New Daysailer

[Guest]

Has anyone bought a new Daysailer from Cape Cod Boat? I notice that they want almost $8000 for the hull and rigging, with sails about $700 extra.

That is a steep premium over buying a used hull, but perhaps it is worth it. I would be interested in comments from those who have compared their new boat to the used ones generally available.

It also seems that there are very few small sailboats being offered any more. All of the attention is focused on the pocker cruisers and larger. What new boats are competing with the Daysailer at this point?

K Cobb (kcobb-at-bspmlaw.com)

[Guest]

The boats built by Cape Cod Shipbuilding (I assume that is what you mean?) are VERY well made, quality boats....and they price them accordingly. If money were not a concern, I might order a brand-new Day Sailer IV from CCSB. However, for me cost is a concern, so when I bought my DS II in 1996....I bought used. The CCSB DS IV was selling for around $7,000 including sails at that time, however I figure that with trailer, I would have spent closer to $10,000 to get a boat like I would want. I bought my used 1979 DS II for $1,400 including trailer, spent around $50 for a few replacement parts from D&R Marine, amd was soon out sailing! Yes, buying a used boat can be a case of buying someone else's problems, but I think you can get a perfectly good, used Day Sailer for between $1,000 and $5,000 including trailer, you may need to fix a few things, eventually get new sails (or maybe not?), but you will have fun! The new Day Sailers (due to DSA specs) lack several nice features that most if not all of the older O'Days had, like 1 or 2 mooring cleats near the bow, 2 mooring cleats near the stern, easy mounting of an outboard (the O'Days were made to allow clamping the motor to the transom, CCSB and SLI boats need an acessary bracket, $350 installed!). Again, the CCSB DS is a GREAT boat! But, for my money, I'd rather spend $1500 for a good used DS than $10,000 for a brand-new one. However, that is not meant to be in anyway critical of CCSB, they build a quality boat! Check their web-site for used boats as well, I don't think they have any used Day Sailers at this time (didn't see any last time I drove by.....yesterday) but they do have several other fine boats.

Rod Johnson, "SUNBIRD" (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)

[Guest]

There are some new daysailers that are smaller...Catalina has a couple, classics like the Bullseye, Flying Scott, etc. are still available new, but there are a LOT of used sail boats around 15' and up. I
think they probably saturate the market right now and as we know anyone can buy a used sailboat and there is very little that some line and hardware can't fix. I bought a used Daysailer III not becasue I had to have a DAYSAILER , but because I wanted a small manageable boat. I also considered a Rhodes 19.
Most pocket cruisers are really used for daysailing and the cabins are used for storing stuff and using the head. They are a little more stable and forgiving and can also be had at a reasonable price. Of course, if you have to race you have to buy into the class. I bet most DS are used for knock around daysailing and for that they are great.

Pete Tenerowicz (peteten-at-hotmail.com)

[Guest]

Hello all,
As I am on a tight budget my only option was to search out a used boat. I could probably swing the $10,000 for a new one but descided it would be better to by used and fix and repair as needed and thus spread out the cost of getting the boat I want over time.

I was fortunate anough to find an older Sailstar 17 (1948) for $350.00. ($500.00 with trailer) which is of the Day sailer type. I figure that to get it on the water this season it will cost about another $500.00 to replace all the running rigging, some misc. hardware and various other parts. Granted I will be the "ugly Duckling" this season, but I am going to put off the cosmetic and restoration work for the off season. You will probably be seeing a lot or questions from me in the future as all of my sailing experience is on much larger boats.

I would recomend that if you are going to buy used that either you have the experience and knowledge, or find someone that does, to identify any major problems that you may not be able to or want to tackle.

I have found the information on this sight very helpfull and will return here for your help and guidence often.

K McLeod (kmcleod1-at-attbi.com)

[Guest]

Hi,
I had an old sailstar, and thought it was a Day Sailer for a long time. If all you want it for is to go gunkholing it will do just fine. If you intend to get involved in racing, keep in mind the sailstar is not a Day Sailer. The sailstar is a little longer, and a little more beamy than the Day Sailer. The transom is also flat instead of curved.
If you intend to get into racing you should go ahead and get a true Day Sailer. Those boats were made by O'Day, Rebel, Spindrift, Precision, McLaughlin, Laser/Sunfish and Cape Cod Shipbuilding.

Bob Hunkins (rhunkins-at-pdq.net)

[Guest]

Thanks Bob,

Yes this is just going to be a project boat for gunkholing around the bay, as well as to give me something to do besides ski this winter.

Hopefully when it is done I can turn it over to another "social" sailor and move on to the next project.

Alas as for one design racing in the immediate area (Seacoast NH) there are only 2 classes currently racing that I am aware of. (Laser and J-24) so I get my racing fix in the PHRF fleet.

But don't fret I am still working on the list of questions to ask all of you. ( I am working through the past discussions to see if the answers are there before I ask you to repeat yourselves.) and hope to have some pictures of the project to post if you all will allow it.

Thanx again

K Mcleod (kmcleod1-at-attbi.com)