Pre-Season Projects

[itguy1010]

Ahoy, fellow DSII sailors.

Up here in SE Michigan we had 70 degrees yesterday and I'm getting ready to pull my boat out of deep storage. Among my projects to get her ready for sailing season I'm replacing my masthead (worn sheaves) and both halyards. I also plan on adding a topping lift and some deck and hull cleaning and waxing. I also have a small spot of wear on my main that I need to address perhaps with a circle of patch tape.

The wife and I like to heave to and enjoy a lunch and apparently part of the main got trapped in between the boom and the sidestay. I didn't rig my vang last summer and this must have contributed to the problem. When I heave to I wasn't cleating the mainsheet to keep the boom from resting against the stay and I now realize my gaff. I should probably replace the sails since they are the originals but I'm hoping to get one more season out of them. I have been thinking that I may add some shrink tubing to the sidestays just in the area of the boom in case this happens again. The only problem I see here is that it could allow water to get trapped inside the tubing and corrode the stay. I know they're SS but it does worry me some.

Regarding the deck cleaning...

I've got a few stubborn stains on the deck that need attention. Dawn dish soap diluted in warm water is my go-to method for general cleaning but its not getting the stains out of the deck. I've been thinking about some muriatic acid used carefully and just on the stained areas. Any suggestions? I'm not sure what the stains are but I suspect it was some bird droppings that contained berries because the stains are grape juice colored. Or, maybe something with a mild abrasive such as toothpaste? I really don't want to damage the gel coat.

I'm also not entirely sure how I'm going to wax the hull. I really don't want to pull the boat off the trailer but I don't see anyway around it if I want to do a thorough job with the wax. If anyone has any experience in this matter I'd love to hear about it.

So, share your spring boat projects with me and any thoughts or suggestions you might have on mine.

Thanks.

Eric

[talbot]

Yeah, the trailer is an issue. I say, wax what you can if it reduces oxidation and slime. If you don't keep the boat in the water, I would guess waxing is optional. I think we must have some of the earliest DS II's built. How is yours holding up?

Talbot
'73 DS II 6546 "Blue Moon"

[GreenLake]

The DS is not impossible to manhandle with 2-3 strong guys. Yes 500+ pounds, but you never lift the entire weight when you take it off the trailer, roll it on it's side, etc.

I've launched the DS on the 'hard' and retrieved it from there, single handed. I also stepped the mast first, so once the DS was on the ground, I was able to pull it over by pulling on a halyard (Leave enough room for the mast along the ground - a single concrete block is enough of a counterweight to hold the boat on its side).

Padding the ground with an old carpet avoided dings. I don't recall using anything special under the rubrail when the boat was on its side.

Incidentally, without the mast it takes 2-3 people but it's possible to tip the DS not just vertically but 180 degrees onto something that can support it upside down.

For waxing, you could simply support the transom on a (strong) sawhorse keeping the boat above the trailer bunks. Just have two people lift the stern enough to slide it under. Likewise, instead of resting the bow on the front roller, you could lift it up onto something like wooden blocks that gives a bit more clearance. You'd still have to wax the underside by going underneath, but could now reach the places normally covered by the bunks. (Instead of a saw horse, I once used two stacks of old wheels with tires on and a 2x6 across the top).

Yes, it takes a bit of planning, but it's not as difficult or complex as it may sound. If you have the same people help you wax the hull, you're going to be done before you know it.

[Shagbark]

Eric, greetings from South Bend. I was beginning to wonder if I had the only DS in this part of the country. What's your apprehension for taking the boat off the trailer? I just bought my DS in December and need to pull it off the trailer to compound/wax and replace centerboard bolt.

Don't know if you already purchased the mast head or not, but you can replace just the sheaves, might save you a couple of bucks. As far as wrapping the shrouds, I always prefer to be able to inspect them over protecting them. You never know what's going on under a protective wrap.

[GreenLake]

For settling the boom vs. shroud interaction, I did two things. One is to cut the mainsheet so that if I put a stopper knot in the end, the boom barely touches the shrouds. I usually cleat it an inch short of that, which gives me a bit of space between the two. Also, I simply put a strip of black tape along the boom. A single strip, about a foot long, on the widest part of the boom. Now I no longer get any metal to metal contact any more, and the area covered on the boom isn't as much of an inspection nightmare as wrapping shrouds would be.

