New 41 year old Daysailer II

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Re: New 41 year old Daysailer II

Postby GreenLake » Wed Jul 06, 2016 2:16 am

itguy1010 wrote:Lots of opinions about bearing buddies that supposedly keep water out with positive pressure. Just do a google search on them and you'll see what I mean. I opted to not use the bearing buddies and will just repack every season.


I went with the bearing buddies. These do require stronger rear seals (sold in conjunction), as the grease is under (slight) pressure.

Seem to be working more or less as advertised for me. Had to replace one bearing that was running hot, even with the BBs. But that's over multiple seasons.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: New 41 year old Daysailer II

Postby talbot » Wed Jul 06, 2016 2:31 pm

Um . . . in journalism, this is called a "buried lead."
Is there something else you'd like to tell us about how you came to be towed at hull speed today? Wait . . . today?
It's only 11:30. You've already had a nautical adventure, and it's not even noon on a Wednesday?
Sorry, we just can't let this go. Particularly those of us who are supposed to be working right now.
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Re: New 41 year old Daysailer II

Postby GreenLake » Wed Jul 06, 2016 7:39 pm

Sorry about making it sound more interesting than it may have been. And, no, not an emergency. Just a friendly lift by a bigger sail-boat to the starting area when we were stuck in the wrong part of the lake with iffy winds. I always appreciate these offers, even if I don't always accept them, but on that occasion we were very heavy in low winds with inexperienced crew, so I swallowed whatever pride and was grateful to be at the start with plenty of time. But we had the GPS going, so I could check the speed.

Overall, it went amazingly well. I've had a tow in a real emergency from a motor boat once (after an on-the-water injury that required something like dozen stitches). That was mainly needed because the injury was on my dominant hand (making me a true "single-handed" sailor that night) and I had difficulty stopping the bleeding. I now bring a first-aid kit (even on short trips). At least when I remember.

But we are seriously hijacking the thread right now, sorry.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: New 41 year old Daysailer II

Postby KingsTransom » Mon Aug 01, 2016 4:27 pm

I cut a hole in the bow bulkhead to get to the back of the hole to replace the bow eye bolt. I've spent a good part of this afternoon mining through the cast-in-place polyurethane floatation foam in the bow. No leftover packing material here - they probably only used it when they had it. I've been using a knife, but will switch to 1-3/4" auger & a bit brace. If that fails, cutting torch.
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Re: New 41 year old Daysailer II

Postby KingsTransom » Mon Aug 01, 2016 11:18 pm

It looks like only the end of the bow eye bolt is showing through the substantially thick epoxy that covers the wood and (I assume) the nut on the bow eye bolt. I suppose I will need to drill around the epoxy to be rid of it, the wood and the remains of the bolt. Any better ideas how to clean this up? The view from the outside is just a deep, rusty tunnel to nowhere.

I would like to replace what is there with a stainless steel backer 3/23" thick x 1 inch wide x about 6 inches long, and fill the gap between the hull and the backer with epoxy. I'll then just fill the excavated space with styrofoam pieces to maintain floatation, then use silicone & stainless wood screws to attach the port hole cover.

2246
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Re: New 41 year old Daysailer II

Postby talbot » Tue Aug 02, 2016 2:38 pm

No advice on cleanup; your approach seems appropriate.

I urge installation of a stainless U-bolt rather than a single-shaft eye-bolt. Every single-shaft bolt I've ever seen on a DS has been loose. Within a few years, O'Day had stopped using single-shaft bow eyes. This is what came as original equipment on a 1979 DSII I used to own. It's from Sea Dog, 3/8" stock. $13.99 from West Marine, maybe cheaper elsewhere:
SeaDogUbolt.png
SeaDogUbolt.png (158.89 KiB) Viewed 9085 times
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Re: New 41 year old Daysailer II

Postby KingsTransom » Tue Aug 02, 2016 10:18 pm

The 3/8"-16 stainless single eyebolt has a huge yield strength, especially compared with the fiberglass hull, which is the weak link. I don't think drilling two holes in the weak link makes for a stronger attachment. Based on what I've read here, I think the problem with the Daysailer's bow eye was the use of non-stainless hardware, wood backers, and nothing to keep the eyebolt from turning. I think the only thing a U-bolt adds is an easy way to keep the bow eye from turning.
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Re: New 41 year old Daysailer II

Postby talbot » Wed Aug 03, 2016 12:07 am

My thought is that the turning is what enlarges the hole, leading to more movement and more damage. In any case, the u-bolts I have seen have been in better shape, for whatever reason.
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Re: New 41 year old Daysailer II

Postby GreenLake » Wed Aug 03, 2016 4:28 am

I had a single bolt bow eye on a '63 DS1. It came apart the second time I used the boat. Presumably after decades of service life. The fault was stress corrosion.

I replaced it like for like, and before long, the new bolt will have reached decades (plural) of service life...

On my DS, the fiberglass appears anything but a weak link. Particularly at the bow, the sharp angle stiffens it, and the laminate thickness is probably one of the highest anywhere on the hull. If you find a single-bolt eye loose in the hole, then the cause may indeed be a piece of wood backing suffering from dry rot. I don't recall such a thing from when I did my repair, but it's a long time ago by now.

Anyway, a better backing plate would be the answer.

The little plate shown for the U-bolt isn't substantial enough to really help prevent the fitting from tearing through the laminate. (Practical Sailor just had a review of backing plate dimensions and materials that's highly instructive - subscribe and get access to their online database of test reports).

I also don't think that having a double bolt helps in case of stress corrosion. Once one of the bolts breaks, the fitting is liable to pull open under moderate loads.

However, I fully sympathize with anyone who just prefers that design. Whether it is because it cannot rotate, or for any other reason.
~ green ~ lake ~ ~
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Re: New 41 year old Daysailer II

Postby KingsTransom » Sat Aug 06, 2016 3:21 pm

While merrily drilling, sawing, chipping and blasting chunks of epoxy from the bow eye wood mounting block, it occurred to me that the mineral filled epoxy of the 1970's may contain asbestos. Just an FYI - as always, wear a P100 respirator, eye protection and use a vacuum (preferably also P100) to pull dust away so you're not working in a cloud. Once done, you should clean the vacuum, if possible, with detergent and water.
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