bailing out haul

Regarding the DS3 only. Note that the DS3 is not a class-legal Day Sailer.

Moderator: GreenLake

bailing out haul

Postby sail dog » Fri Apr 01, 2011 10:01 am

hello,

I just bought a DS and put her in the water for the first time last weekend. I looked in the haul and noticed I have several inches of water in there. I have a couple questions:

1) the drain plug at the bottom of the stern is out, but the water remains. Do I just need to drive it on a hill and let it sit? I live in Florida, so they're hard to find. The "ramp" that we used to load/unload was very shallow.

2) I was given 2 plugs with this boat, one of them obviously fits into the back of the boat, but I can't figure out where the other one fits, so I'm wondering if I'm leaving something unplugged. The second plug looks like this:
http://www.drmarine.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DR020
The description with this part isn't very helpful to me.

3) The self bailer doesn't have the hex piece on it (http://www.drmarine.com/proddetail.asp?prod=DS81). The part on the outside of the boat looks right and has the ball, but inside the cockpit there is just a plug. Does it need replacement? I'm assuming I leave the plug open when sailing?

Any assistance is greatly appreciated! I've been crewing on big boats for years, but this is my first boat, so I might be popping in with more questions.

Thanks!
Sandy
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Postby GreenLake » Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:39 am

I don't own a DSIII, so I can't speak to the details of your drainage arrangements. However, I can address the absence of hills...

When I need to drain my DSI, say after rinsing out the interior, I simply lift up the trailer tongue and put something under it to hold it up, perhaps a saw horse. That usually gives me enough of an angle to drain things out through the transom drain. (But the DSI doesn't have a double hull, so there's no issue about hidden water or hidden blockages).
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Postby sail dog » Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:47 am

Thanks!

You brought up a good follow up question. I wasn't sure if the water in the haul was from the sail and potential leaks, or if it was from the 20 minutes of hosing and scrubbing down of the cockpit and cuddy cabin, which we did before sailing (I figured HOW the water got in might be related to this mysterious second plug that I've kept in a bag).

Is hosing out the interior resulting in water in the haul typical?
thanks!
-s
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Postby GreenLake » Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:05 pm

Again, I'm not really familiar with a DSIII, but if you are draining the space between the hulls, then, no, water isn't supposed to go between the hulls when you rinse the boat.

(In my case, I'm draining water that simply collected on the floor of the cockpit after washing, because my DS 1 doesn't have a double hull.)

However, you could try to use a hose-down as a test to see whether water drains from somewhere it's not supposed to be.

That's the best I can offer you, until someone chimes in who knows more about your hull configuration. On the suspicion that the DS 2 is somewhat similar, you might read older forum entries under that topic to see whether you can find this issue discussed.

Always a good strategy, in any case. You might find out interesting things by going through the old posts.
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Postby Alan » Fri Apr 01, 2011 5:13 pm

Yeah, it's definitely a good idea to go through the old posts. There's a wealth of information there on the many sources of leakage in a DS. Besides, in many parts of the country, it's something to do while the snow melts... :)

I've got a 1980 DSII, which as I understand it is very similar to the DSIII. I've had standing rainwater seep into the bilge through the threads of the inspection plates located in the cockpit floor just aft of the cuddy opening, but it was inside the cockpit for a lot longer than 20 minutes. You should probably check the seal between the inspection plates and the cockpit floor.

Beyond that, you should look at the centerboard pivot fittings, the centerboard cable bushings, the joint of the self-bailer to the hull, and in the aft face of the transom, the joint of the bilge drain plug fitting to the hull.

The second plug (the D&R one you linked to) goes in the cockpit drain hole, located in the bottom center of the transom on a DSII (I don't know if the DSIII has this hole).
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Postby bm1981 » Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:39 pm

From experience, check the the "well" around the bailer in the aft. I had a small crack there that filled the bilge area. Also leaky inspection ports.

Like everyone else check the other areas too,
1981 DS II " Miller Time"

Tri Color Lt. Blue/ Blue/ Black Sail # 10825

Barnegat Bay NJ
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Postby sail dog » Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:50 pm

Thanks for all the good tips, and yes, the past posts have been helpful too.

One recommendation was to find the leak, fill the bilge with water and see where it leaks out of. I had the boat on the trailer for over a week before I noticed the water and drained it and water never dripped out of it. It makes me think that the leak is in the aft portion of the boat, as the area around the keel had several inches of water over it and nothing dripped out. Based on your replies I'm thinking perhaps around the self bailer and/or drain plug.

Does that make sense?

Thanks for all the tips!
Sandy
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Postby GreenLake » Thu Apr 21, 2011 8:45 pm

You can always tip your trailer to complete the test.
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Re: bailing out haul

Postby drbmack » Thu Aug 25, 2016 2:00 pm

I broke a tiller on a DS III and capsized. Some one hauled the boat to shore, righted it and bailed out the boat. They opened the round " inspection plates" and water went in. Should I remove the water before towing it??
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Re: bailing out haul

Postby GreenLake » Thu Aug 25, 2016 2:30 pm

Shouldn't tow a boat with significant water in it.
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