The Day Sailer - Spring1980 - by Chris Donnelly
The agony and ecstasy of owning and racing a Day Sailer II
began for me ten years
ago. Early that summer, my father and I went down to the local
boatyard to look at the
new Day Sailer we had ordered that past winter. To our surprise,
the boat looked different from the Day Sailer I had learned to sail and
race at Chatham Yacht Club; molded fiberglass floorboards, a shorter cuddy,
and a weird looking centerboard trunk (without a handle to break off!)
were the most noticeable differences.
Since that first day, I have found numerous occasions on which
to curse O'Day's
decision to build the Day Sailer II. Despite my frustrations
and the perceived shortcomings of the Day Sailer II, I believe that our
boat, Uncas (hull number 4909) is now competitive with most of the boats
in the class. In this article, I would like to share with you my
thoughts on how my brother, Mike, and I make our Day Sailer II move.
SETTING UP THE DAY SAILER II
With regard to rigging, our philosophy in a word, is simplicity.
On Uncas we have
no magic boxed, no control panels, no color coded lines, no spinnaker
launching tubes, no
barber haulers, and no dual controls (with the exception of port
and starboard jib sheets)
We believe that the utility of these "go fast" items is often outweighed
by the distraction
they create from sailing the boat fast and in the right direction.
Bearing in mind this
general approach, more specific comments on the setup follow.
The Hull. The first important consideration is to keep
the flotation tanks dry. This
may sound elementary, but it is easy to forget to check the water
in the bilge since the
inspection ports must be removed each time. During our first
season we sailed with about 100 pounds of water in the bilge--we couldn't
understand why we were so slow off the wind! Even with dry bilges,
we were 75 pounds heavy for the 1979 NAC's; water in the tanks was the
last thing we needed. The other crucial consideration is to be sure
the
centerboard goes down all the way. Again, this sounds elementary.
Our original pennant
system, however, only got the board down about 85 percent of the
way. This problem
may have been corrected on the newer DS II's, but check it.
Finally we removed the self-bailer from the bottom. The slow water
removal of the bailer did not justify the drag it created.
Standing Rigging. We sail with the original Proctor D
section spars (five foot taper
at the top of the mast). The mast is positioned straight up
and down (no rake). In our
boat, this requires placing the base of the mast in the rear position
of the adjustable mast
step. In winds of up to fifteen knots, we keep the sidestays
very tight. In heavy air, the
sidestays are loosened slightly. Foreword tension on the mast
is controlled by the jib
halyard and downhaul; thus, the forestay is kept fairly loose.
Running Rigging. Although it may be advantageous, especially
in heavy air, we do
not have a mid-boom traveler. Our mainsail sheeting system
consists of a regular 3 to 1
system running off a rope traveler in the stern. The height
of the stern traveler can be
adjusted, so, when conditions require, leech tension can be
adjusted independent of the
mainsheet tension. In addition, the block running along the
stern traveler is attached to port and starboard control lines leading
to cam cleats located amidships on the rail (the original spinnaker cams).
These two lines permit adjustment of the windward/leeward position of the
boom, without the awkward track running through the middle of the cockpit
affiliated with mid-boom sheeting systems. I believe the absence
of this track allows easier fore and aft movement by the skipper and crew,
especially important in promoting planing in marginal conditions.
Other mainsail controls include a simple 3 to1 vang, a simple cunningham
located on the mast, and an outhaul control near the front of the boom.
The jib is sheeted directly to the small blocks situated on
the track inside the rail
(the track remains in its original 1970 position). After
running through the small block,
the sheet leads through a Harken ratchet block mounted on the cuddy
facing. These larger ratchet blocks allow for constant adjustment
of the jib on the beats and reaches in heavy air, with minimum wear on
Mike's hands. A wire jib downhaul control, located under the cuddy,
permits adjustment of the jib luff and the forward pressure on the mast.
This downhaul is adjusted after the jib halyard is fully hoisted and cleated.
SAILING THE DAY SAILER II
Sailing the boat: this is what it's all about! Amidst
the talk of rigging and the latest
"go fast" items, I believe many racers loose sight of the simple
fact that most races are won and lost on sailing mistakes rather than rigging
deficiencies. I must confess, however, that I have little to say
about sailing the DS II fast that does not apply to the DS I as well.
I have raced both models a considerable amount and have not found any major
differences in handling the two. One slight difference I have observed
is that we normally cannot point quite as high as the top boats in
most fleets, especially in light air. This deficiency can usually
be made up through the speed gained by footing off a couple of degrees.
Beyond this, the DS II goes best when trimmed and sailed like a DS I: position
crew weight as far forward as possible (because of the shorter cuddy, DS
II racers may have a slight advantage here), keep the boat flat except
in extremely light air, sail with a balanced helm, and concentrate on making
the boat go fast.
In closing, we do not believe our boat is exceptionally fast;
but, we do believe it is
competitive. Admittedly, we often do not have the speed of
the fastest boats (i.e.
"machines") on the race course. Nonetheless, we have found
that superior tactics and boat handling will usually beat those "machines."
Plus, there is a special thrill in beating the speed demons of the class
in a DS II!
For those of you who race a DS II, don't despair! You
can be competitive with the
best of the class.