by Signalcharlie » Wed Aug 07, 2019 10:39 am
Howdy Nephroid
First I would ask the seller if they knew how the cuddy damage happened. It looks to me like the mast was displaced while stepping or it hit an overhead obstacle or a stay pulled out. Possibly the tabernacle was added after the cuddy event. The cuddy top is only load bearing in the sense that it held holds the mast while stepping and unstepping, and it is an easy fiberglas repair. The load goes through the stays and mast step. I would also look at the forestay tang, sidestay tangs and mast step in cuddy floor for damage. From the photos the starboard shroud stay and surrounding fiberglass looks okay, and the floor around the cuddy looks to be in good shape, no depression that I can see.
As for the cracks by the centerboard trunk our boat has the same, they appear to be gelcoat crazing in the 47 year old gelcoat and not fiberglass damage. If you give a tug on the trunk it should not move.
As for ugly looking repairs, I'd replace the bandaid patch on the bottom by the centerboard, we are doing similar clean up on our Sunfish right now. Yes it was easy and field expedient to do it that way, but the crack was never addressed from a structural sense. You MIGHT even be able to access that area through the inspection port rings on the cockpit floor to put in a fiberglass backer patch. Probably need to take those ports out and at least reseal them, or replace with new rings. They develop leaks over time. Or for the bottom get a fiberglass shop to grind out the crack a bit, put in a backer patch, build the glass back up, fair, sand and gelcoat or paint.
Speaking of centerboards, they have a wood core with fiberglass skin, they get wet and swell/fail, so you should make sure the centerboard moves and put it on the short list to check out. You can figure out how to do it many ways, or get a shop to check it as well as the pivot bolt.
You have seen the basket cases we take on, they are so bad that no one would bother to take them to the dump. That Day Sailer II needs a new Skipper, with around $600 you can get the fiberglass repairs done or less if you invest the sweat equity. You could also be in the "sail it like it is" camp, so it depends on what you intend to do with the boat. You won't be able to flip it for any appreciable return on investment, unless you count moral victories like we do.
But before we go, take a long hard look at that trailer. Lots of rust on the frame and on a lot of the hardware, springs, axle, etc...Take a good look at the shackles. Keep in mind a lot of frames and axles rust from the inside out. Down here in Florida, for us and out trailer standards, that trailer would be swapped out and we normally go with new, which cost around $900 for a super duper galvanized trailer with all the bells and whistles.
She looks taken care of overall with some nice lines and minimal corrosion on the boat. She could use some freshwater, tilex and wax in a few areas. For US and our history of boat rescue for 50+ boats, those repairs would be easy and they would not be big concerns....
Soooooo, we don't see worries, we see challenges an opportunities. The rest depends on your level of risk acceptance. If you want an easy to medium project, grab her. Are the sails in good condition, mast not bent, rudder an O'Day part? Do you want to sail this weekend? She'd probably stand up to that. Do you enjoy diving into some reasonable projects, she'll be good for that too. If you want to go sailing without a short list of projects, move on to the next boat or buy a new one from Wendy!!
Standing by for questions,
Clark and Skipper