Inner Hull Moisture O'day Day Sailor

N

ntbonds

.
Feb 6, 2020
1
O'day Daysailor Trailered
I recently purchased my first sailboat, an old O'day Day Sailer II that needs some work. My biggest concern at the moment is the inner hull containing moisture. The boat had been trailered for almost 20 years by the previous owner, and I have yet to sail it. On inspection of the inside of the hull over a period of a few months I noticed that there were several moisture stains and sometimes what seemed to be water inside of the hull. There is a large amount of salt-like material as well. After some research I concluded that this is most likely some sort of hygroscopic bi-product of the fiberglass resin, but I'm not sure. There are no signs of blisters, but I need to remove the moisture and the salty-material. I attached a photo of all of this.
BoatHull.JPG


Any suggestions on how to best do that? How should I proceed to avoid further damage?
 
DrJudyB

DrJudyB

.
Jun 25, 2004
1,108
Corsair F24 Mk1 003 San Francisco Bay, CA
Did you test the crystals to see if they are salt? Dissolve in water a taste a drop.

That picture looks just like what the inside of a hull looks like when a lot of salt water has evaporated over time.
 
  • Like
Likes: ntbonds and jssailem
rgranger

rgranger

.
Jan 19, 2010
12,370
Hobie 16 & Rhodes 22 Skeeter Charleston
DrJudyB said:
Did you test the crystals to see if they are salt? Dissolve in water a taste a drop.

That picture looks just like what the inside of a hull looks like when a lot of salt water has evaporated over time.
Click to expand
Ah yes... the taste test. We discourage that in our organic chemistry labs but .... we all do it.:rolleyes:
 
  • Like
Likes: ntbonds and jssailem
D

dlochner

.
Jan 11, 2014
11,411
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
rgranger said:
Ah yes... the taste test. We discourage that in our organic chemistry labs but .... we all do it.:rolleyes:
Click to expand
Gee, you professors take all the fun out of Organic Chemistry. When I took it, we did the breath test to make sure the ether cans were labeled correctly. :biggrin:

Back to the OPs question.

Way in the back is what looks to be Styrofoam. This was often used for positive bouyancy and structural support. Stryofoam also absorbs water and does not give it easily. Sunfishes are notorious for this. So, some of the moisture you are seeing may be moisture coming from the styrofoam. If it is saltwater the residual salt will suck water out of the air.

While the boat may have always been trailered, that doesn't mean the boat hasn't been flooded on one or more occasions. Have you always remembered to put the drain plug in before launching? Be honest. ;)

And to prevent comments from our resident chemists, the styrofoam itself doesn't absorb water, the water enters the the little spaces between the balls of styrofoam, kind of like a sponge.
 
  • Like
Likes: ntbonds
C

Crazy Dave Condon

.
Jun 8, 2004
10,060
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Are there any noticeable leaks in that boat. Use to work on them as a former dealer. Plant closed in 1989 but saw one small one with a 1990 model year if memory serves me right.
 
  • Like
Likes: ntbonds
C

Close Call

.
Feb 1, 2013
23
Pearson Wanderer Chesapeake
I bought one of these boats a few months ago. I trailerd it almost 400 miles home. When I opened the bilge drain water started pouring out. I think it drained for 20 minutes. There was probably 500 pounds of water in the 600 pound boat. It may have been there for over 10 years. The PO (my older brother) new nothing about it. It had been stored in a barn for 10 years.

There doesn't seem to be any harm done. The boat sails great and isn't taking on water from the hull. I think rainwater gets in through the mast step.

I think I would probably not worry about a little moisture. Just leave the bilge plug out and store the boat in as dry a place as possible.o

What are your concerns?
 
  • Like
Likes: ntbonds
dbk0630

dbk0630

.
Mar 30, 2014
37
Catalina 22 Indiana
I used to own one of these... they are an excellent first sailboat... you’ll love it.

There are a number of ways moisture can get into the bilge in a DS2... the gap where the centerboard control lines go thru from the outer to inner hull is the likely suspect... and it is possible to fix the issue... though whether its worth it depends on the amount of water involved. I got in the habit of opening the hull plug... draining the bilge... after each sail and was able to live with the problem.

The best place to learn about and get answers to anything daysailer-related is thru the daysailer forum (www.daysailer.org/forums)... which like this forum, is an excellent resource with a lot of active and knowledgeable contributors.

Dave.
 
  • Like
Likes: Crazy Dave Condon and ntbonds
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Bottom