Take a look at my new DS1 (and maybe offer some advice)

[amedsker]

I've been trying to do some cleaning and remove the paint that already flaked off in the cabin and I have a few more questions. Are there supposed to be small holes/openings in the cockpit where the centerboard connects to the bilge? I need to clean more around the centerboard but it looks like there is a small opening at the front and the back of the fiberglass that's around the centerboard. Also, is there any access to the bilge on the DS1? I can hear water in the bilge when I lift the tongue of the trailer and tilt the boat and I'm wondering if it's supposed to be in there and if there is a way to drain it. And what are the plugs on the sides of the seats for? There is a plug at the base of the seat on both side of the boat. I tried to upload pictures but I was having issues. I can try again this weekend.

[GreenLake]

There are no openings from the CB trunk int the boat. If there were, your boat would sink. The water level inside the CB trunk is several inches from the bottom when the boat is at rest, and water goes everywhere in the trunk when the boat is in motion. (You might be able to hear water sloshing in the trunk, but only when in the water).

However, on the DS1, there may be a "keelson", a square fiberglass profile forward of the CB (with the mast step on it). This profile is hollow and has openings to drain it. Those may be the ones you noticed?

(the openings that I mentioned are just off the left edge of the picture).

The DS1 does not have an enclosed bilge - it's an open boat with a single hull. If you've taken out the floor boards and there is no visible water, but you can hear it, there are only three places it can be: inside each seat tank or in the bow tank. None of these places should have water in them. Each of them has a drain hole.

Each tank is filled with 1960's styrofoam, which over time gets badly waterlogged. There is no remedy but to cut a large opening and extract all that foam and to replace it with something better - like pool noodles.

The forward faces of the seats and the rear face of the tank are good places to cut those holes. You make them circular and, when done, install "deck plates" (also called inspection ports) which you can purchase in a number of diameters - get the largest ones that will fit. It's simply a piece of required maintenance as these boats age and will keep them afloat for many decades more.

Here are some pictures:



I don't seem to have one with the deck plate installed.

Incidentally, do not use silicone caulk to seal those ports when you install them. Use butyl tape or poly-sulfide caulk. (Also do not use 3M 5200 - you may need to replace the deck plates in the future)

[Signalcharlie]

I'd pressure wash the inside to get off the big chucks, then scrape or sand lightly with 120 grit[album][/album] the rest. I wouldn't spend too much time sanding inside the cuddy as you're just going to throw wet gear up there. We have used the following points and like all of them, price from low to high Rustoleum Spray, Rustoleum in a can, Rustoleum Marine Topside in a can, oil based house paint, TotalBoat Wet Edge, Pettit EZPoxy and Interlux Brightside. Your choice will probably come down to who has the color you like, we like oyster white or light gray in bilges, and you can coordinate to possibly painting your topsides. We are doing TotalBoat WetEdge Oyster White on our Topsides right now and Pettit EZPoxy Blue Ice on our hull, a repaint over some 20 year old Interlux Brightside.



FMI: https://smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com/2019/05/1971-oday-day-sailer-ii-cyane-05-may-19.html

[amedsker]

Thanks to everyone for all of the great info! I’m excited to start working on cleaning and painting. I finally got it off the trailer so I can replace the bunks. I noticed there is a small hole in the bilge directly behind the center board trunk. Is this hole supposed to have a plug or is it supposed to be open? I’m guessing it’s some form of a self bailer? I’ve seen that the DSII has a self bailer but I’m not sure how that works with the DSI.

[GreenLake]

If you have a transom drain, you can plug that hole, if you want (I glassed over the one in my boat). Otherwise, it's supposed to have a plug. Some special thread (NPT?). You can find info if you dig way in the archives here.

If you leave it open it will fill the boat until it floats based on underseat and bow tank flotation. That's a fine thing to do if you keep your boat at a mooing or docked on the water, so rains can't swamp it. But not so fine with floorboards that would then be immersed.

It is true that a transom drain is not the lowest spot when the boat is on the trailer, but it's easy to tilt the trailer if you can't keep an eye on it during the off-season.

[tomodda]

The hole behind center board is the one and only drain in the early DS-1s. Either glass it in and install transom plugs, or leave it on, up to you.

If you decide to go with a transom plug, search around earlier posts on this site re:how to do it. Summary: you need to grind out a shallow depression around the drain hole and build a few layers of glass to plug it. Simply epoxying the hole over is too weak, you want a ramp. As for transom plugs, look at the class rules before you install.

If you keep the bottom drain, get the RWO Laser drain plug ($6ish) from APS or westcoastsailing, it should fit perfectly. That's what I use.

Tom

[amedsker]

I have the transom drain that’s in the middle of the transom at the bottom where the rudder connects and I have that plug. I also have a second hole directly behind the center board trunk. It’s underneath the floor boards. If you remove the floorboards you can see thru the hull. Is there a special plug for his hole?

[GreenLake]

I've never seen a need for that one (near CB) other than wanting to store your boat level an uncovered, at which point that's the lowest point; but you can simply lift the front a bit and then it drains out of the transom hole. However, you certainly can't sail it like it is today.

If you feel you must secure the proper plug, the answer to your question re: special screw in plug needed is buried here in the older archives, look for NPT thread (if memory serves). However, it's been a number of years since it was mentioned last, so you might have to read back a bit.

Not that there's something wrong with spelunking in the archives here. There's plenty of good info.

However, in my opinion, just glass over that one. Not hard to do. I assume you've worked with fiberglass before?

You could use 3M High Strength Marine filler (that's fiberglass reinforced polyester resin) or one of the paste epoxies, like Marine Tex. The hole is narrow enough for either of those to make an acceptable repair. Don't use caulk, and definitely (not ever!) silicone based stuff - the latter has no business on a boat.

(My boat is a '63 and has both the transom and the mid cockpit drain near the CB. Mine was rusted shut, or looked that way, and when I refinished the underside of the hull, I just filled it in from there. I never tried to use it and never missed it. I park my trailer on a slight slope and water drains through the transom with minor puddling - I do take the floorboards out when not in use)

[amedsker]

I'm haven't been able to work on the boat as much as I would like but I am getting ready to plug the hole behind the CB. I've been searching the forum but haven't been able to find a very solid answer for how to plug it. GreenLake in your previous post you said to glass over it. I purchased Marine-Tex Standard RM305K-B White and I'm planning on using that. My question is do I need to do anything to prep the hole or do anything special when I'm applying the Marine-Tex? Or, since the hole isn't very big, do I just mix the Marine-Tex and fill the hole?

[GreenLake]

Always use a suitable solvent to de-grease and/or de-wax. Also scrape off any paint, loos stuff. If you have fiberglass cloth lying around, you could chop a bit into short lengths of fibers (about .25") and mix them in, that would definitely make things stronger, but if the hole is about as deep as wide (and width around finger size) you should be fine with a plug of solid Marine Tex.