Johnb,
The DS I is NOT self-bailing, only the DS II and DS III were self-bailing.
I have attached a picture of the DS I (Day Sailer I) below.
The DAY SAILER in all versions (there were 4) is very stable when sailed like hte small centerboard boat that she is, and the DS has been used in many Community Boating programs to teach sailing over the years. If sailed with care, and I don't mean yo uneed to be "timid", just careful, one could go a lifetime sailing one and NEVER capsize. That said, the DS I can capsize, but it is not inevitable! If a DS I does go over, it is near impossible to recover without outside help as the boat will fill with water and may be hard to right. The later DS II and DS III being built with a molded-in cockpit and closeable cuddy can possible be righted by the crew as enough air is trapped inside to help keep her floating high. The newest version, the DS IV has a deep, non-self-bailing cockpit, but is even better sealed than the II and III versions against water entry in a rare capsize. The BEST advice is to always sail these boats with the mainsheet in hand, that way if a gust of wind comes up, one can instantly release the mainsheet spilling the wind before a capsize happens. If I were teaching youngsters to sail on a Day Sailer, I think I might manage the mainsheet myself and let them master steering first, then once they get the hang of that, maybe let them tend the sheet. The DS will sail quite well without the jib t ostart with as long as there is some wind, just raise the Cb a bit to better balance the steering. Below is a page from the 1971 O'DAY sales brochure showing the DS II, as you can see she floats pretty high on her side of capsized, the DS I might not float as high as the water would probably pour over the cockpit coaming. However, if sailed carefully...... there is no reason that a DS will be prone to capsizing in normal sailing, JUST SAIL HER LIKE THE CB BOAT SHE IS! I think "fear" of capsizing has always kept me from capsizing?
