New to sailing and Daysailer's

[Oaks]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to introduce myself. I am fairly new to sailing, I am attempting to restore an old O'day daysailer. I am looking forward to getting it on the water, either late this season or the next. I live in New Bedford, MA. I'm sure I will have plenty of questions, and thank you ahead time for any advice or help.

-Josh

[DigitalMechanic]

Congrats on your new to you boat, and welcome to the forum!

I am new to sailing as well. Acquired my boat last summer (July 2015) and worked on it until around December until I got what I thought was a solid seaworthy boat. I probably would have had it to that point sooner if I knew more, but did not know much and I did a lot of trial and error sails coming back each time (sometimes rather quickly) with new ideas/thoughts or things to repair or change. I can say of all my trials, the scariest one was a standing rigging failure. So, that would be my recommendation for a starting point (for safety reasons), but there are plenty of other things to check as well. Here is the "Punch List" of things to check a few guys created for newly acquired boats http://forum.daysailer.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=5115. If you plan to put the boat in at a crowed ramp/area, where you cannot launch or retrieve under sail, make sure that your outboard is in solid condition as well (Change spark plug, fuel filter, inspect gas lines for leaks, replace lower unit gear oil, makes sure water flows through it correctly, replace impeller and/or pump, etc)

(Rudy Nickerson) D&R Marine is the O'Day parts supplier, and is located in Assonet, MA just south of you. http://www.drmarine.com Due to your adjacent locale, I imagine the speed at which you receive replacement parts will make the rest of us jealous.

The Daysailer is a pretty easy boat to sail, I learned to sail it "good enough" within 1/2 dozen times out after making her seaworthy and functional. Not making any claim that I am a good sailor, but I could make the boat do things it is supposed to do in a short time with little experience. My expectations were not that high, considering my level of experience. The boat made that possible, not me

It is just as fun of a boat to work on as it is to sail, there are so many ways to update it and make it fit your own style. Again, congrats and enjoy it!

[jeadstx]

Welcome to the forum and Day Sailers. A lot of good information here. Do you have a Day Sailer I, II, or III?

DigitalMechanic covered it pretty well. I might add, since you are new to sailing, when you launch make sure there are no overhead wires at the ramp. Getting a mast caught on a line can be bad. You are in an area where there are several Day Sailers, so if you need local help I would imagine you should be able to find it. Sometimes, it is nice for the first sail to have an experienced sailor with you. DigitalMechanic mention adjusting things every time out at the beginning. From my experience, it is the nature of sailors to keep trying to improve their boats, I know I still do and I've had my Day Sailer II for 10 years.

D&R Marine (as mentioned) is a good source of parts if needed, I use D&R often. D&R has parts for all models. There is also Cape Cod Shipbuilding for parts, they are the current manufacturer of the Day Sailer.

John

[Oaks]

Thanks for the welcome, and the great advice. I have a daysailer 1. I am not sure what year. Currently I am preparing to sand down the deck. It is pretty bad with what looks like spider cracking (don't know the right terminology). I have to replace the wood trim, which is broken in various places. What type of wood? Someone told me mahogany, (which is expensive). Thank you digitalmechanic for the info, it is great to hear about that place in Assonet. I pretty much have to re-paint both the deck and the hull, including below the waterline, along with new trim. Right now I have her on boat stands in a small garage, I would like to step the mast and check the rigging soon. I know a couple of the "spreaders" on the mast need replacing. Maybe I can post some pictures soon. Thanks again.

Josh

[DigitalMechanic]

Currently I am preparing to sand down the deck. It is pretty bad with what looks like spider cracking (don't know the right terminology).

I would not sweat the little spider cracks. They are not structural, just in the gelcoat at the surface. Sanding alone will not get rid of them. You will have to carve them out and refill with gelcoat if I understand correctly. That will probably turn into some job, as I imagine there are quite a few of those little cracks to fill on a boat this age. In my down time I used a polisher with wool compounding pad to take the oxidation off the boat (vs painting). Then polished it back up and gave it some wax. I did several passes of each, and was very surprised at how well it came out. However, this does not repair other aesthetic things like spider cracks on the deck, and scratches or dings in the hull. In my opinion, those are just little battle scars that show character from the 40 years the boat has survived Also, the polisher route did not keep me from sailing while waiting to finish the project

I know a couple of the "spreaders" on the mast need replacing.

I sourced new spreaders from D&R, and the ones Rudy has are built tougher than the originals. They have done well on my boat thus far. When I first took the rigging tape (that was falling apart) off the spreaders when I first got the boat, I replaced with spreader boots. Well, I tightened the opening in the boots where the rigging (side stays) pass through too tight. When I went to raise the mast, the boot held onto the rigging and off came the weak original spreaders. I was excited to go sailing that day, as this was back when I first got the boat, and so mad the whole way back home, lol. Anyways, when you replace the spreaders, remember to leave the opening that the rigging runs through loose so that the stays can slide through fairly easy (whether you use just tape or a boot). Otherwise you may have a bad day like I did.

