by GreenLake » Sat Oct 04, 2014 11:58 am
These are indeed common issues.
The CB is easy to fix. Usually the square hole into which the CB handle fits has worn. Many people have had good success with simply inserting a metal shim.
The transom does have a piece of (poorly) encapsulated wood. Removing that and replacing it by a piece of wood sealed in epoxy and glassed back in is a straightforward if slightly awkward repair. It does not involve the outside of the boat at all, so it's something that's tolerant of some beginner's mistakes.
The bunks on most trailers are not wide enough to adequately support the flat hull sections. So you will see what you described. A minor case may be addressed by some external fairing of the hull, some boats also have "stringers" on the floor that may be in questionable shape (same remarks apply as for the transom).
If you don't plan on racing competitively, moderate hull flexing and concave areas shouldn't prevent you from enjoying your boat. As you say, the majority of them show some signs of it, and people sail them happily.
However, especially if pronounced or if the laminate has weakened, the "cure" would be to strengthen the hull from the inside. That's a major undertaking (full restoration) but will result in boat with superior performance, even compared to what the same boat had when new. For details check this forum for an older thread in the "Repair" section, called "the Core project".
Armed with this information you should be able to decide whether you are willing to undertake some repair or restoration work yourself and how much of it. Depending on that your available choices broaden.
In summary, these boats are eminently repairable (the early DS1s are somewhat easier in that regard than the DSIIs) and it is even possible to restore them not only like new, but better than new. Some of the issues can be safely ignored for a season or two, while you get a feel for the boat and decide whether it's worth further efforts.
Good luck.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~