New DS1 Owner

[ctenidae]

I think I've read the entire DS1 forum since buying a boat last week. Great information, everyone.

We put it in the water in South Norwalk yesterday, and spent about 5 hours bouncing around the Norwalk Islands. Beautiful day. Awesome boat, great time.

The number on the sail is 1114, which seems to fit with the seller's claim it's a 1970 hull. However, the brass plate with the HIN is missing, and I can't find it molded in anywhere else. Is there a super-secret place the HIN might be located?

[kkearns]

I too am a new DS1 owner and I too love the boat. Refurbished mine in the spring and have enjoyed it all summer, including a white knuckle solo sail yesterday in strong October winds.

Somewhere on this site I have seen an apparently authentic chronology of hull numbers and sail numbers through the years and with various builders of the boat. I hestitate to tell you this, but I believe your hull may be a bit older than 1970 as claimed by the seller. My class (sail) number is 1827 with hull #10220. On the older models, the hull and class numbers are on a nameplate attached to the wood coaming at the rear of the boat (just beneath the tiller). My boat is a 1965 model (one owner) so, assuming your sail number is correct, yours must be a bit older. No matter, really, as the boats are well built and with care will last a long, long time. Enjoy the boat!

Kevin

[seandwyer]

I agree with KKEARNS. Mine is #3203 and a '68. So one of two things here: either your boat is older, or you have a set of sails originally made for an older boat - the sails could be perfect and brand new, just made up for an older boat. My ID tag is riveted to the flotation tank beneath the cuddy - you might look there for some holes which would suggest that it had been there etc. But I know I've heard of other locations too. What are your hull and deck colors? Sometimes that can help narrow things down just a little.

[GreenLake]

I have a DS1 which is registered by the state as being a '71 and #1404. I asked some questions in the forum about it. From comparing different features in the hull and rigging layout etc. as well as comparing the company address in the owners manual (compared to the 1966 version that's on this site) I've tentatively concluded that the # likely is the correct sail number in this case. That means the year must be wrong. Because O'Day celebrated the 1500th Day Sailer in August of 1963. (There's a link to an article about that in the other thread).

My (unverified) suspicion is that the boat registration in the state either started in 1971 or was converted to a computer database that year, with the effect of any "unknown" or "undocumented" dates being set to 71. So far, this is only a theory, but the more I read about the way things were done back then, the more I tend to believe that the correct explanation is something along those lines.

HIN in the modern sense did not exist until around that time as well, so any older boat would not have a HIN. Mine had a builder's plate in the middle of the rear coaming at one time. The two holes remain in the wood. Probably was taken off for refinishing the coamings and not put back on by some earlier owner.

Postal zip codes also didn't exist back then, and my owners manual doesn't have them in the company address. The 1966 version of the manual that's posted on this site does have a zip code and by 71 they were in full use. Another reason for me to suspect the registration year.
(The color scheme, before someone mercifully painted the boat, was turquoise tops with white hull, by the way).

Mine has the molded in seats and wooden slats on the floor. Later models (mid 60's) have a set of stringers in the cockpit floor, which my boat lacks. (Other details are described in the other thread).

With help of these you should be able to decide whether your boat might in fact be as old as the sail number indicates.

[ctenidae]

Could be older, fine by me. The coaming has been replaced at some point, so no brass plaque. Didn't see any evidence of holes in the forward tank that might have held a plaque, but doesn't mean they weren't there. The hull appears to have been dark blue originally- the last owner painted it with house paint (which will be removed), and it's peeling off in places. It was hard to tell hanging upside down over the edge, but it's either really dark blue or black. Looks like there's some crazing in the gelcoat, but overall pretty good shape. We'll see this winter when she gets stripped down. Deck is painted white, and not peeling, so not sure what color it was originally.

Only dsturbing thing I've found is that there appears to be no foam whatsoever in the floatation tanks. I bought new drainplugs, but they don't fit very securely. I have to go buy a large tarp and some clamps to rig a boom tent tonight so rain later this week doesn't sink her.

[ctenidae]

Mine has the molded in seats and wooden slats on the floor. Later models (mid 60's) have a set of stringers in the cockpit floor, which my boat lacks. (Other details are described in the other thread).

With help of these you should be able to decide whether your boat might in fact be as old as the sail number indicates.

Mine has molded seats, and no stringers as well. Signs are pointing to older and older, it seems....

[GreenLake]

Hmm. That floatation would have to have been left out at the factory. Either it's a fluke, or they only decided to add the foam as an afterthought after building a few without.

The latter would mean yours dates from about the time they started to add the molded seats.

[navahoIII]

Does anyone know how many Daysailers would have been built in in a year back in the sixties?

If the 1500th one was built in August, '63, is it likely that our DSI, whose sail number is 1001, was built in '62, as we guess it was? If true, O'Day was building at least around 500 Daysailers a year! That seems like a high number, but maybe not...

[GreenLake]

The 1500 was 8/63 (per the article). If yours is from Jan 62, then they would have had 20 months to do the next 499, or about 25/month. That's not really such a high number.

It would seem that for any given number of molds there's a max number you can build, because of the need for the laminate to cure. For a single mold, 25/month would mean one per day. Don't know whether that's a realistic turnaround.

Also, the DS was commissioned in 1959 (although some sources say that was in 1957 and that productiong becgan the same year). Either way it means an average of around 300/year to reach 1500 by 1963. Interesting.

On what did you base your guess of '62?

[navahoIII]

GreenLake,

I based it on this pm that Baysailor sent me a while ago:

"I'm really only going on faith of what I was told when I bought it and some other antedotal evidence that mines a 63. I.E. referencing the Time article (bathtub navy) O'day made the 1500th DS in the first week in Aug 63.

Based on that I would think yours is a bit earlier than 63. There's an ad in what looks to be october 61 showing sail number 971, so you might be looking at earlier 62. Would be nice to have production records "

http://www.iheartodays.com/files/model_ ... _658h2.jpg

[GreenLake]

The date on the bottom looks like it's from a magazine (there's a page number on the right). If so, the boat has to be somewhat older, to allow for it to be sailed and photographed, and for the publication production lead times. With only 30 sail numbers between the boat in the ad and yours, it would seem more likely that yours is a late 61, rather than 62.

[ctenidae]

The latter would mean yours dates from about the time they started to add the molded seats.

Any idea when that was?

This picture is supposedly from a 1967 brochure, showing sail #s 571, 1122, 1151, and 1313



It'd be cool to find 1114.

[navahoIII]

GreenLake,

Good bit of detective work! Hence forward I'm going with "late '61"!

By the way, any idea when O'Day started putting in molded motor wells, something mine does not have. Also, the traveller ends go through two raised (molded), almost fin-like holes on the after-deck, where they are knotted underneath. When did they stop making those?

[ctenidae]

By the way, any idea when O'Day started putting in molded motor wells, something mine does not have. Also, the traveller ends go through two raised (molded), almost fin-like holes on the after-deck, where they are knotted underneath. When did they stop making those?

Mine, too (no well adn traveller fins). Though, someone added in a Crosby rig, for some reason. Maybe the traveller broke and they couldn't figure out how to fix it.

[MrPlywood]

My DS1 (sail #847 but not confirmed) had a wire traveller. I replaced it with a setup like Phill's. I probably should have put the blocks forward of the raised "fins" instead of inside them...

Before:

After: