DS II in the Florida 120

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DS II in the Florida 120

Postby mistermoon » Wed May 19, 2010 10:44 pm

I took my boat on the FL120 cruise from Josephine, AL to Navarre Beach, FL and back last week. Total distance sailed for me was 106 miles, all single handed and motorless. I thought you might enjoy the photos.

Below is my GPS track for the trip. Light blue represents Thursday and Friday; red is Saturday and Sunday. The first two days were upwind, obviously.

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Day 1: split tacks. The winds were strong and I spent the whole day reefed and a good part of it under main alone. To cover the 13 miles to our first night's destination required 22 miles of sailing and 95 tacks! Did I mention the current was also against us in the narrow part of the ICW?

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Coming in to Navarre on Day 2, I ran aground about a quarter of a mile from the beach after nearly nine hours of sailing. When the board kicked up, the "up" cable got tangled somehow by wrapping around the tang it is attached to. The board would not go up or down so we had to effect repairs on the beach. We hauled the boat down by the jib halyard and had someone hold the mast while I worked. The repairs were successful.

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Getting ready to leave Navarre, loaded down like the Grapes of Wrath. I brought too much stuff.

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Blasting down Santa Rosa Sound. I really need a boom vang!

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Arriving at Sand Island at the mouth of Pensacola Bay. Here you can see where I rigged the boat for rowing. I didn't need to use that option very much last week, but I was glad to have her ready to go for the few times I did. Sailing is a lot more satisfying though.

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Overall I'm thrilled with how she performed. The DS also proved to be one of the faster boats on the trip, especially on the upwind legs.
DS II "Alobar" 10374
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Postby GreenLake » Wed May 19, 2010 10:56 pm

Nice!!
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Postby K.C. Walker » Thu May 20, 2010 7:38 am

Great report! How many boats participated? And, what size boats mostly participated?

KC
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Postby jdubes » Thu May 20, 2010 7:46 am

Nice post. Does anyone know if there's something like this that goes on in the North East? Looks like a blast
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Postby mistermoon » Thu May 20, 2010 8:01 am

I think I counted 24 boats ranging in size from a 12' scow (too small as the skipper found out) to a couple of 26'ers. Most boats were in the 15-20' range. From memory: Potter 15 and 19, two Macgregor 26X's, one Macgregor 26D, a builder designed 23' double ended sloop (my favorite boat of the weekend), two Slider Cats, two Windrider trimarans, a Glen-L 14, a Weekender, a Holder 20, a Precision 18 and a 165, a Compac Sun Cat, and I'm sure I've forgotten others.


There are a lot more photos and information on the Florida 120 Facebook page.

The FL120 was started in 2009 by a group of boaters just looking to cruise in company in small boats. There's no reason you could not start your own event. Heck, I might even come to a NE cruise!
DS II "Alobar" 10374
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Postby jeadstx » Thu May 20, 2010 11:44 am

Glad to hear the FL120 went well and that you didn't have to go with the alternate routes. I'm getting ready for the Texas 200, about a month from now. So far there are two DS2's registered and might be a third DS2 as well.

I guess you will post comments on how the boat handled on the Tx200 and FL120 sites as well. Did you sleep on the boat or camp ashore? I'm interested in any info you can provide that may help me with the TX200.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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Postby mistermoon » Thu May 20, 2010 12:00 pm

The boat did very well. I spent a lot less time sailing than many of my companions due to it's speed. I slept on shore every night.

I'm trying to work out a way to sleep aboard under a boom tent. The best idea I've come up with is a folding pipe berth/cot in the cockpit, but I've yet to suss it out.

One thing I'd like to change is to come up with a way to have a release on the centerboard cleat for those times I touch bottom. It's possible to hit bottom with the hold-down cleated and not be able to release the tension. I've since learned to cleat it off with a release knot, but I'm on the lookout for something better. I'd rather the board just kicked up instead of stopping the boat. In the interim I may use a rolling hitch to attach a bungee to the hold-down rope and cleat that off instead.
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Postby Kleanbore » Thu May 20, 2010 12:10 pm

There was a post on this site which addressed the issue of the rudder kicking up when it strikes something. The solution was a clam cleat with a hinged base that releases upon sudden heavy load, as in a strike. The same solution might work for the DSII centerboard.
http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/how ... /index.htm
Kerry Klingborg
74 O'Day DSII
Sail #7182
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Postby jeadstx » Thu May 20, 2010 12:20 pm

That's interesting concerning the centerboard. I thought it would kick up when you hit something. Good info, I have to look into that.

As far as sleeping on the boat, at this point I plan to try sleeping on the boat on the TX200. Since I know that I won't be able to sleep in the cuddy cabin (I'm too big) my plan is to cut 1x8 boards (removable, stored in cuddy while sailing) that will span the cockpit seats to form a deck I can put my sleeping pad on. I also have a boom tent. One of the boards will also have dual use as a rowing seat when oars need to be used.

John
1976 Day Sailer II, #8075 - Completed the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Texas 200
1952 Beetle Boat Swan Catboat
Early Rhodes 19
1973 Mariner 2+2, #2607 - Completed 2014, 2015 and 2016 Texas 200
1969 Day Sailer I, #3229
Fleet 135; Canyon Lake, Texas
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Postby seandwyer » Thu May 20, 2010 4:44 pm

Very, very cool! If you have any more pictures, please post them. Can't wait to see the results and pictures for the TX200 - please take photo's - for the time being, I'm finding it necessary to live vicariously. :)
Sean
DS1 - 3203
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Postby MrPlywood » Thu May 20, 2010 8:01 pm

Inspiring. I would like to give something like that try, especially in warmer water instead of the cool/cold Juan de Fuca :)
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Postby GreenLake » Thu May 20, 2010 10:00 pm

jeadstx wrote:That's interesting concerning the centerboard. I thought it would kick up when you hit something.


It's a question of the CB controls. On the DS1 it's a simple lever and the board kicks up. When you use cables or lines to pull the CB down and then belay these, you've defeated the kick-up feature.

On the DS1 some people rig lines to hold the CB lever down, so the board doesn't come up by itself at high speeds. Those lines would need to have some way to release under the high loads of a grounding as well.
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