I've been sailing my DS2 for 3 seasons and really enjoying the boat. I've made few improvements that make it better to single hand and to take non-sailing guests. Biggest improvement is a big set of fiddle head blocks at boom and center board that give me great purchase and can be locked down. I've made a jib bag that allows me to keep the jib hanked on at anchor and looks great(I'll show off some pictures on a future post) , and I've added a layer of plastic grid to the sole of the doghouse which keeps items above and dry any water that gets in there.
I am now trying to solve a jib sheet routing challenge. Boat has the standard cam cleats at the centerboard trunk and blocks on tracks which is ok if I have another sailor on board who can manage the lines there but if I'm single handed its a pain to tack. Boat also has a set of cam cleats midway down the coaming but they angle *forward* so don't really work from the helm. I am eager to see if anyone has come up with an approach but here are the two that I have in mind:
1. Change the cams on the coaming around so that the path of the line leads aft and be able to tack the jib from relatively far aft. **What is the backing under the coaming in terms of adding hardware? I can't find any information about that. This approach seems ok but will still mean some line handling issues with several passengers getting in the way.
2. Run the jib sheet outside the stays to the aft block between the coaming & toe rail and then bring the line in board to a cam cleat mounted on the inside of the transom. I don't run a traveler because of my great mainsheet rig so block is unused. This is my dream configuration in that I would have full control sitting next to the tiller, lines are clear of the cockpit and I don't have to ask anything of passengers. I can't quite figure out where/what angle to place the transom cleat(does inside of transom have a name?).
Has anyone run the jib sheet aft in this fashion? Is there a downside that I am overlooking?
Many thanks for input and for the great advice that this forum has provided.
Cheers!