DaySailer.org Forum

Monday, I'm picking up a 1966 Daysailer 1 (sail number 2444). The owner is giving it to me since it has been setting on a trailer for many years and now needs a lot of work. Ultimately, I plan to use it as a club boat at the Webster Sailing Association. The hull needs to have a couple of cracks fixed on the bottom and the soft spots in the hull stiffened. The trailer is in sad shape, but I will replace the hubs, bearings and wheels to get it home (about 50 miles). I took the wood off the boat today, brought it home and sanded it to see if it is salvageable. I think I can make it look pretty again. It comes with a set of floorboards which just need refinishing. It has all the original hardware that is in excellent shape. Even the original sails have some crispness left in them.

My goal this fall is to make the repairs to the hull and get the boat sailable. Once on the water, I can evaluate what else I need to accomplish. Next spring, I will paint the bottom and insides. Maybe update some of the hardware.

I'll keep you updated on the repairs.

Roger, have fun with your new project boat! Take pictures.

HI KC

I just noticed you have sail number 7002...a Can-Am Daysailer. We have sail number 7000 at the club. The owner really neglected it, so I did a restoration on it this spring.

Roger

I got #2444 home yesterday, remarkably without incident. I had replaced the hubs, bearings and wheels, but the trailer was very rusty. It's an old Holsclaw and it may be a problem getting replacement shocks for the suspension.

We got the boat off the trailer since the bunks were digging into the hull and actually cracked it in one place. The hull kind of fell back into its' proper shape once I got it blocked up. I'll build a jig tomorrow to help hold the proper shape while I do some glass work. I removed the main stiffeners today and they were so wet, they literally fell apart as I removed them. I plan to replace them with oak.

I'll post pictures.

After a month of intense work, Sally and I finally got old #2444 to the lake and out for a sail. The boat not only sailed well, there was not a drop of water inside the boat. I can't remember the last time I sailed in a Daysailer and there wasn't a leak around the centerboard gasket. In the spring, I finish up some cosmetic work and replace some fittings, but for now, the boat is sailable.

I don't know, never had that much trouble with the gasket. In all the time I had mine, I had a leak about twice. Once, just to teach me that one can tighten the gasket, the other when the gasket finally gave out.
(Scary picture of dead gasket from my gallery).

One difference on my boat is that someone drilled the CB handle pin and put a bolt into it from the reverse side. That completes the hinge so that it now has a real axle. Probably reduces the motion and helps the gaskets stay tight.

My Daysailer also has a bolt on the opposite side, but there is no gasket or plate to hold the handle on the opposite side. All the pressure to hold the handle tight against the trunk and prevent leakage is from the bolt pulling from the opposite side. It was modified by the previous owner and it seems to work quite well.

I will be proudly sailing this boat and hopefully racing it soon. My father always does a awesome job restoring boats and this one is no different. It has been a few years since I have sailed and a really, really long time since I have sailed and raced a mono hull. It will be nice to have a boat that actually turns quickly, my Hobiecat wasn't exactly lighting.

Which one will you be sailing?

My son Tom and grandson Nickolas went sailing and possibly racing today on Webster Lake in the Daysailer 1 (2444) I just restored. He grew up sailing with me in Daysailers and it will be fun racing against him...especially since I know he can beat me.

My son and I got to race today....no wind.... but fun anyway. I look forward to the next race.