New Boat Questions

[GeorgeM]

I recently acquired a 1981 Rebel DS 1. I haven’t had it in the water yet. I’ll spend the winter addressing many years of deferred maintenance.

I will not be racing, my goal is to give my six grandchildren, aged 7 to 12 years, an opportunity to experience sailing and, perhaps, have a life-long enjoyment of sailing as I have had.

I have several questions about the boat that I hope members can help with. I apologize if these issues have already been covered in other parts of the forum.

1. As seen in the photos, the bench seats and lower part of the bow appear to be completely sealed against the hull. Is this a means of floatation? Are these spaces hollow or do they contain foam? Should I drill into them to confirm that they are not waterlogged? Should I consider adding more floatation?

2. I have read on the forum that some Daysailers are single hulled, and some have a double hull. Can anyone tell me which mine is?

3.My forestay and shrouds are 3/32” and are probably original to the boat. I think I read that these should be replaced every 10 to 15 years and they should be 1/8”. Can someone confirm this?

4. I have seen several posts regarding leaks at the CB handle. Since I haven’t had a chance to put mine in the water yet I don’t know if this will be an issue but I assume it could be. My plan was to leave the boat in the water for the summer, but I am wondering if I should invest in a lift. I don’t want to come up to the lake some morning and find it sunk!

5. The upper lip of the transom looks unfinished (see photo), and I wonder if there isn’t supposed to be a trim piece or rub rail there.

6. What is the purpose of the rectangular well in the transome?

[GreenLake]

Welcome to the forum!

Now to answer your six easy questions:

1. The benches are flotation. You may want to create an inspection port on the forward end. This will allow you to ascertain the state of the flotation and to make upgrades. Use the largest deck plates you can fit. The same goes for the forward tank.
2. Yours is a single hulled boat if the bottom of the cockpit and the outer hull are one and the same.
3. I can confirm that a failing shroud will result in a damaged rig. SS wire and fittings are difficult to inspect and upgrading to 1/8" is indeed recommended.
4. Get a fresh gasket for the CB handle. For peace of mind, invest in a small electric system to run a bilge pump. Here's a link that might give you some ideas. https://youtu.be/mP_dQClOic4
5. No. Some older boats have a piece of metal trim there. If it looks unfinished to you perhaps a stripe in some contrasting color might do the trick?
6. The transom well can be used to chill drinks or to mount a small outboard. It has a small drain hole to the outside so you could use it for wet swimsuits as well to keep the cockpit dry.
   

As part of your maintenance you probably need to look at your trailer. Particularly the bunks. Are they wide and long enough to support the hull without denting it? There are other trailer and boat mods that will suggest themselves after you've had a chance to use the boat and are best deferred until you get a feel what works for you.

[jalmeida51]

I used to own a 1981 Rebel Daysailer 1.

You need to install inspection plates forward on your floatation tanks to see if the stroform is wet. Mine was wet and I replaced it with new pink stroform. Along with the form up forward under the deck. I also added pool noodles just for more floatation.

You have a double hull.

You need to replace the c/b gasket and when you do grease both sides of the gasket with waterproof grease.

Change to 1/8 shrouds with turnbuckles.

The cut out on the rear deck is for an outboard motor I used a 2 1/2 long shaft Yamaha.

There was original piece of metal trim where the rear deck meets the transom.

The owners manual stated Do not moor boat. It could capsize. This another reason to upgrade your shrouds. I docked my boat for over 3 years and never had a problem with the boat capsizing. You may want to use a cockpit cover to keep out the rain.

Happy Sailing, John

[GeorgeM]

Thanks for the info and knowledge. I notice that one response says my boat is double hulled, the other it is single hulled. Is there a way that I can confirm this one way or the other? The hull # is RRR11044M80F.
Thanks!

[GreenLake]

If you want to confirm you just need to look at the boat and answer this question: is the bottom of the cockpit the same as the inside of the hull or is it a separate piece so that there is a space underneath the cockpit? If the latter there is usually a drain provided at the transom.

Your picture from the inside shows one drain. If seen from the back there's a second drain underneath that one it would proof positive of a double hull.

BTW, it looks like your boat has a row of snaps all around the cockpit intended for a cover.

[GeorgeM]

Thanks, there is just one plug in the transom the drains the cockpit so it’s definitely single hulled.

[GreenLake]

In your pictures, I am confused by the evenly spaced aluminum (?) fittings on the inside of the deck. Any idea what these are? Any close-ups?

[jalmeida51]

Those aluminum fittings attached to the inside of the side deck hold fiberglass bows so you can install a cockpit cover and not use the boom. Just guessing, a previous owner used the system for a winter cover. The bows are longer than the beam so when you insert them the bows make a nice arch to support the canvas cover. I owned a Amsbury Dory and used the same system for keeping the rain out of the boat. Just like my old Daysailer , no self-baling.

John Almeida

[jalmeida51]

Here is after thought. That row of snaps could have been used to attach the cover of the bow system. Some of the snaps line up with the aluminum brackets.
John Almeida

[GreenLake]

Logical explanation for both.