[jeadstx]

The wood trim and floor boards are mahogany. I guess it depends on how damaged the original wood is as to whether you can use it. Floor boards are one of the few things that D&R doesn't sell. Stuart Marine, which makes the Rhodes 19 which has similar coamings to the Day Sailer I. If the coamings are not worth saving, you might be able to get some from them. Sometimes they have used coamings at a reasonable price. I have a Rhodes 19 and can compare coamings to my Day Sailer I if you would like me to.

As for floor boards, there are drawings on the forum for rebuilding those. I'm building a set of floor boards for my Day Sailer I. For wood, I was fortunate to have found and purchased a set of mahogany floor boards from a 1965 O'Day Mariner that was damaged beyond repair recently. I should be able to get most of my floor boards from that. If I need additional floor boards I will probably get them from Stuart.

John

[Oaks]

The original coamings are damaged beyond saving. The starboard coming is intact enough that I was planning to use it for a pattern. I found a place in Tiverton, RI that sells mahogany boards so I was thinking about making my own coamings, if it is possible. I didn't realize that I could buy them already made, where is Stuart Marine located? The floor boards are decent, but I would like to sand them down and refinish them. One problem I have with them is that they are coming loose from their ribbing. It looks like they used finish nails to join them. That is good for not seeing the nail head, but it doesn't seem like a very strong hold. I thought about pricing out stainless screws to do the job. Any thoughts on this?

[GreenLake]

Making your own coamings: if you are handy with woodworking, have a template and can source the right kind of wood - why not make your own?

For the floor boards. Upgrading to screws works fine. I would try to source some silicone bronze screws instead of stainless. I think they would look better (because they would match the color of the nails you are replacing and age the same way.

If the ribs show signs of having enlarged holes, you should fill and redrill them.

[Oaks]

I checked D&R Marine on-line, what a great resource. They really have a lot of stuff. It looks like the previous owner of the boat used medical tape or something like that to keep the spreaders attached. It looks like the boots are aluminum and torn. So I will have order new ones. Digital Mechanic you are right, the "spider cracking" on the deck won't stop me from sailing now, but the hull might. There used to be a good sized hole in the hull just below the water line, it was right under the molded thwart. I had to have someone patch it for me. So right now it just has primer. So I figure that I should re-paint the hull and below water line with anti-fouling paint. Combine that with the re-gel coating the deck and replacing the coamings it seems like a lot. I'm thinking if I focus on one thing at a time, hopefully it won't be too overwhelming.

I have never heard of those type of screws, sounds great and they won't rust with salt water, I will have to find some. Thanks.

-Josh

[GreenLake]

You only need anti-fouling paint if you keep your boat on the water for extended periods. If you haul it out again same day, or after a weekend, there's no need to use poisonous paints.

Even the primer shouldn't be keeping you from an afternoon on the water.

Spider cracks are cosmetic. So, ignore them while you get to know your boat. If bored in the off-season, then is the time to decide whether you feel better with a new gel coat, or whether just sanding and filling plus a paint job is more your speed.

The spreaders are attached to mast and stays. On the mast side, it usually involves a pin. I've had the holes rip out of one of my spreaders (and immediately after I replaced it with a new one). I then resorted to "lashing" that end of the spreader to the pin with tails of cable ties held on by hose clamps. That "jury rig" repair is still in place, it held longer than that new spreader had.

On the side of the stays, the spreader has slots, into which you fit the stay. After that, you tightly wrap the stay with stainless steel wire above and below (and in the middle there should be two small holes in the spreader to pass the wire through. When that is done, you wrap the whole thing with Rigging Tape (a self-amalgamating tape) This protects the sail from any sharp corners.

Now, some of the specialty items you may not be able to source locally (depending on your location). Here's an online merchant that I've used for lots of stuff: http://www.fisheriessupply.com.

The particular bronze screws I got were from a local hardware store (they specialize in stainless and other marine fasteners). Fisheries Supply has equivalent ones if you can't source them from a local fastener vendor.

[Oaks]

I didn't realize the anti-fouling paint was so toxic, thanks for the heads up. Someone mentioned the anti-fouling paint, but For the most part the longest the boat will be in the water is two to three days at a time. I definitely have a lot to learn, and thank everyone for their advice.

[GreenLake]

Even if it isn't directly toxic to you, it's intentionally toxic to whatever organisms like to grow on underwater surfaces. Just make sure you wipe off your boat when you take it out after one of your longer stints and you should be fine. Most deck paints have a limit on how long they can be submerged. For example 72h. If you stay within that limit, then you ought to be fine with even a deck paint. If not, you can get one of the paints people but as barriers underneath the anti-fouling, or any other paint rated as exterior/marine and submersible. (Overnight is the longest I've had my boat in the water, so I haven't felt the need to check the market -- if I had the need, I would probably discuss this with somebody knowledgeable at my favorite marine store; if you are near salt-water, chances that you have access to local resources might be better than for most small-lake sailors).