Hello All - Newbie with new DSII

[jplevens215]

Hi All;

Last fall I began to set in motion a long-standing dream, by participating in an ASA 101 course at Lake Nockamixon.

Through some happy coincidences, I just recently became the owner of an O'Day DS II. It needs a bit of spit and elbow grease, but nothing major - as far as my novice eyes and the disclosures of the previous skipper (a work colleague of mine) have indicated.

It looks like the standing rigging is fairly new. I just acquired a new mainsail and jib from IntensitySails. I have plans to replace all of the running rigging and sheets before the start of the 'season'. The current running rigging seems a bit played out.

I have a growing list of things I'd like to do (antifouling the bottom, finding a way to restore the luster of the hull above the waterline, crafting a home-made boom clutch to assist with singlehanded mast stepping, windex, deck coat, etc. etc.), it’s a simple vessel and I want to avoid my inclination to overcomplicate it. But let's get her sailing first..LOL

I plan to trailer the vessel to Lake Nockamixon in PA. I am contemplating getting on the waiting list for dry slip or taking the plunge (pun intended) and just going whole hog on an actual wet slip. TBD there.

Hoping to find other O'Day owners on the lake who are willing to be generous with thier sailing acumen, tales -tall or otherwise, and cautionary tales or passions about Nockamixon, sailing, and O'Days.

Very excited to begin to fold into my reality a long-standing life dream - to learn to sail, and participate in the the 'sailing life'.

Any tips, pointers, stories or advice about how to best prepare for that 'first launch' (both of the season and of my life) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
J

 

[fasttalker372]

Congratulations on your choice of boat. I had one for a few years and it was great. Please consider joining the Nockamixon sail club. They have an active Oday fleet with lots of helpful Oday owners. It's a great community to be part of and well worth $50 a year for cruising members. Sail and learn classes, loads of fun activities, raftups, parades, and more. See you at Nock! We will be on RRR YOT, a Precision 23.

 

[Brian S]

Hey, JP! Yes, join the club! http://www.nockamixonsailclub.org/join_us

My first recommendation, if you're going to dry sail, and get a dry storage spot, don't paint the bottom. But if you decide to get the wet slip, you'll want bottom paint to combat the bryozomes. They look like jelly globs that grow on the bottom. This season, I'm going to try some Pettit Hydrocoat SR, which has an anti-slime agent. More expensive, but maybe I won't have to scrub the bottom as often.

Fasttalker USED to have a Daysailer, but he went all Precision on us. It's all good, he had lots of fun in that Daysailer. There are quite a few at the lake, but I'm not sure how many are in the club. No matter, we'll all help you regardless. The club also has some "Sail-n-learn" clinics which could help you with things. Check 'em out on the calendar section.

For running rigging, there are two ways to go - decent polyester double braid, or high-tech gee whiz ropes because you got more money than sense. I definitely started out with more money than sense, now I have less money but more Vectran and Dyneema and colors than I can shake a stick at.

For my budget recommendations, I'd use New England Ropes VPC for halyards (less stretch than poly double braids,) and Novabraid XLE for sheets and control lines. Annapolis Performance Sailing (http://apsltd.com) is a moderate priced, great place to do business, and they can sell you the VPC and splice shackles for your halyards. Sail Care (http://sailcare.com) is also a great place to do business, and has great prices on the Novabraid, and can also do splices if needed.

The club is doing formal "launch weekend" 4/5 and 4/6, with appointments with launch captain other times if needed. Come on down and hang out with us. I don't know that I'll be there, because I will probably be working on my boat, she's just not ready to launch yet. Too many projects, too much winter!

Contact me if you have any other club questions,
Brian
NSC Rear Commodore of Cruising

 

[Sunbird22358]

Here are the running rigging sizes and lengths. I use New England Ropes Sta-Set and it works fine, I wouldn;t go for the high-tech lines unless you plan to race, not worth the extra $$$ for a boat like our Day Sailers (again, unless racing is in your plans?)

Check out the Day Sailer Class Association web for a local fleet (www.daysailer.org) I don't think it is worth joining, (I was a member for a while, but since I don't race, I really didn't get much for my $35.00 per year.) But you can probably find some local DS owners willing to help you learn.

I restored my boat's topsides gloss with fiberglass rubbing compound and a good buffer the first Fall. Now a once over with a oxidation remover (a very mild liquid rubbing compound, Meguiers?) each Spring and a few coats of a good marine paste wax keeps the shine.

I've added pics of my mast crutch used when trailering (well, back and forth to the ramp). I also added a pic that shows my boom crutch (O'Day original) It works good for the boom but won't really work for supporting the mast.

O’DAY RIGGING SPECS FOR DAY SAILER II
(Taken from a 1979 O’DAY memo and info provided by D&R Marine)

RUNNING RIGGING:​

MAIN HALYARD: ¼” x 45’ Dacron Shackle spliced to end

MAINSHEET:
(Mid-Boom-1974-85) 3/8” x 25’ Dacron Double-Braid (spliced to becket on block)

(1971-74 end-boom) 3/8” x 38’ Dacron Double-Braid

DOWNHAUL: ¼” x 36” Dacron Double-Braid

OUTHAUL: ¼” x 8’ 6” Dacron (For “Block-Action” outhaul)
¼” x 7’ Dacron (for stock outhaul)

JIB HALYARD: ¼” x 31’ Dacron Shackle spliced to one end

JIB SHEETS:n 5/16” x 22’ Dacron Double-Braid (11’ each side)

BOOM-VANG: ¼” x 10’ Dacron Double-Braid Spliced to becket on single block
¼” x 24” Dacron Double-Braid Line to fasten lower block to mast


CENTERBOARD:
Lowering line 5/16” x 29” Dacron knot in CB recess (mid 1974-85)
1/8” x (?)” 7x19 SS wire (1971-mid 1974)

Control-Line ¼” x 15’6” Dacron 3-strand (1977-85)
¼” x 13’ Dacron 3-strand (mid-1974-early 1977)
¼” x 16’(?) Dacron 3-strand (1971-mid 1974)

Lifting Cable 1/8” – 7x19 Stainless-Steel wire approx. 24” long
(15 ½” between Nicropress sleeves that form loops at each end.)

Shock-Cord 14” x 10 ½” (14” of cord with a loop in each end)

STANDING RIGGING​

Head stay: 1/8” x 15’11 ½”

Side stays (Shrouds): (2): 1/8” x 15’11”

*Original Head stay and side stays were 3/32” 1x19 SS wire, but most boats have been upgraded to 1/8” since 3/32” is not really strong enough.​

All standing rigging is SS 1x19 type wire. All standing rigging lengths are with turnbuckle (where applicable) closed from eye to eye. All lengths and specifications are approximate and subject to change without notice.​

 

[Brian S]

Hey, I forgot to mention. This is basically "the bible" on polishing fiberglass: http://forums.oday.sailboatowners.com/showthread.php?t=117266 I followed it, and it cleaned up the smooth parts of my boat very nicely.

Of course, that doesn't work on chalky non-skid. This year I'm going to try the Aurora system. Start off with Boat Clean Plus, followed by Boat Scrub, which is supposed to clean off oxidation, and then the Sure Step protectant, which is not supposed to be slippery like wax. We'll see how it goes. I hope it goes well, because it costs about $60.

 

[jplevens215]

Thank you all for the sound advice. I was planning on joining NSC as well so looking fwd to meeting other lake sailors and learning much. Excited for the onset of spring!