DaySailer.org Forum

Hi,

I'm considering getting a 17' Daysailer. Is it reasonable to leave it anchored off the beach of our cottage on a freshwater lake for the summer?

Or is it best to take it out regularly?

Thanks,
Andrew

In principle, the answer is yes.

Be sure your anchor is up to it, because the hull of the DS catches the wind more easily than you think. Just last weak I had to rescue someone's DS that was drifting past my cabin...

For longer, unattended periods (when you are not at your cottage), I would not use a regular anchor but some sort of mooring.

Some paints are meant for dry-sailed boats only. If the boat had such a paint, you'd need to repaint it. If it still has gelcoat, then that's a non-issue.

If you plan to not be around for some time, you get the issue of how to handle rain water.

And leave your contact info on the boat, helps people who find it adrift.

I agree about the sturdy mooring. If the boat has a self-bailer, rain is not a problem. My DS II spends six months a year afloat, and I live in Oregon.

Some other concerns:

Sun. I use Armor-all on the topside gel coat to reduce oxidation. Seems to help. Slippery when first applied. Any brightwork will suffer from UV. I put a Sunbrella cover over the varnished thwarts. A full boat cover solves all these problems and also keeps the rain out. The real deal is very expensive--like buying a new sail. But you can improvise with a cheap blue-tarp boom tent over the cockpit.

Algae slime below waterline. I finally went to using Interlux VC-17 antifouling paint. There are now copper-less antifouling paints, which I may try next time (I redo the bottom every two years).

Osmotic blisters. See Greenlake's note about bottom paint. I used an Interlux epoxy racing enamel for my waterline stripe. Bad idea. It was made for trailered boats. Even if you don't paint, I would wax the hull to minimize water getting under the gel coat. I also found that the rudder can blister if left in the water for a long time. Now I store it aboard.

Through-hull fittings that leak. When I first got my current boat, it would not have floated for a whole summer. I had to replace the CB pivot, bailer, and drain. That seemed to fix my leaks.

Despite the hassle, we feel the net effort is less than that required to trailer and rig the boat on every trip. Most damage to my boats has been suffered in trailering, not on the water. We go sailing 3x as often now and have more fun when we do. We pay $500/year for a dock slip, but I gather you can keep the boat at your place for free. So it sounds like a good idea to me.

I have kept my DSII in the water for the past three summers, Warm fresh water lake. Purchased a good boom tent two years ago, Boom tent allows me to keep the main sail on the boom and keeps the cockpit clean and mostly dry. Algea is the bigger problem now. VC17 will go on next spring. Have to remember to mark the waterline before I clean it after haul out this fall.
As Talbot mentioned, Having it in the water on a mooring allows me to sail far more frequently.

The answer depends on whether the boat is a ds I or II. The II has a self bailing hull, the I does not. I keep Truelove tied to the dock all summer and needed a good cover to keep the rain out.

Though I keep a different boat in the water these days than the Daysailers I used to trailer-sail, I did see a comment in my ComPac 16 owners' manual that caught my attention: "Boats blister more readily in fresh water than in salt water because the vapor transmission mechanism is not impeded by the larger salt molecules."

At any rate, beyond simply waxing the bottom of the boat (which, I agree, is a minimal step, except if raced which will slow down the boat some I believe), I would consider adding an epoxy coating at least, either by itself or prior to painting with a good anti-fouling paint.