DaySailer.org Forum

last week i got an 17'Oday day sailer for free and it is in very good shape. this is the first DS for me to own so i have some questions. from the looks of it im guesing its a 65 to 68 model, the hull # is in the17 thousands and the class# is 3080. i heard the seats are supposed to have s/foam in them so i looked with a flashlight to make sure and it was empty?
all of the DS i have seen have two plugs at the back of the boat. mine doesnt have any, just the two for the seats?
and right behind the dagger board on the floor there is a whole but it isnt the size of a plug hole and it is threaded?
in the bow there are 2 brackets in the front and back on both sides for something im guesing a tray but not sure?
my DS has a handle crank. ive seen daggerboards off boats before but not off a DS. there is glue on both sides of the dagger board, im guesing gaskets were glued on. i need to know if there was.
any information will help me out a lot. im hoping to get her out on the lake this weekend wether i have to stick a cork in the hole or not.

John Paul (John316live-at-aol.com)

You have a Day Sailer I, and the threaded hole at the aft end of the CENTERBOARD trunk is the "bilge" drain. I had the same type of drain on my old O'Day Widgeon (12' 4" long) and it originally had a threaded nylon or delrin plug, but I broke that and ended up using a standard brass pipe plug with teflon tape to seal it. I think it was 1/4 NPT, but I'm not sure.
The Day Sailer has a hinged centerboard, and on the DS I and DS IV it is moved by a lever (your "handcrank"). A daggerboard is different, a daggerboard is inserted vertically into it's trunk, and does not pivot. It uses a shorter trunk, fore & aft, thus takes up less room in the boat, but as I say..it does not pivot, and so is more prone to damage if you hit something.
Don't worry about being unfamiliar with these terms, we all had to start somewhere! The DS owners on this list don't bite...but we are a good source of answers to your questions, so ask away!

Rod Johnson (rjohnson24-at-juno.com)

You are correct about the brackets in the bow if the brackets are fiberglass tabs with two holes in them. Fiberglass trays with a turned up lip-edge fits between the tabs on both sides of your DS1 under the cuddy...nice places to stow sail bags and stuff you don't want to get damp. A mesh keeps things on the trays.
There should be foam in the seat tanks...if not someone must have removed it because it got soggy. The boat would float if swamped as long as you remembered to keep the openings in the seat tanks plugged. One slick way that I read about to put foam "peanuts" in is to use a hole saw and cut an opening just large enough to fit a shop-vac hose in on the opposite end and upper part of the tank. With the vac (with a piece of screen over the hose) sucking from one end, feed the peanuts in the other end. I have not tryed it but it sounds easier than trying to fit strips of foam through a small hole.

Good luck getting you DS1 on the water.

Calvin

Calvin Trotter (calvin.g.trotter-at-saint-gobain.com)

Any worries about the "peanut" foam absorbing additional water? It sounds like a great idea.

barry (bfk-at-sdcity.sannet.gov)

I am certainly no expert on foam properties. I have been around some people who are in my work history. Over hearing conversations and such...it is my impression that foam "peanuts" consist of gas expanded polystyrene which should be a "closed cell" foam and not prone to hold water unless the individual cell walls are damaged...usually due to UV. I would think the fiberglass would be a pretty good barrier from UV radiation...over another 30 years...maybe not.

I would be interested to hear from someone that actually knows the facts.

Another concern...the "peanuts" would have a lot more surface area as compared to blocks of foam for "bio's" to grow on and may smell after a while.

Have a great O'Day!, Calvin

Calvin Trotter (calvin.g.trotter-at-saint-gobain.com)