Buying Inspection Check List

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Buying Inspection Check List

Postby redrover » Thu Jun 09, 2016 11:55 am

Hey all,

I am in the process of starting the search for a DaysailerII. My father and I each have sunfish and race them with family friends. We have had sunfish for years and have learned the ins & outs while buying, repairing and upgrading along the way. After both finally getting newer style hulls (rolled edges with no metal trim ... we are looking to stepping up to the DS for a bit more room which will allow for more/different crews, longer & more open sailing and the optional spinnaker 8)

I just wanted to reach out on this forum to see if there is anything that can be learned from others history in this process. Soft spots from trailers, general rigging, visible cracks/spider webbing etc. are all that's on my radar now. Any other notorious things to watch out for? Any idea of a hull weight or is it is 1/2 person lift-able ... we had a good idea of what a dry hull felt like and that tended to be a good measurement on the sunfish for being waterlogged .

Thanks much
Red
Rhode Island
If you're not wet ... you're not sailing hard enough
redrover
 
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Re: Buying Inspection Check List

Postby Alan » Thu Jun 09, 2016 1:30 pm

The nominal weight of the DaySailer II is 575 pounds (same as the DSI), but I've heard from someone who weighs boats for races that the DSII generally weighs 700 pounds or more. Definitely not one or two-person liftable.
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Re: Buying Inspection Check List

Postby redrover » Thu Jun 09, 2016 3:09 pm

Alan wrote:The nominal weight of the DaySailer II is 575 pounds (same as the DSI), but I've heard from someone who weighs boats for races that the DSII generally weighs 700 pounds or more. Definitely not one or two-person liftable.


Ahah Good to know.
If you're not wet ... you're not sailing hard enough
redrover
 
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Re: Buying Inspection Check List

Postby jsbowman6 » Thu Jun 09, 2016 5:44 pm

Red,
I did the same thing a few weeks ago and members here suggested the following that I put together in sort of a checklist that I compiled from all the responses I got:

The only place where "rot" may occur would be in backing plates where hardware is installed, easily repairable however and does not compromise the boat. I had to replace the wood backing plates on my jib tracks (located on inside of the rails near the cuddy cabin bulkhead). I installed an inspection port to redo the tracks on each side.

If the auto bailer is original (bronze) it might need replacing.
A 1975 boat will have a centerboard bolt, accessible thru the cockpit inspection ports at the forward end of the cockpit near the cuddy cabin bulkhead.
Check the shrouds/stays and running rigging. The original shrouds/stays were 3/32" wire, the upgraded ones are 1/8".
Check the sheaves in the blocks for wear.
Tilt trailers are common.
Check the condition of the sails. I would think that 2 year old sails should be in good shape (my Intensity Sails are three years old now).
Check for hull deformation based on wrong storage (shallow dents from narrow bunks / trailer rollers). Also check whether laminate is soft near these supports.
Remedy is involved, tricky and not necessarily always successful.

Mast: make sure it's straight and the correct length (25' as measured from the keelson, not from the deck). Ditto for the boom (straightness - booms are less likely to have been cut because of prior damage). A deflection in the mast of, say, less than 1" measured at the tip, due a shallow bend would be something you could live with as is, anything more, esp. hard kinks are tricky. Deeper bends, if shallow, may be repairable, but sometimes people snap their mast trying to do that.

Deck/hull separation. If near the front, may indicate a problem with the anchoring of the forestay. Fixable by making an inspection port in the deck and working through that. BUT: don't sail the boat w/o a fix. Other areas: can be re-glued/re-sealed with moderate effort.

Chain plates: any sign of them pulling out/through: fixable, but do not sail the boat until done.

Large cracks/soft spots in laminate. If localized,can be fixed with good outcome. (Small cracks/crazing are/is generally cosmetic on these boats.)

Standing rigging: wires, rivets, etc. Kinks in wires, split wires: replace with new set. Check tangs and rivets. Fix any issues before sailing. Mast sheaves: easy to replace, minor.

Running rigging: all running rigging is a consumable - you will need to replace all of it over time, so it's like tires on a use car. In good shape justifies a bit higher price, in bad shape, haggle more. (Sails the same - some people will by new sails more often than running rigging (racers) other less often (cruisers) you get the idea).

Foils: (rudder and keel) if free of obvious damage, fine. If structural cracks/bent they need to be replaced or rebuilt. If chipped/surface cracks should be faired & painted. Moderate effort and not needed before your test sail. Check rudder gudgeons/pinions for signs of grounding (bent). Easy fix.
Check tiller for cracks and how soon you'll need to refinish it. Give demerit points based on that - any structural cracks: fix before taking out the boat.
Uphaul and downhaul for the centerboard. They can be a bit finicky on a DS and a source of the centerboard jamming. Definitely open the inspection ports on either side of the centerboard trunk and inspect the ends of the bolt (hopefully they are clean - if so, the bolt and washers are easily replaced if needed). The foils are the centerboard and the rudder. The latter is easy to inspect, of course. The CB you won't be able to see much other than the leading edge if you crawl under the boat.

The bilge should be reasonably dry.
I can't see a bow eye and wonder if it got pulled out. You can install an inspection plate in the front of the cuddy to access that.


