O'Day DS II Takes on 40+ Gallons of Water

[Guest]

I recently purchased a 1974 DS 2. After 2 hours of great sailing on my first outing, I noticed she was taking on serious water. After finally getting her back on the trailer and pulling the plug located in the starboard side of the stern, (outside) water jetted from hole for at least 20 minutes. This is my first DS 2 so I'm lost as to what repairs may be needed. If someone could guide me to a person who knows about repairing I would appreciate it. I check this page daily or you can reach me at 336-574-0580 days and 336-229-9736 nights till midnite eastern time. I love the boat and would like to keep it.

Randy Drake (kb4qqj-at-aol.com)

[Guest]

I have a DSII also. My centerboard rides on a nylon pin in the truck and there are no holes there, except 4 screw holes to keep the centerboard inserts in. The only other way water can get into the bildge on my boat is through the drain plug at the transom. Have you examined the hull and keel for signs of cracking? If it were me, I might remove the bildge inspection covers just aft of the cuddy, they screw out, and with the boat on a trailer I would fill the bildge from a garden hose to see where the water leaks out. The other place you might want to check are the gunwales, on the edge of the boat where the top is attached to the hull. Mine had spaces where the bonding agent had fallen out and water could enter there, especially if sailing heeled. I filled the cracks with marine epoxy and a light coat of gelcoat.

Paul Diglio (paul.diglio-at-erols.com)

[Guest]

Filling the hull with water is my next step. However, my inspection plates are just forward of the cuddy. I know the boat leaks around the transom and deck plate, it was pouring water there when I pulled it out of the water onto the trailer. Any Idea how much to repair if bolt holes are leaking around the centerboard? The seller has agreed to pay for repairs if not TOO costly.

Waiting to sail.

Randy Drake (kb4qqj-at-aol.com)

[Guest]

I picked-up a 1960's DS11 for $450 from the William and Mary sailing club here in Virginia. The hull looked like a patch-work quilt of 15 different flavors of epoxy, all applied wrong. Anyway after stripping the whole mess down I noticed some cracking around the centerboard trunk (the slot-not sure of the correct terminology here) and all along the edge. I drilled small holes to head off the cracks and have v-grooved with a grinder and laid in some West System epoxy, so far things look good. Just need to finish sanding and a little paint and it should be ready to launch sometime this century!

John Heckman (heckman-at-jlab.org)

[Guest]

I have replaced the pin in the centerboard and have also noticed some cracks like you said. I think my main leak was the worn out pin in the centerboard. I'm down to about 5 gallons a day. (ha) I am in the process of repairing the stern plug. It had a fairly serious leak around the nylon insert. Thanks for your input and the name of the epoxy. I'll try to find some. Plan to sail again this weekend. I don't mind bailing a little.

Randy Drake (kb4qqj-at-aol.com)

[Guest]

I have a DSII, not sure what year. I take on water in the same fashion, and thought it was cracks on the bottom of the hull around the center board trunk. I repaired these and still no difference.

I have done some research, however, and it seems that the problem with the DSII is that the nylon doughnuts that go through the centerboard trunk as paths for the cables are in a bad place, and as they wear, they lead to a hole between the sandwhich material of the hull. This leads to a leaky boat while under way, and can actually get quite a bit of water in the hull. This can be fixed by removing the nylon doughnuts and replacing them with brass pipe. I have not tried it, trying it this weekend, but the word is that this fixes all the problems. I will let you know if this is true or not!!

Greg Davis

Greg Davis (gdavis-at-uswest.net)

[Guest]

Well, my last post here was over a year ago(May 19, 1999) and my DSII is still being repaired! The hull and centerboard separated and there is a huge crack 3/4 of the way around the trunk. Since this is a double hull it makes the repair doubly diffucult. I am working on installing 6 inch o-ring sealed ports around the centerboard trunk so that I can access the area around the trunk from the inside then I plan to lay fiberglass and West System around the trunk. Then I'll flip the boat upside down and work on the outside! So, hopefully this time next year I will be finished!
john h

John Heckman (megjdh-at-widomaker.com)

[Guest]

I had long cracks along the centerboard trunk and had to cut 4 holes in the floor to get access to lay the glass. I have been racing them for 35 yrs and still love the boat.

R. Klein (rklein-at-bart.gov)

[Guest]

R,

Well, it sounds like you and I had/have the same type of repair. My boat sits in the garage and when I have time I'll finish the repair. I'd be interested in how the repair job went and any diffuculties you may have had in laying the fiberglass/epoxy, etc. TIA, J

John (megjdh-at-widomaker.com)

[Guest]

John;
I did the same repair to my DS 2 and decided to get at the area right I cut away two panels either side of the trunk. I left about 2" around the edge of the trunk and the base of the seats, bulkhead, stern well. I encased in glass two white oak 2x2 sticks the length of the trunk to form a "keel" either side of the trunk and glssed them in. (Oh, I also fixed the craks with the "v" groove method of filling from the outside.) Then I attached firing strips to the undersid of the pannels and glassed them. Drilled small holes in the pannels to allow for screws to be used as handles. Epoxied the glassed firring strip "steps" and lifted the panels into place then glassed the seams. All this sounds like a lot but you don't need much thickness to get strength from epoxy resin / glass. Also, here's a hint: While the epoxy is curing there comes a point where it is stiffer than "tacky" but not "hard". At this point you can use an auto body putty file to shave off those pointy fibers that usually are left to be sanded (which used to tear up soooo much sandpaper that I had to start a savings plan just to supply a project). You can shape the glass and thin it down to only the thickness needed to hold. Any stifining (if needed) can be done by adding a smooth, continuous layer of glass over the entire area. Mine looks a bit rough because I didn't tint the epoxy and don't like the idea of paint on the deck. Colored it would be mostly undetectable. I would suggest that you consider stifining the joint at the hull where the CB trunk is attached or you might be doing the whole job over in a couple of years. That was my thought anyway. Once is better than twice even if it takes twice as long.

MAKurtis (Emak41-at-excite.com)