O'day sprite rigging

[2manybiscuits]

I recently acquired a O'day sprite for my 6 and 8 year old children to learn how to sail on with me. The boat came complete with rigging and sails. I rigged the boat with a little knowledge I have gained from sailing my 16' hobie cat, and some guess work. I took the boat out the other day and it was amazingly slow! I knew it would be a little slower than the hobie cat but I am pretty sure there is a flaw in my rigging. I am looking for a owners manual or some type of guide on how to rig it. The boat is possibly from the 70's but I could be way off. I have read a few of the posts on here but have not found my error(s) yet.

Thanks for all the help

 

[Sunbird22358]

Well, a SPRITE will never reach the speeds of a HOBIE...but can be pretty exciting just the same!
I haven't sailed A Sprite, but have sailed a few different 8' sailing dinghies, not a fast as my DS II, but I never got bored. I did own a 12' Widgeon, sort-of a bigger sister to the Sprite, she was no Hobie-like speed demon, but would sail fast enough for me, maybe 5-6 knots tops, that feels fast in a little 12' sailboat. How good are the sails? If they are old and stretched out, that might be a factor.
I don't think you wiil find an old owners manual for the SPRITE, out of production too long (last built around 1970), but they aren't that high-tech, pretty simple... I never had a manual for my Widgeon until about 10 years after I sold her. Search this site for a few recent posts about the Sprite (like about 1-2 months ago) I remember posting a few pictures to help out another new Sprite owner and they may help you. (Page 3)
If not... I'll look through my Sprite pics and see if I find anything more helpful ( I'll post a 1966 copy of the Widgeon instructions below, although not exactly matching the Sprite, they may help).

 

[2manybiscuits]

Thanks for the info. I have read a few of your older posts as well. A lot of good info. I think I may have may have it rigged correctly. I am just working on the fine details of sailing the smaller boat now. There is just a major difference in my two boats and when I go from a faster hobie cat to a small day sailer it seems that much slower. Thank you for the reply.