by Guest » Tue May 21, 2002 2:07 pm
Larry, I would say that $1500 is a bit high, I paid $1400 for my 1979 DS II in 1996. Mine came with decent sails, trailer was "usable" but I later (Fall 1998) spent $400 on a new axle, springs, hubs, rims, tires. The centerboard may be cracked, but if it is a 1979, the board is actually hollow...mine cracked along the leading edge (bottom when in trunk) and I glassed over the crack with a layer of FG tape this past Winter and faired it with thicked epoxy. The board still fits fine, I did remove the board from the boat to do this work. Water in the cockpit after sailing may indicate that the cockpit bailer is leaking, it does have a plug to seal it (or did originally) but mine will let in some water, not much while sailing if I leave the plug out. The 1" rubber "stopper" type plug located on the transom, a few inches up from the bottom may be leaking, either tighten it or buy a new one ($4 +/-). Water really can't get into the cockpit through the top of the cb trunk, at least not while moored, first: the top of the cb trunk is almost 12" above the waterline, second: there is no access to the cb trunk from the cockpit. While sailing some owners do report that water seeps in through the hole in the top of the trunk where the cb "down-line" runs through, but I've never had that problem, and it would seem more likely to seep into the interior (bilge) of the boat than into the cockpit. If the CB pivot bolt is leaking into the bilge, try tightening it (takes two wrenches and nimble hands) or with the boat hauled out on the trailer, loosen the bolt and use some silicone sealant around the bolt, then tighten again (let sealant cure before fully tightening). The CB pivots on a plastic bearing that is inserted into the board and that is slightly longer than the board is thick, the bolt actually squeezes the sides of the cb trunk against this "bearing", so do not be affraid to really tighten the bolt.
My board used to get stuck if I pulled it up too far, while I had the board out of the boat I ground down the upper edges of the board slightly (rounded them off a bit), now the board goes up and down with greatest ease!
Rod Johnson, "SUNBIRD" (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)