by Lil Maggie » Thu Aug 16, 2018 9:40 pm
Hello,
Having been one of those here who inherited (well, bought for cheap) an old DS1 with many a flaw, and done all the necessary repairs myself, including, transom, cuddy edge and sides, and built a foil centerboard, can say that though it requires some skill and knowledge on working with fiberglass, woodwork, etc., it is doable, it can be done on the cheap since materials are not really that expensive; hired labor (and skilled boat repair labor is not cheap). We all have done it, thanks to the people and info on this forum and are more than willing to lend a hand-so to speak-to at least point you in the right direction.
I gotta, be honest, though, that boat has seen some serious neglect; The worst of the damage is in the cuddy, assuming your cuddy sides are not cracked, what happened to your boat is most likely due to two things: 1) you are missing the thwart seats, which have the structural job of keeping the boat sides from sagging out and partly causing your cuddy top/sides to crack 2) the cuddy edge cracked like that means the rebar support underneath is long gone (rusted out) AND partly due to #1. To a lesser degree, the wood coamings, which you are also missing, also have a structural job of adding longitudinal stiffness to the deck.
Other areas that need attention are the replacement of the wood backing on your transom-this is probably one of the easiest jobs to do, rudder and centerboards can be obtained at places like D&R Marine or you can make your own...
Other areas that are not as obvious but will need attention GUARANTEED, are you flotation....there are old bead foam blocks under the bow (fo'c'stle area) and under the bench seats, which will require cutting/installing inspection ports to remove the old foam and replace it with pool noodles.
Less critical would be the inspection and condition of your standing and running rigging and sails, but the main priority would be restoring the missing structural support to help your boat regain and retain its original shape
Feel free to peruse through my photo gallery where I have documented most of the work done to my boat
That being said, had I been offered your boat, I might have had passed on it (and I attended boatbuilding/design school for two years), back when I got my boat 6 years ago and before I knew this site existed
We're here to help
Cheers
Mike
A crappy day sailing is better than a good one at home...
DS 1 #2313