[GreenLake]

Are you certain it is a ds1?

I don't know, but this makes a good case:




I haven't been in the market for a while, but I'd expect to pay around $1500 and up for something that's truly ready to sail (= needs no immediate maintenance/restoration). I would expect this to go up substantially if the optics are top notch, or the sails are very recent or a motor is included, or all three.

In terms of boat size. I've managed to sail with friends in an 8' boat . Compared to that the DS is quite comfortable even for "social sails." I've carried the maximum number of people in the DS, the cockpit will seat them comfortably (and the ballast they provide makes it sail more like a keel boat ).

The only exception I know to the "small boats are used more than big boats" is when the big boat is kept in the water and the small boat is kept on a trailer. In that case, getting the big boat under way is faster/easier.

[TIM WEBB]

The only exception I know to the "small boats are used more than big boats" is when the big boat is kept in the water and the small boat is kept on a trailer. In that case, getting the big boat under way is faster/easier.

Dunno 'bout that GL: the C&C 115 I crewed on a few years ago was kept in the water, and it took about an hour to get that thing underway, not counting the half hour or so it took to get her out of the Port Canaveral channel and out into the ocean. But lordy lordy, once she was out there stretching her legs, look out! ;-P

[GreenLake]

Tim,

my comparison is based on a friend's boat. Getting that out to the start of his weekly regatta takes literally a fraction of the time it takes me to get the DS in the water. Part of the difference is that much of the "rigging" (that is getting the sails ready and raised) is done while we are motoring out of the marina. Takes about 10 minutes at idle to get out of the marina.

With the DS, I seem to not really get faster in rigging, despite many time-saving practices, the latest of which is to leave the main on the boom...