DS rigging

[Guest]

I recently acquired DS #212 and the rigging of the main sheet seems very odd to me. Hard to explain, but the sheet comes off the back of the boom. I'd like to figure out how to rig it in a more standard way (i.e., with the sheet coming off the boom about halfway to the mast. Are there any pictures or guides available that show how this should be done? Thanks.....

Tom Walker (twalker-at-indecon.com)

[Guest]

Tom, what you describe IS the standard way that the DS I (and early DS II) was rigged. I have a DS II, and have the mid-boom mainsheet....it is nice that the stern area is clear of mainsheet, but I think that the "old-style" mainsheet that ran from the boom end through blocks on each corner of the stern, then back up to the boom, then forward along the boom to mid-boom and down to the block and camcleat on the cb trunk seems to work better. The newest Day Sailers (DS IV) made by Cape Cod Shipbuilding have a mainsheet that runs from the boom end, down to a block on a rope traveler across the stern, then back up to the boom, then forward to mid-boom and down to the block and camcleat on the cb trunk. This is about the best set-up without getting into an expensive metal traveler across the cockpit at the aft end of the cb trunk. The end-boom type sheeting makes it much easier to pull the sail in when sailing since the sheet is pulling from a point farther from the pivot point (gooseneck at mast). As I say, I have the mid-boom mainsheet and it is VERY hard to get the sail in real tight for a beat. A traveler across the cockpit would help, but the cost is way too much for me especially since I do not race.

Rod Johnson (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)

[Guest]

I agree w/ the last poster. What you have if better in most ways than the 4:1 mid-boom sheeting that many DS2's and Spindrift DS1's came with. See the following link for a picture:

http://forum.daysailer.org/tech_rigguide.php

Kevin Clark (kevin.clark-at-usa.alcatel.com)