The boat looks to be in pretty good shape. The halyards look like they have been replaced at some point, although the main halyard may still have wire? I don't see too many bumps and bruises on the hull in the pics. I speculate that the bilge drain has been replaced based on the pic that shows the transom.

I can't see a bow eye and wonder if it got pulled out. You can install an inspection plate in the front of the cuddy to access that. There is some extra hardware on top of the cuddy - not sure what for. Price seems to be decent with the motor and good trailer. Maybe some bargaining room. Good luck.

General
On a DSII you'll eventually want to review/fix up and downhaul, but that's a given on these boats - if the one you're looking at had all the aftermarket fixes done and done well, you're lucky. I think it's hard to tell from an inspection, because issues involve how much water can leak where during certain types of sailing. That said, anytime you can test-sail a boat you are better off; if not be sure to take someone experienced with you on the maiden voyage to help handle the stuff that inevitably breaks...

Good luck. Generally, these boats are eminently repairable, so not much is a true issue to walk away from, except to minimize the needed effort before you can take her out the first time. Enjoy!
D&R Marine, they have all the parts for the Day Sailers (I, II, & III). Of course, since Cape Cod Shipbuilding is the current builder of the Day Sailer they have parts as well.
As John wrote, on these boats, most things are fixable with moderate time/effort - some defects are a reason to haggle a bit more, but not necessarily a reason to walk, unless you really need a ready-to-sail boat. A few issue require more intensive/costly repairs or are effectively something you'd have to live with. (Or if you accept them, know that you need to fix the boat before you can sail it, even if the fix isn't especially costly).
jsbowman6
 
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Re: Buying Inspection Check List

Postby redrover » Fri Jun 10, 2016 8:24 am

@jsbowman6 Awesome! Thanks. Having been in the sunfish game for a while we've done everything from a hole in the hull that I could fit my foot through to a dry 2000's boat. Those really only points of failure which are the mast step and cb trunk. Bigger boats with more moving parts I want to learn as much up front on the Daysailer as I can. Project boats might come more in the future especially once I figure everything out but it would be nice to start with a good boat that hasn't been butchered too much already by someone else.
If you're not wet ... you're not sailing hard enough
redrover
 
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Location: New England

Re: Buying Inspection Check List

Postby jsbowman6 » Fri Jun 10, 2016 9:44 am

Thanks, but the thanks goes to the members that took the time to answer my request. I only put it together on a Word document to take with me to look at the boat. Good luck. Look forward to pictures of your new boat.
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Re: Buying Inspection Check List

Postby redrover » Mon Jun 27, 2016 2:36 pm

Ahhhh ownership.
My father and I went in on a DSII "Divorce Boat" off of craigslist towards the middle of the month. Tucked under the trees with multiple mice living in it and enough acorns stored to feed a squirrel army.

Boat was stained beyond belief but overall looked decent with just a couple of chips here and there on the rail and the sails were stored inside the garage. The lady wanted nothing to do with it and after showing an another Craigslist ad with one less than what she was asking we hooked it up and drove away with everything inside (fenders pumps, paddles, weber grill, etc.) Hull got multiple cleanings, 4 applications of barrier coat, 2 applications on ablative, colored epoxy repairs, wax wax wax and more wax, all new and larger 1/8 stays and turnbuckles, all new lines). After working on it and dropping and additional amount almost close to what we paid for it, I am starting to second guess myself about selling off my sunfish to purchase a second one (so we can race them against each other as we do our sunfish currently). Bigger boats add up costs quicker and this had new (still crispy) main and jib with a (probably original) spinnaker.

The Loo(n) hit the water this past weekend for a shakedown run and it was just that.
Step 1 ... Take much longer to rig especially when replacing most lines in the right-of-way (aka neighbors yard).
Step 2 ... Make sure the CB is up and secured or else it will drop ever so slightly and you won't be able to pull the boat off the trailer.
Step 3 ... Make sure there are no leaks. Learned this on past boats ... thankfully we were staying dry on the inside.
Step 4 ... Look for mast with tabernacle if I do buy a second DS.
Step 5 ... Lines lines lines. Get everything sorted out and stays tightened down.
Step 5 ... Get crew.
Step 5 ... Head out and see what it can do.

With 3 people we had a blast. Definitely a nice step up from the sunfish and able to handle the heavier wind of the day much better (12-15). Boat takes off well, points well, flies and provides a decently dry sail. There is still some tweaking to be done, things about the boat to be learned, and adjustments on my end to be made about sailing a larger small boat (ie. can't just throw your weight to flatten it out during a small gust). I am interested to see how it sails in light wind (like jump over and potentially swim faster) and as we get more comfortable with it 2 people or more people with the chance of a spinnaker.

After sailing it for the afternoon my gf asked when I was going to post my sunfish for sale ... and that'll probably be after this weekend when I uncover it for the fist time. I am hooked on the DS and enjoy everything this forum has to offer.

(Have posted pictures in a separate gallery)
If you're not wet ... you're not sailing hard enough
redrover
 
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Joined: Thu Jun 09, 2016 9:26 am
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