I Just bought my first daysailer

[ecardoza]

oday daysailer II.jpg (56.91 KiB) Viewed 11770 times

I am new to sailing and I Just bought my first daysailer last weekend. My wife and I are so excited.
Last summer I spent most of my weekends fixing up an old sailing dinghy that my grandfather gave me.

I had the chance to sail it a few times and loved it but being 6'3" it was just not a good fit for me.
During the winter months I saved my money and spent most of my time window shopping on Craig's List for a new sailboat.

After much research I decided on a O'day Daysailer 17 found one for $800.00 a good deal I thought.
My wife gave me her blessing so I borrowed my father in-laws truck and my wife and I picked up our new sailboat.

The boat doesn't seem to need much work but I did make a trip to D&R Marine to get a few needed things and met Rudy for the first time.
Great place to visit and they have everything you could ever need.

I have my new registration in hand, new title, installed a trailer hitch on my car, got my boat ramp pass, and now just need it to stop raining long enough to get everything buttoned up so I can get her in the water for my first "official, unofficial" sail of the season.

A few weeks ago when it was 70 I did take my little sailboat out on the lake for one last sail for awhile.

[GreenLake]

Welcome to the forum!

As this appears to be a DaySailer II (at least from the photo caption), I've moved your thread into the section for DaySailer II related topics.

On a side note, I totally get you about other dinghies not being a good fit for your height. You should have long-lasting enjoyment from this one, and the price looks right.

As you begin to learn about this forum, you will find that there are sections devoted to Sails, Rigging, and Repairs that are not specific to a given DaySailer model. Those would be the sections where you would place questions related to those topics, and where you would find the answers to many questions by reading through some of the older discussions. (Some things, like the centerboard design are specific to the DS II, and those are best discussed in the DS II-specific section.)

Welcome aboard!

[DigitalMechanic]

Great looking boat! Congrats! $800 is a steal of a deal

[talbot]

Sweet!
Interesting color scheme -- has it been painted, or is that the original gel-coat?
Don't forget to get your registration number on the bow.

[jeadstx]

Looks to be a nice boat and at a good price. Welcome to the forum.

John

[ecardoza]

It is the original gel coat. My plan is to just clean and wax it for now and see how it comes out.

As for my registration #s I really just need it to stop raining long enough to do anything on the boat.

[talbot]

Great. That should be all you need if you trailer the boat. Some of us who keep our boats in the water all season have found that the gel coat will blister after a while and has to be sanded, sealed, and painted. But you should have a great time with minimal maintenance to start out. After sailing for a while, you may have a list of things you would like to change, and that's where the forum is great. Almost anything you come up with, someone will have step by step procedures for doing it.

[K.C. Walker]

First off, welcome aboard!

Secondly, this New England cold rainy spell is definitely getting on my nerves as well!

Thirdly, it looks like you got a great deal on a boat that looks to be in great shape! Enjoy! For me it's pretty much the ideal size compromise. It's easy enough to launch and raise the mast, it trailers well, and it's not too big to maintain.

It does look like you got a nice trailer as well. I would advise making sure that you have plenty of well distributed support for the hull. These boats have a relatively flat bottom and bouncing on a trailer can knock the stiffness out of the fiberglass laminate pretty quickly. The boats are much better when they're stiff. Definitely an ounce of prevention…

[seabisquit]

Welcome, I'm sorta new too ( not even a year yet) have the same boat and color, mines a 1978 and is my first and only sailboat so far. I'm 6"1 and i fill out that boat And you are making me Iill that you got yours for $800. If thats with trailer and sails and rigged you made off like a bandit . Everything else is gravy now.





http://forum.daysailer.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4650

[talbot]

Yeah, you can waste a lot of time getting miffed when someone else gets a nicer boat, or a lower price, or stronger wind, or has more fun. It's useful to be able to admire without envy. If that's not possible, go for sour grapes. I read that Donald Trump, who thrives on envy, once bought a mega-yacht, got seasick, and never went out again.

[GreenLake]

@talbot: totally agree - always best to go sailing instead. Do you have more wind now, than in your "Launch Day" picture?

@seabisquit: how's your DS working out for you - haven't seen you here in a while.

@all: it's easy to misread a post. I'm sure the little emoji in the post was intended to show that the "envy" factor was more tongue in cheek.

[talbot]

Oh, yeah. Plenty of wind. Saturday I set out from the marina under full sail at dusk for an ad hoc anchor-out cruise. A half hour later, I was planing through the dark, lots of stars but no moon, wondering when the next knockdown would hit. I flew past my usual mid-lake anchorage and asked my GPS for directions to a small cove that I had providentially marked as a waypoint. The moment I passed the peninsula that forms the bay, it was as if I had walked into a room and closed the door. In the lee of the trees, there wasn’t even enough breeze to pay out the anchor line. Frogs singing on shore. Slept like a rock in the cabin.

Thoughts over coffee in the cockpit the next morning.
1. Weather reports are unreliable in the hours before a front arrives. (It was raining before I got home.)
2. Reduce sail early at night. You can’t see the wind coming over the water.
3. The more obscure a beach or cove is, the more important to have it charted. Not because you want to go there, but because you might need to go there.
4. I love this boat. A wild ride, a sound sleep, and a safe trip back. A keelboat might provided the second two experiences, but it also might have run aground in the cove. A smaller boat would guarantee the first, but not necessarily the others.

[K.C. Walker]

Talbot, I'm hitting the like button!

[GreenLake]

+1

[seabisquit]

@greenlake. My family enjoyed sailing last summer quite a bit. Lots of flooded lakes down in Texas right now so I'm limited on where I go. Canyon was nice a couple of weeks ago. I have much more confidence in my abilities with this boat and continue to go out prepared for the heavy Texas south winds. Heading to the gulf for Memorial weekend

@talbot. I do envy the price and still love my boat and happy for those who find a deal, they are rare. thanks for the pearls of wisdom

@ecardoza. Have fun messing about in boats There's lots of cool people on this board that have seen everything there is about these little boats.

"the pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the realist adjusts the sails" William Arthur Ward

Sail on!