by SUNBIRD » Mon Apr 25, 2016 12:29 pm
Rainwater can get into the cuddy many ways:
1) around the hatch opening (hard to seal)
2) around mast is your boat is pre-1984 and has mast stepped through cuddy top.
3) the 2 drains that allow any water that gets in the cuddy to drain back to the cockpit..... in a heavy rainstorm the cockpit can fill up faster than the self-bailer can drain it. Water then tends to flow into the cuddy through those 2 holes. I put flappers (check-valves?) on mine but they don't seal well enough.
On another point. Best way to avoid water getting into cuddy if you capsize? EASY! DON'T CAPSIZE!
When sailing a Day Sailer (like any centerboard boat), ALWAYS keep the mainsheet in your hand, let the cam-cleat hold the tension, but keep that mainsheet in hand. If a gust of wind hits, you can quickly pop the line out of the cam-cleat and let the sail out allowing the boat to come back up without going over. If the winds are strong, sail without the jib (raise CB slightly to reduce weather helm), or if you have your boat set up for reefing the main (slab-reefing is far better than the original, standard roller-reefing), reef the main. Using a boom-vang helps to flatten the sail, reducing the heeling effect, as does tightening the outhaul. I also have a tiller-extension to allow sitting out on the side decks while sailing, amazing how much sitting there levels the boat and reduces heeling (even when I weighed less than my current 200+ pounds!) Using these techniques I have avoided capsizing for 20 seasons on windy, Buzzards Bay, MA (and 8 seasons prior with a Widgeon) mostly sailing solo. Yes, I've had a couple of "close calls", but I've successfully avoided capsizing my DS II.
Rod Johnson, "SUNBIRD"
1979 DS II, # 10201