DaySailer.org Forum

Hello all, my brother is looking to purchase a Daysailer II, but like the open cuddy of the DSI. Is there anyway to enlarge the size of the opening of the cuddy on a DSII? I'm sure some reinforcing would be required (e.g. the 'tree' that many DSI sailers install. Has anyone done something like this, or thought about it?

Thanks,
Adam

I think you could maybe cut down the bottom of the opening to be flush with the cockpit sole but that would require glassing over the seam to fill the gap created. You might also need to add some support underneath the opening to support the cockpit sole and the aft end of the cuddy floor. I wouldn't want to cut the top of the opening without adding a beam there to take the load from the CB downline (assuming 1977 or newer boat) and then If you cut the opening wider you will need to add something to transfer that load down to the structure added under the enlarged cuddy opening.
Making the changes will also potentially reduce the resale value of the boat since it may very well make her no longer "Class-Legal" due to changes to the deck.

I think that realistically, he might be better to buy a DS I to get the more open cuddy instead of trying to modify a DS II.

Make sure you do not compromise the support for the CB trunk. I believe the bottom part of the bulkhead may serve to stiffen the trunk (keeping it upright). For the top part of the bulkhead, the old DS1's literally had a piece of rebar glassed in to help support the deck spanning the wider opening. You could substitute a hollow fiberglass tube, perhaps 1.5 to 2" in diameter, usually realized as a "hat" profile (square U shape). For example, cut the new opening, then take a strip of foam and glass it over several layers deep, so it forms a hollow profile along the edge, going all the way across. That should go a long way towards supporting the deck. If you can further back it up by attaching the deck to the mast post, to substitute for the forward bulkhead that the DS1's have in the middle of the cuddy, then you may be adequately covered from a support/stiffness perspective. Without, not so much.

Resale value is perhaps not the guiding factor, given the moderate prices for used DS boats unless they are in very excellent condition.

Would I recommend this project? Not without understanding that it addresses an important need - and even then, why not get a DS1?

DS II already has a bulkhead in the bow like the DS I, except on the DS II it is solid from cuddy floor to underside of the deck. There are already "deck beams" across the underside of the deck and cuddy top for stiffness. CB trunk is pretty well braced by the cockpit sole which is about 9" above the bilge. Still ,although a larger opening in the cuddy bulkhead would maybe make crawling inside to reach items stowed there easier, I'LL keep mine as O'DAY built it.