[itguy1010]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Yeah, the trailer is an issue. I say, wax what you can if it reduces oxidation and slime. If you don't keep the boat in the water, I would guess waxing is optional. I think we must have some of the earliest DS II's built. How is yours holding up?

Talbot
'73 DS II 6546 "Blue Moon"

I don't keep the boat in the water. She sits on a trailer in my pole barn except for a day of sailing and maybe an evening of cleaning. The hull is clean as a whistle and still shiny so it really does not need it this season. I was very, very fortunate to find this boat when we started looking. Its in amazing shape and I really want to keep it that way. I have some small stress cracks in the gel coat where the cockpit rails meet the cuddy bulkhead. My jib car track on the starboard side has a screw that is starting to strip and that's about it other than the repairs I'm making this month. I'm kind of thinking about just giving the deck a good deep cleaning and waxing for this season.

The DS is not impossible to manhandle with 2-3 strong guys. Yes 500+ pounds, but you never lift the entire weight when you take it off the trailer, roll it on it's side, etc.

I've launched the DS on the 'hard' and retrieved it from there, single handed. I also stepped the mast first, so once the DS was on the ground, I was able to pull it over by pulling on a halyard (Leave enough room for the mast along the ground - a single concrete block is enough of a counterweight to hold the boat on its side).

Padding the ground with an old carpet avoided dings. I don't recall using anything special under the rubrail when the boat was on its side.

Incidentally, without the mast it takes 2-3 people but it's possible to tip the DS not just vertically but 180 degrees onto something that can support it upside down.

For waxing, you could simply support the transom on a (strong) sawhorse keeping the boat above the trailer bunks. Just have two people lift the stern enough to slide it under. Likewise, instead of resting the bow on the front roller, you could lift it up onto something like wooden blocks that gives a bit more clearance. You'd still have to wax the underside by going underneath, but could now reach the places normally covered by the bunks. (Instead of a saw horse, I once used two stacks of old wheels with tires on and a 2x6 across the top).

Yes, it takes a bit of planning, but it's not as difficult or complex as it may sound. If you have the same people help you wax the hull, you're going to be done before you know it.

I think this is the way to go. When I do careen it in the yard I want to use the old carpet trick. Like I mentioned, the hull is in great shape and I've been worried about fouling it up. Getting it off the trailer, in the yard on its side doesn't seem to difficult. Its the putting it back on the trailer that bothers me. I have a tilt trailer although I never use that function at the boat ramps. I wonder if that would help getting the boat off and on in the yard?

Eric, greetings from South Bend. I was beginning to wonder if I had the only DS in this part of the country. What's your apprehension for taking the boat off the trailer? I just bought my DS in December and need to pull it off the trailer to compound/wax and replace centerboard bolt.

Don't know if you already purchased the mast head or not, but you can replace just the sheaves, might save you a couple of bucks. As far as wrapping the shrouds, I always prefer to be able to inspect them over protecting them. You never know what's going on under a protective wrap.

Greetings. I've seen a few DS's for sale here in MI over the last couple years so I know they're around. I've yet to catch one on the water though and we hit a different lake every weekend. I was thinking about just replacing the sheaves and I decided to just go ahead and change out the whole masthead. I can't recall why I chose to do it this way but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

For settling the boom vs. shroud interaction, I did two things. One is to cut the mainsheet so that if I put a stopper knot in the end, the boom barely touches the shrouds. I usually cleat it an inch short of that, which gives me a bit of space between the two. Also, I simply put a strip of black tape along the boom. A single strip, about a foot long, on the widest part of the boom. Now I no longer get any metal to metal contact any more, and the area covered on the boom isn't as much of an inspection nightmare as wrapping shrouds would be.

Thanks, Greenlake. I'll have to see how that works with the stopper knot. And, the black tape on the boom seems like the way to go. Speaking of mainsheets...

