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Trip to Michigan, Day 1

I spent last Thursday through Sunday on the road, traveling to Bloomfield Hills, MI. Why? Well, to get Day Sailer Class# 3335. She's a great little boat that needs only a mast and perhaps sails to get her sailing. Here's the pictures I have of this nice boat. I don't know if I'll be able to part with her after she's rigged up. My friend Jim was good enough to help me bring her home.

We left about 8 am or so and I promptly remembered I forgot my camera... so we turned back (we weren't far from home) and grabbed the camera. I'm a really bad photographer, so the pictures I took were few, and poor, but I haven't looked at them on the screen yet, so perhaps some are worth posting.

We took Texas highway 146 north out of Clear Lake with the intention of getting onto Highway 90 and then state route 321 to reach US 59 at Cleveland, TX. Well, we missed the turn - I recall we were in conversation. Before I knew it, Highway 146 turned into a dirt road under construction, and we were behind semis carrying dirt into the construction area to build up the road bed. Flagmen were letting cars through one lane at a time - half of the time southbound, half of the time northbound...So there we were, sitting stopped on the road waiting our turn. Not exactly the high rate of speed we had hoped for. Finally, we got through the construction, made it to Livingston, and got onto US 59 headed toward Texarkana.

I was really happy to have a care package from Kathy, and it included a two disk CD album that is partly classical music and mostly narration of letters written by classical composers. And yes, it was better than it sounds here. I enjoyed hearing the thoughts of these guys who were able to produce such amazing music. That helped pass the time before lunch which was necessarily quick, so quick that I don't recall what it was... Wendy's, I think. We pressed on and made excellent time through east Texas to Texarkana. We turned on to Interstate 30, and headed towards Little Rock. I-30 used to be a really rough road but they've finished rebuilding it and it no longer deserves the title of "Worst Interstate Highway in the Country". I-94 in Michigan ought to get that title. We passed through Little Rock and continued on I-30 East in the late afternoon and early evening, turning onto I-55 west of Memphis. As the hour was late - 9:00p.m. and we were hungry, we hoped to find a restaurant open in Blytheville, AR. Riiight.... We eventually found that KFC was the only place open and stopped there. 9:00p.m. in Blytheville, AR is like 3:00a.m. anywhere else. There was not a soul in the KFC except for us and the staff cleaning the place. We were still able to get something to eat. It enough to keep us from passing out, but it didn't rank up there in my Top Ten Epicurean Experiences... We pressed on, still not sure how far to proceed. I had thought I'd continue until I got sick of it. That happened shortly after we turned onto I-57 and crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois. I think it was Carbondale, but we stopped for the night there. Excellent progress for one day.

The Day Sailer is for cruising, April 1964

At the request of reader Roger, This article is provided. It was written by Robert Milligan, the owner of the very first Day Sailer which he called The One (I wonder what ever happened to her?) Mr. Milligan lays out in great detail his arrangement of The One for cruising. I'm amazed at all the equipment he was able to stow aboard his Day Sailer.

Back from travel

I spent the last four days on the road, more on that later this week. So that folks who are interested don't think I'm stopping, I am still going to continue to scan in Day Sailer articles.

There's over 40 years of issues, so if there if there are specific subjects I should prioritize, let me know and I'll see what I can do. Note that there's a comment feature for these posts, so let me know through a comment if you think the article is a good, maybe not so good.

Next time I'm on travel, I'll try give some indication that posts may be sparse.

Questions, Answers, Comments

This is from issue 4 of The Day Sailer. In this very early article, DSA members discuss Day Sailer flotation, a mast trailering rig, the cruising range of The Day Sailer, stowage for the Seagull outboard motor, and a non-racer talks about how how racing makes you a better sailor.
Download file

Day Sailer #2825 Destiny

We picked her up from a very nice gentleman in Destin, FL. She's in need of some TLC, but I think we can get her up and going. Then we'll get her eventually to someone who will sail her and treat her well.

Viola Damage

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3

Questions, Answer and Comments

This article is from the January 1966 issue of The Day Sailer. It has a lot of interesting information, and quite a bit of it is still applicable to this day.
Topics:

• Running rigging specs


• Trailers


• Mast and Boom holders for trailering


• Stepping the mast ( I highly recommend reading this before you decide to convert to a tabernacle mast)


• Standing rigging


• Hoist rings


• Main Sheet Rigging


• Boom Vang


• Jib Sheet Leads


• Spinnakers


• Spinnaker Pole


• Tiller Extension or Hiking Stick


• Running Lights


• Combings and Hiking out


• Centerboards


• Flotation


• compass


• rudder angle


• That Racing Finish


• Protecting the Spars


• Storm Sails


• Weather Helm

Download file (104k)

The DS in Destin

Click on the thumbnails for larger pics

Spinnaker Trim by Steve Colgate

From The Day Sailer, Number 64, Spring 1977
Download file

Day Sailer Rigging and Tuning Guide

From The Day Sailer Fall 1982, Number 86
Download file in PDF format.

CNN needs better employees

Cliff from the Shack has alerted me to this image that makes me think the employees of CNN need to spend more time taking science classes and less time watching Star Trek.

Day Sailer sans mast in Michigan

Another DS that is on the verge of being parted out is in Michigan:
Click on the thumbnails for larger pics.

Update:

Update 2:
Well, I've decided to get it, the price is good, the trip will be long, but hey, life will be interesting. Perhaps I can find a travelling companion, since K. doesn't have the time to travel.

Day Sailer Quarterly Articles I've scanned so far

Here's the articles I've got so far in PDF format:
Day Sailer Association Membership Form
Spinnaker Trim By Greg and Patti Fisher,The Day Sailer, Summer 1983 Number 89
Making a Day Sailer Go Fast and Priorities for Winning By Len Fiock, The Day Sailer, Winter 1986
Up, Down. Basic Spinnaker Launching By Mark Schroeder, Spring 2001
Doyle Cressy Sails Tuning Guide By Norm Cressy and Dan Duggan, Spring 2001