DaySailer.org Forum

Just received my copy Small Craft Advisor. Issue # 63. A quick look through found two articles featuring the DaySailer. One called “This is Not a Vacation” cruises a 1983 Spindrift DaySailer. A second article called “DaySailer to Cruiser” shows how to modify a DSII for cruising. Haven’t read them yet but thought I would pass this along. Brad

I got my copy of SCA on Friday and saw both articles. Read the "This is not a Vacation" artcle. Haven't read the other yet.

John

I just recieved my January/Febuary issue of Small Craft Advisor (#67) and there is an article concerning the Daysailer titled "Jury Rig for the Aged". It is an article on how someone in thier early 70's simplified (modified) the sail plan of a DS to make setup easier for a single hander who would have trouble setting up the standard mast. It's an interesting article.

John

Interesting article.

A gaff rigged DS looks pretty good overall and provides the owner with a manageable sailing setup. I am not a purist when it comes to multi use of a DS hull. They are cheap and available. The cost to restore a DS to racing use can add up to far more than the boat is worth. Using some ingenuity and imagination you can recreate a sailing vessel for cruising from the DS platform at a modest investment and you have something unique and fun. I have even considered converting a derelict DS to fishing use with a center transom mounted motor and some oar locks. The DS as a hull design with no standing rigging would make a good fishing platform with a nice look also. Enough on the power boat aspect. The DS lends itself to some unique recreation and I like that.


Some mods may work well as far as sailing performance and some may not so research and sea trials may be needed to find the performance you are looking. All sounds like fun to me.Brad

Last summer we took the DS out quite a few times and just ran under outboard power. My wife has some pain/strength issues and just wanted to sit and not "sail" so that's what we did. My motor is an older model without a throttle on the handle, so I would set the speed for cruising, use the rudder for steering so I could sit forward and we could have a nice chat while we headed for our island picnic/swimming spot. It worked out great, and I thought that the boat would look just as good without the mast. We're planning on doing that a few times this summer, with fishing gear, on the lake and in the ocean bays...

I've done a bit of this myself. Since the DS requires such little draft we have motored up and down some really tiny tributaries off of the OH river. I'm amazed how little water it takes really - almost like a canoe when the board is up. Sometimes we stop and I let kids paddle for a while which they like and anchoring for a little fishing is pretty easy.

Initially I put the boat into one of these small rivers because I was looking for a ramp close to home that put in to the OH. Since I knew there would be a few bridges along the way and was not sure about clearance we motored mastless. We have pictures of us all on the boat going along without the mast and it is amazing how transformed the boat seems when in the water sans mast. To me it really looks like some sort of old fashioned river boat as in something prior to all the obnoxious speed boats around. It just seems to look goof no matter what you use it for!

"To me it really looks like some sort of old fashioned river boat as in something prior to all the obnoxious speed boats around."

Hey, you're right. Put a bimini on her, and you'd have the African Queen.

Speaking of Small Craft Advisor, I have a question: The magazine's website looked interesting, so I bought a digital subscription.

I'm probably missing something obvious, but I can't figure out how to access the magazine. They sent me a confirmation email, so I know the payment was received. Anyone got the secret?

I emailed Daysailer Quarterly and they sent me a link to the magazine.

Lots of interesting stuff there, so I'll probably be spending even more time online, reading about sailboats.