I'm adding a Ronstan auto-ratchet fiddle block to my system just to give my hands a little relief on those brisk days. I have a fiddle block at the center boom and another fiddle block with becket and cam lock mounted on the CB trunk. My thought was to replace the boom mounted fiddle block with the auto-ratcheting one. This will keep my purchase ratio the same but should (in theory) greatly reduce the pull on the mainsheet without cleating it. I hate cleating my main unless the winds are really light. I couldn't find the Ronstan 55mm auto ratchet FB with becket so I just opted to change the one on the boom. Is that going to work? The ratchet function I mean.

[talbot]

Are you saying you need a double fiddle with Becket and ratchet for the main swivel? I looked online and could not find such a creature by Ronstan or Harken. You would have to go to a triple (side-by-side) and just use two of the blocks. The single ratchets seem readily available.

I think the assumption behind ratchets is something like this: The ratchet should be the last thing the line passes through before going to your hand, because it is supposed to be sensitive to the load you feel (not what is felt by any other part of the system). So, for instance, in lighter air, when you are trying to feel the wind through the sheet, you would not want an auto-ratchet higher in the system kicking in because it sensed a higher load than you feel at your end.

When I switched to a main ratchet (Harken 57mm), I found the benefits were as much for light air as strong winds. That's because I could drop one loop of line and retire one of my double fiddle blocks. Every doubling of mechanical advantage means twice as much line to run through the system, so coming about it light air pre-ratchet meant I had to feed the sheet into the blocks.

Something else that helped was originating the system at the stern. At mid-boom the spar is a second-degree lever, and you are the dead weight. Whatever the force on the end of the boom, it's doubled at mid-boom. You have to add a 2:1 purchase just to catch up, before you even begin to reduce the force at your hand.

[GreenLake]

I'm adding a Ronstan auto-ratchet fiddle block to my system just to give my hands a little relief on those brisk days. I have a fiddle block at the center boom and another fiddle block with becket and cam lock mounted on the CB trunk. My thought was to replace the boom mounted fiddle block with the auto-ratcheting one. This will keep my purchase ratio the same but should (in theory) greatly reduce the pull on the mainsheet without cleating it. I hate cleating my main unless the winds are really light. I couldn't find the Ronstan 55mm auto ratchet FB with becket so I just opted to change the one on the boom. Is that going to work? The ratchet function I mean.

While normally, except for the effect of friction, the tension on the line in a purchase is the same everywhere, a ratchet block's position should matter. When the ratchet locks, the tension in the line toward it is just the low tension needed to help keep the ratchet locked. On the other side, the tension in the line is that for the force required to counteract the load with help from the remaining parts of the purchase. In other words, the further away from the free end you place your ratchet block, the less mechanical advantage remains, and the more demand is placed on the holding power of the block.

At the same time, the large block on the boom fiddle has 180 degrees of wrap, while on the CB trunk you get a little over 90 degrees as the line would exit sideways. That increases the holding power of the ratchet considerably. Also, because the sheet tackle is rigged to disadvantage, the line exist a stationary, not a moving block. That means, that last block gives no actual mechanical advantage, it just changes the angle of pull.

So, assuming that we have not made any mistaken assumptions in this analysis, the net effect would be that you picked the ideal location for the ratchet. The wrap angle is maximized and yet, if it's the outer of the two blocks on the boom that ratchets, you have no loss of mechanical advantage.

BTW, about cleating the main, I do cleat it when going downwind - fully extended there's no need to hold it in my hand, and with the cleat I can fine-tune the length so the boom stays off the shroud.

(I see talbot beat me to it).

[GreenLake]

I think this is the way to go. When I do careen it in the yard I want to use the old carpet trick. Like I mentioned, the hull is in great shape and I've been worried about fouling it up. Getting it off the trailer, in the yard on its side doesn't seem to difficult. Its the putting it back on the trailer that bothers me. I have a tilt trailer although I never use that function at the boat ramps. I wonder if that would help getting the boat off and on in the yard?

You want to first launch the boat level onto the hard, then careen it. (Just in case that wasn't clear).

And, yes, the tilt feature will help.

I laid out the carpet, positioned the trailer, tilted it so the transom sat on the ground and simply pulled forward the trailer.

