My Brand New 1973 DSII!

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My Brand New 1973 DSII!

Postby gregL86 » Wed Jul 28, 2021 8:22 pm

After looking for a DS for the past year, I finally pulled the trigger this week on a 1973 DSII. While I've been stalking this forum for the past number of months, my only real experience with a sailboat of my own is a Sunfish. So needless to say I have some questions, mostly about a few things I think I need to address now before I put it in the water. Any chance anyone can take a look at some of these questions and images I have below? Thanks in advance!

The mast below the tabernacle hinge is straight, but above it the mast leans a little to the port side. Also it appears to be slightly twisted, so when you lay it down, the mast points to starboard corner of the stern. Should I replace the tabernacle immediately, or should I just tighten the stays and straighten it for now?
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There is some fiberglass cracking on the deck around where the mask goes through. Is there a lot of pressure on this part of the deck when sailing, or is mainly carried by the stays and the mast step (the part the mast goes into)? Is the boat unsafe to use until this is addressed?
Image


On the starboard jib track, the 2 screws on the outside edges of the track don't seem to be biting into anything. I'm assuming there is some kind of backer behind the fiberglass that is not catching the screws. Is there a safe solution for me to fix this at least for now that doesn't require me to make cut an inspection hatch?
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There's a ring on the bottom of where the boom meets the mast and a cleat below that. Should these 2 be connected? If not, what keeps the boom from sliding up and out of the mast when sailing?
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There's 2 holes, one on either side of the the centerboard that are between the cockpit and the cuddy cabin. I'm assuming they are there to drain any water that gets into the cuddy. However, there is a little but of separation between the 2 sides and I can see bare wood. Is there a piece of plastic or something I should seal the edges with at least to prevent water from getting into the bulkhead?
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Is this a hole that is supposed to be here, or should I be filling it?
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1973 DSII 6795
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Re: My Brand New 1973 DSII!

Postby GreenLake » Thu Jul 29, 2021 12:50 am

Wow, that's a detailed list!

First of all, welcome to the forum!

I'll answer out of order as far as I can remember each item.

Cracks around the mast partners are cosmetic. If you've lurked here, you've seen us discuss surface crack repairs -- you know what to do.

Sealing the opening to the cuddy. It may have had some fitting (look for "donut" in recent posts here). However, I can't see anything wrong with trying to use a bit of caulk, or possibly Marine Tex epoxy past. Put wax on dowel, insert liberal amounts of Marine Tex (after cleaning/washing the edges) and then use the dowel to mold an opening. It's for draining water from the cuddy, so make sure after your repair a sizeable hole remains. Because of the wax you should be able to pull out the dowel (if worried, sand it to a very slight taper and use really high grid, so it doesn't end up stuck by shape even if the was means the epoxy doesn't bond to it.)

Hole on top of CB. If no water exist there when sailing you are fine; I expect it's for an emergency push rod, to lower the CB when stuck. (Locate said rod among any part you've been given).

The boom will not slide up the mast on its own, not with a main sheet pulling down. However, after you've tightened the halyard, you'd pull down the boom and tie a line that you cleat off. That "boom downhaul" will provide needed tension to the luff of the sail. The cleat may be at the bottom-most position for the boom (or it may not be).

In general, jib tracks can pull out or even break if not secured at the end. Screw goes into a piece of wood. If that wood doesn't hold any more, a cheap fix might be inserting penetrating epoxy, like SystemThree S-1 into the hole. Then a bit of laminating epoxy (or a glue like SystemThree's "GelMagic") and wax the screw and then screw it in. If successful the penetrating epoxy will help strengthen the wood around the hold, the other epoxy will form "threads" around the screw while hardening, but the wax will allow removal.

Bolt or pin, your choice.

The actual lean of a mast is determined by shroud length.

If a mast was (slightly) bent, you can try straightening it. Depends on where the bend is, and how much.

I had a bend 4' from the end, and sighting up from the short end, the long end was off to the side by about a mast width. I reduced that to a bend where the long end is now off less than 1". You can still see it, while sighting along, but it's not the first thing you see and it has no effect.

Determine magnitude and location (center point) of the bend before we can give useful advice.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: My Brand New 1973 DSII!

Postby gregL86 » Thu Jul 29, 2021 10:13 pm

Thanks GreenLake! This is EXTREMELY helpful.

I don't think it's the mask that is bent, it seems to be the hinge. When I lower the mask and disconnect the stays connected, the mask doesn't lay straight. I think I'm going to go ahead and replace the tabernacle, it will make me feel more comfortable.

Another question, for the side stays, should I be lubricating the turnbuckles with something to make them easier to turn?
Image
1973 DSII 6795
gregL86
 
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Location: Massachusetts

Re: My Brand New 1973 DSII!

Postby gregL86 » Fri Jul 30, 2021 12:40 pm

So a few updates...

I only live 20 minutes from D&R, so I just got back from seeing Rudy. He was very very helpful and great to talk to.

I ended up getting a new tabernacle, new shrouds (with the larger turnbuckles and thicker wire. I brought one in and he said mine were original) and new side stay chain plates (he said anything thing earlier than 1980 had thinner screws, and he's seen quite a few snapping lately).
1973 DSII 6795
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Re: My Brand New 1973 DSII!

Postby zeroready » Sun Aug 01, 2021 10:26 pm

Congrats on the boat, hope it brings lots of fun! Just want to say that mine had (I'm pretty sure) original shrouds and turnbuckles. One of them snapped right at the turnbuckle under way on a beam reach, dismasted in the ocean with my wife and kids on board. No injuries and we have a motor, but we had to drag the mast home and it was a pretty big ordeal. So I got all new shrouds and forestay from Rudy, including the turnbuckles. So you made a good call getting the the newer shrouds and turnbuckles, that is money well spent.
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Re: My Brand New 1973 DSII!

Postby gregL86 » Mon Aug 02, 2021 9:09 am

zeroready wrote:Congrats on the boat, hope it brings lots of fun! Just want to say that mine had (I'm pretty sure) original shrouds and turnbuckles. One of them snapped right at the turnbuckle under way on a beam reach, dismasted in the ocean with my wife and kids on board. No injuries and we have a motor, but we had to drag the mast home and it was a pretty big ordeal. So I got all new shrouds and forestay from Rudy, including the turnbuckles. So you made a good call getting the the newer shrouds and turnbuckles, that is money well spent.


Thanks! What happened to your boat was my fear when looking at my original shrouds. I figured if that happened when my wife and kids were on board, even if there was no injuries, no one would want to be anywhere near the boat again!
1973 DSII 6795
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Re: My Brand New 1973 DSII!

Postby zeroready » Mon Aug 02, 2021 8:12 pm

Luckily my kids, 5 and 8,are so oblivious they didn't even realize what had happened til it was over. Honestly except for the loud pop, it wasn't as violent an event as you would think it would be. The mast just sort of eased over as the screws at the tabernacle ripped through the aluminum. My wife was Johnny on the spot pulling in the sails while I got the motor started and wrestled the mast into place. Kids were eating snacks. 10/10 would dismast again.
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