coaming cutdown questions

[dannyb9]

i just got a sweet 68 ds1 and am trying to get it organized for sailing. i live next to a windy port royal sound and anticipate a lot of hiking. what are the pros/cons of cutting the coaming down? how is it done? if i cut it, how much coaming should i leave standing above the deck? thanks for responses, i saw little in the archives on this subject, tho i imagine it has come up before

[dtrop01]

One of the first things I did to my DS was to cut down the coamings. If I wanted uncomfortable hiking....I would have bought a thistle

The way I did it...and there are probably better ways, was with the coamings on the boat, trace the deck edge on the coaming. This became my cut line. I removed them from the boat, and then took it to my neighbor's band saw and cut on this line. You could probably use a portable jig saw.

After I made my cuts, I took my router with a round over bit and eased the edge that faces the cockpit. Did a bit more sanding, varnished, and re-installed.

[GreenLake]

For an alternative to cutting down the coamings look for posts by calden. He rigged a system of pads outside the coamings that looked very comfortable. My take it is that I would adopt a variant of his system before cutting down the coamings on my DS.

[Baysailer]

I recently lowered my coamings. Just requires cutting the tails up about an inch or so and sanding the rear coaming to fit. You will also have to fill and drill new screw holes.

The amount I lowered it was only about 3/4" in the front and 1 - 1 1/4" in the rear. It doesn't sound like much but it really helps in comfort. The coamings will still shed water and it makes the coamings less likely to break or split. It also keeps the look I like, you'd be hard pressed to see the difference. I'll drop some photos as soon as I get a new camera.

Fred

[dannyb9]

I recently lowered my coamings. Just requires cutting the tails up about an inch or so and sanding the rear coaming to fit. You will also have to fill and drill new screw holes.

The amount I lowered it was only about 3/4" in the front and 1 - 1 1/4" in the rear. It doesn't sound like much but it really helps in comfort. The coamings will still shed water and it makes the coamings less likely to break or split. It also keeps the look I like, you'd be hard pressed to see the difference. I'll drop some photos as soon as I get a new camera.

Fred

yes that sounds like something i can do. thanks to all! this is a great site/resource