For retrieval, I brought the trailer in close, lifted the bow up onto the first roller (yes, it's possible to do that single-handed) having tightened the line from the trailer winch. Once the bow is on the roller, the winch can pull the boat on the trailer, or better, pull the trailer under the boat. On one occasion I had a nice trailer dolly (I don't have the permanent third wheel), that helped.

You'll quickly find out that too much tilt can be too much of a good thing. You want the angle to be close to the angle the boat naturally assumes with the transom supported on the ground, not steeper. Otherwise the bow will dig in between rollers. My trailer came with a strategically placed rope strop from the previous owner, at that point I realized what its purpose was. (You may still need to step on the tilting frame to adjust the angle a bit when retrieving from the hard, usually when the bow is just about to clear the second roller, to help it get up on it.)

When launching, I release the tilt lock and take of the winch line. I then drive the trailer just to the hubs into the water and tip the bow up (mine is balanced so far forward that it doesn't tip by itself). The boat then slides off the bunks and the bow runs smoothly off the rollers - fast enough to avoid getting knocked sideways by wakes, waves, wind, etc.

When retrieving, I drive the trailer a bit further into the water. The last roller has a notch, so I keep it just at the water level, to capture the bow in the notch. The last roller is a bit lower than the rest, that means the bunks take over as soon as the bow has cleared it and the boat loads straight under most conditions on the first try. (The notch can be used as a fulcrum to pull the boat in-line with the trailer, once about a foot of the bow is past the last roller). I tend to pull the boat by the painter about as far as I can manage, then use the winch for the rest. That cuts down on the time the boat can get knocked off its perch by wakes, waves, wind, etc.. BTW, I do not use the tilt feature for retrieval as it seems to offer no benefits.

It took me a while to figure out the relative heights of trailer frame, rollers (for the keel) and bunks (for the flat parts). If these are not coordinated, the boat will tend to float off on launch, or shift sideways on retrieval. Usually with leaving some gel-coat behind.

[talbot]

Does the previous discussion mean that in a simple stern-traveller system, the proper placement for a ratchet block is on traveller itself, as in the attached diagram? Block #2 is the only one with a 180-degree wrap.

Stern Traveller Diagram

SternTravellerDiagram.jpg (49.08 KiB) Viewed 14240 times

[itguy1010]

I'm adding a Ronstan auto-ratchet fiddle block to my system just to give my hands a little relief on those brisk days. I have a fiddle block at the center boom and another fiddle block with becket and cam lock mounted on the CB trunk. My thought was to replace the boom mounted fiddle block with the auto-ratcheting one. This will keep my purchase ratio the same but should (in theory) greatly reduce the pull on the mainsheet without cleating it. I hate cleating my main unless the winds are really light. I couldn't find the Ronstan 55mm auto ratchet FB with becket so I just opted to change the one on the boom. Is that going to work? The ratchet function I mean.

While normally, except for the effect of friction, the tension on the line in a purchase is the same everywhere, a ratchet block's position should matter. When the ratchet locks, the tension in the line toward it is just the low tension needed to help keep the ratchet locked. On the other side, the tension in the line is that for the force required to counteract the load with help from the remaining parts of the purchase. In other words, the further away from the free end you place your ratchet block, the less mechanical advantage remains, and the more demand is placed on the holding power of the block.

At the same time, the large block on the boom fiddle has 180 degrees of wrap, while on the CB trunk you get a little over 90 degrees as the line would exit sideways. That increases the holding power of the ratchet considerably. Also, because the sheet tackle is rigged to disadvantage, the line exist a stationary, not a moving block. That means, that last block gives no actual mechanical advantage, it just changes the angle of pull.

So, assuming that we have not made any mistaken assumptions in this analysis, the net effect would be that you picked the ideal location for the ratchet. The wrap angle is maximized and yet, if it's the outer of the two blocks on the boom that ratchets, you have no loss of mechanical advantage.

BTW, about cleating the main, I do cleat it when going downwind - fully extended there's no need to hold it in my hand, and with the cleat I can fine-tune the length so the boom stays off the shroud.

(I see talbot beat me to it).

