Frustrated---O'Day Daysailer 17'

[Windtherapy]

So refurbished my entire 17' this winter in my pole barn. First day to pull out and set the brand new sails in the yard and adjust everything. Why, why, why can't I get the main high enough to get the foot of the sail tight? I pulled as hard as I possibly can on the halyard and dropped the boom as low as it can go without taking out the cleat for the Cunningham line and still I need a few more inches to get the foot tight. What am I missing here? Brand new sails from Intensity.

Oh and last year when I took it out right after I bought it the boom was MUCH high than it is now. Right now even with the foot loose by about 2 inches and the boom being lowered as much as possible, the boom would hit me in the neck and I am only 5' 11". Last year with the old sail the boom cleared my entire head. IF I ever wanted to install a vang there would be no room. The boom now is about a foot off the deck. I don't get it. Even if I crank the living h*ll out of the shrouds (which I didn't do) it would maybe give me another 1/2" at most. Am I missing something here? The new jib is fine though.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

sounds like your new main is cut a little long -

Les

 

[Tally Ho]

Did you loosen your vang or whatever holds your boom down? I know on my Hunter 280, I had some wrinkles in my main that made me think my sail was really stretched out. Then I loosened my vang and raised the sail, then tightened the vang. Made a huge difference.

I hope you get it figured out, but get out there and sail.

Greg

 

[John Nantz]

Just a few questions:
1. How was the luff dimension (to make the sail) determined? For example, was the dimension based on the published class sail measurements?

2. Does the head of the sail reach the full height?

3. If the dimension was based on class sail measurements or specifications, then the mast should be checked for the proper class dimension (length). If that is on spec then the boom appears to be in the wrong location.

4. If you didn't buy the boat new perhaps the previous owner used a different sail (non O'Day) or had the sail recut thereby loosing some luff length.

Editorial comment: the Daysailer is a decades old class so maybe something has changed over the years, like the mast length. Maybe the newer masts are taller? That was a very popular model so hopefully someone will chime in. I think the longest aluminum mast extrusions used to be 21-feet (from Dwyer in RI or MA, and I don't know where their masts came from but this was a popular mast supplier) so maybe they found a way to get a longer extrusion.

Disclaimer: I don't know really anything dimensionally about the O'Day Daysailer except that I know how it looks. As an aside, I'm not sure what how your height factors into the equation. On a 17-foot daysailer I'm sure that the boom will be low so if sitting down it wouldn't surprise me if one has to duck your head when you tack. A Daysailer owner can correct me on this if I'm off in this statement. If one want's a higher boom then there will be a loss of sail area. I've skippered (as a fill-in) a Hobie 33 and we had to duck our heads on it, but then every boat is different. Another possibility is that the leach dimension is shorter and that would raise the end of the boom and give more head clearance, less sail area, but have no effect on the tack.

 

[Windtherapy]

Good points all. FYI--no boom vang installed yet. Talking about the mast, good point. Rudy at D&R stated I have a racing mast with stiffeners and the mast head sheave I have he has never seen so....maybe the sail is just about 2-3" inches too long. My luck. I'll sail it anyway and see what happens. I mean it's not too bad and maybe it will look better when I am out on the water sailing. I am still shocked on how low the boom is. Would lobe to have another DS1 post a picture of how low their boom is. The images when Googling the DS1 online are hard to really see that well. Do you really think a boom vang is tat important on a Daysailer?

The photo on Intensity sails webiste of the DS1 main even shows a tad loos foot towards the mast side--exactly what mine is doing. Maybe I am WAY over thinking this but being a new sailer, I am not sure.

 

[Windtherapy]

So I took the old sail and laid it on top of the new sail (photo attached). What a difference at the foot. In the photo I have the head, tack, foot & luff aligned perfectly together. Hmmmmm?

 

[Windtherapy]

Looks like Intensity Sails are designed to fit original set up DS's and not ones with the mast converted to the tabernacle system. Lovely!

 

[chuckwayne]

something is very wrong with what you've got - John may be onto something, and you've got a pieced together rig. The DS has had essentially the same spec's it's entire life (I've owned and raced 3), and the boom is high for a 17 footer. Your old sail has a very strange foot shape, too. I've attached the DS1 assembly instructions from O'Day, and part 3 of the class rules which shows the rig dimensions.

 

[Windtherapy]

I am imagining a lot of DS 1's have gone to the tabernacle system so unless somebody takes 2-4 inches off the mast while doing so, they are basically the same as original. Either way, I'll measure my mast tonight and see what I have.

With that said, if I need to have the sail sewn to my boat specs, any good company that anybody knows of that could do this?

 

[berner73]

Would lobe to have another DS1 post a picture of how low their boom is.

Picture of the boom setup on a stock DS1.

Any sail loft should be able to make the modifications as needed.

 

[John Nantz]

May not be the best option, but something to think about. When the wind pipes up one really does not want any wrinkles in the luff of the sail, so here is a thought. Discuss with the sailmaker (one that wouldn't get upset because you didn't buy the sail from him/her) about putting a flattening reef point above the tack. Shouldn't cost much and definitely cheaper than a re-cut.

One option would be to have it where if the sail was re-cut later, should you decide to go that route, it could then be used as the tack, another option would be to have it a few inches above where the recut sail tack would be. It used to be that bolt ropes would shrink over time but I don't know what they're using nowadays.

Of course one would need a line to go through the flattening reef point. Pad eye and cleat on the mast under the gooseneck? There may already be something there for reefing.

Nice looking "Bottoms Up" boat picture!

 

[Sunbird22358]

A Boom-Vang is not absolutely needed I guess on a DS, but.... would I want to sail one without the vang.. NO!!!!!!
I have wanted a boom-vang on every boat that I've sailed after the first time that I sailed boat that had one. It keeps the boom from lifting on a run or broad-reach reducing the risk (but not removing it) of jibing. The sail can be flattened mre in stronger winds helping to spill the wind better and reducing the heeling effect.

Pictures that I've seen of early (late 1950's to early 1960's) DS Is do seem to show a higher boom, but as previously mentioned, the mainsail dimensions have not changed from 1958 to 2017, a Day Sailer sail is the same dimensions now as it always has been. (Class rules!) Are you able to get the head of the sail all the way to the top of the mast slot? Try raising the sail with the downhaul loose. What size (diameter) is your main halyard? Most owners use 1/4" line and most often a problem getting the sail all the way up is caused by either a kink in the sail slot or too large diameter of halyard (and the resulting splice to attach the shackle. One more possibility, try lubing the sail slob b rubbing some candle wax along the edges, or a dry spray lube could be used, but I prefer the wax. It is amazing what a difference that makes (and I still need to do that this year on my boat, launched last weekend for the season and realized today that I had forgotten this vital step! I do the boom slot too!)