Careened my DSII today to clean off lake scum. Worked like a charm. Sailed down to a shallow area and nudged the boat into the shore. Removed the motor, oars, sails, and rudder. Put on the cuddy hatch. Pulled it over with the main halyard, standing knee deep in the lake. The boat goes over gently in the water, half floating. Took all of 15' to scrub off the algae with a Scotch-brite pad. The boat goes up gently too, supported by the water.
One downside was that the dog, who often sails with me, totally freaked at the sight of her boat on its side. Cowered whimpering on the folded sail in the grass. As soon as the boat was upright, she jumped aboard and sat on the foredeck to make sure nothing else bad happened.
Another negative is that the cabin ended up with a lot of water in it. Where did it come from? The water never even reached the cuddy hatch. I can only surmise that it came in through my additions to the cuddy: the porthole, the running light, and the electrical sockets for the battery charger and 12V outlet. It was enough water that I opened the bulkhead drains to let it into the cockpit. The lesson is that any opening in a boat, even if "sealed" according to instructions, is a potential breach when under water.
That includes the mast. All my rivets are supposedly sealed on installation. Ha. The mast came up full of water--which spurted from other supposedly sealed holes around the step all the way home. Owners who have mentioned filling the top of the mast with foam are on the right track. One more job for next winter. Oh, and for those who participated in a recent discussion of making the DSII cooler into waterproof storage . . . OK, it didn't completely fill with water, but I'm glad I took my wallet and cell phone ashore before tipping the boat over.
Finally, one plus: I have all my cuddy supplies (overnight gear, anchor, extra clothing, repair kit, etc.) in two shallow plastic tubs to keep them from shifting when the boat is heeled. The tubs lash to the bulkhead and mast, and I have a lateral strap that goes over both boxes to hold the load in place. I didn't bother putting the strap on for the careening. If I had, even with water in the cuddy, most of my baggage would have stayed dry. The plastic tubs protected everything except items that actually rolled all the way to the port side of the boat.
I'm thinking now that careening would allow a low stress capsize drill. I could tip the boat as I did today, then walk the tipped boat out to deeper water and try to right it. If it doesn't work, I can just walk it back in again on its side. Before that, a to-do list: foam in the mast; tighten all ports and latches; take out the sleeping bag, clothing, anchor rode, and anything else that will take a long time to dry. Also check my watch. I suspect time is of the essence. I'm resigned to the fact that I probably can't keep the cuddy bone dry in a capsize. But the faster I get the hull perforations out of the water, the more likely I am to right the boat and sleep dry that night.