Ok. Well, I guess we'll see how it works. For clarification I added a not so great photo of my current system:

mainsheet.jpg (238.63 KiB) Viewed 14236 times

And here's what I ordered:

Ron55ratch.jpg (6.79 KiB) Viewed 14236 times

And if all else fails, I think I can do this to create a "becket", turn it upside down and install it at the CB trunk:

becket.gif (10.94 KiB) Viewed 14236 times

Comments? And please forgive my relative ignorance in this matter. All the help is much appreciated.



Greenlake:

Thanks for the help. I guess I should mention that my trailer does not have roller bunks. It has the astro-turf covered pads so there is (I presume) a fair amount of friction to be overcome to slide the hull on them with no buoyancy to assist. Perhaps this is where I find myself scratching my head and wondering if de-trailering this rig on the hard is a questionable idea.

[GreenLake]

Does the previous discussion mean that in a simple stern-traveller system, the proper placement for a ratchet block is on traveller itself, as in the attached diagram? Block #2 is the only one with a 180-degree wrap.

SternTravellerDiagram.jpg

No, the two choices 3 and 2 should be roughly equal. At location 3 you have the most mechanical advantage. Which is offset by having less of a wrap.

Now, the Ronstan ratchet blocks are about twice as efficient as the competition (per some sailing magazine's test - it has "practical" in the name, but I can't remember whether it's the US or the UK one , both generally do a good job for comparison tests).

My configuration is location 3 and I've never reached the limit with it.

Some people prefer location 4, because it allows the skipper to easily reach the ratchet block to engage/disengage it. As I find that the autoratchet feature works perfectly for me in location 3 (even in light winds) that consideration is a non-issue for me, but, like itguy, location 3 was the easiest to fit a ratchet block (4 is a factory setup that will eventually be replaced, but as a unit -- for now, it's a testament to the durability of Tufnol).

[klb67]

Since you have a pole barn, you could use heavy rope or straps and lift the boat off of the trailer a bit to wax it. I'd lift the transom and the front, shift the trailer forward a bit and put the front back down on the bunks.

I have a sandy beach at my lake and easily careened my DS II to remove my CB to replace the uphaul cable and again the next week to reinstall it. I could have cleaned and waxed the bottom if I were so inclined. I actually buffed what I could reach w the boat on the trailer in my driveway last spring.

I also replaced the sheaves - a great improvement. Just drill out the rivets, replace the sheaves and reinstall w stainless bolts and lock nuts.

[GreenLake]

Ok. Well, I guess we'll see how it works. For clarification I added a not so great photo of my current system:
...
Comments? And please forgive my relative ignorance in this matter. All the help is much appreciated.

It looks like it's going to work just fine (and there's not even a theoretical benefit from mounting this on the CB - except the ability of engaging/disengaging the ratchet - something for which I've not found a use for, once I set mine to "auto" )

I guess I should mention that my trailer does not have roller bunks. It has the astro-turf covered pads so there is (I presume) a fair amount of friction to be overcome to slide the hull on them with no buoyancy to assist. Perhaps this is where I find myself scratching my head and wondering if de-trailering this rig on the hard is a questionable idea.

My trailer has rollers along the middle and padded bunks on the sides. The rollers only support the bow (keel in front of the CB) which areas seem to be strong enough to handle loads from storage and short-haul trailering. The rear of the boat is supported by the padded bunks. I find using the tilt just great to overcome the friction from the bunks, but once the transom dips in the water, the boat is lifted off the pads and the bow runs down the row of rollers to the rear. Some people have a middle bunk for that purpose and it seems to work for them quite well, but here I have been describing what I do.

"roller bunks", that is, rollers under the flat part of the hull, esp. off the center line, are a bad idea. They will dent your hull. The rollers I have aft of the CB trunk are positioned an inch or so below the hull when it rests on the trunk. When launching/retrieving, the deeper V of the bow can reach them.

[talbot]

You also mentioned concerns about friction from the bunk pads. Some say those felt pads are really the best surface. You can get teflon skids for the bunks, but critics say any sand or other abrasive that gets between the hull and skid will scratch the boat. With the felt pads, abrasives get pushed into the felt. I actually bought a skid kit at one point. But once I got the boat weight properly distributed fore and aft and between bunks and rollers, I had no problem launching or retrieving. So I never installed the skids.