Hi, everyone.
I just picked up a nice DS2, and am eager to get it out for its first sail. I sailed a bit when I was a kid on my dad's DS1, but it has been a long time. I also have been fooling around on Sunfishes lately. So I'm not a total newbie, but close to it.
I will be trailering this boat to a nearby lake. I have practieed stepping the mast and raising the mainsail in the driveway. It has a tabernacle, which makes that fairly straightforward.
I have a bunch of questions. (Forgive me if I butcher your secret sailor nomenclature!) Here are the first few:
The stays are a pain to rig, especially with those circular cotter pins. Is there any reason I can't leave everything attached except the forestay where it attaches to the stemhead? I'd probably bungee taut everything to keep it from flopping around while trailering.
I'm thinking about getting one of those forestay quick release pins from APS (http://www.apsltd.com/quick-pins-push-b ... lar-2.html) to make attaching the forestay adjuster easier. The holes on the adjuster are only 3/16", while on the stemhead there are two holes: 5/16 and 1/4. Why two holes? Does it matter that a smaller pin is going through these larger holes? Any reason not to use the QR?
Again, for ease of launching, can I leave the spreaders attached, all taped up, with the stays running through them?
I imagine I pull up to the ramp, quickly raise the mast, put in a single quick pin, and I'm ready to go. Is this realistic?
Any other suggestions?
Thanks for any help. I look forward to hanging around here.
David