DAYBOAT KICKERS

DAYBOAT KICKERS 

I intend to include these jottings concerning the Dayboat from time to time, frequency will depend to some extent on owners contributions. 

I believe that the Dayboat is a much under-rated craft. Somewhat the ugly duckling, the cuddy is not the most beautiful of shapes but is certainly very practical, and I have found that over the years it has a character of its own which grows on one. The “Mark two” version produced by Devon Yawl Ltd., was an improvement in many respects, certainly in aesthetics – it would be interesting to have David Bell’s views on DD85. 

The cruising activities of the Dayboat are well know in Newsletter pages; Ivor Nicholson’s cruise in Scotland in DD18 Decibel. Olaf Swarbrick’s roamings along the south coast in DD27 Ann. East coast adventures in DD30A Gannett as recorded by Jim and Irene Bailey. Simon Moffatt’s holiday with DD52 Serenissima exploring the Fal. The two epic voyages of DD32 Skyelark with her circumnavigation of the Isle of Skye, and the crossing of the Minch to explore the Western Isles, both voyages in the capable hands of Captain Dariby George and Vice Admiral Sir Anthony Thorpe. 

The Dayboat has also taken racing in its stride; when Andrew Matthews owned DD16 Cwch he showed the local Yawls a clean stern on many occasions. DD54 Calypso, Peter Truelove, was always well up with the leaders in our rallies, and DD45 Hazy Daze in Peter Clare’s and more recently Alan Cole’s hands has given others a run for their money. There is performance potential still to be developed if only to get the best out of the boat for its own sake, why be happy “running on three cylinder”! 

I would like views from Dayboat owners, and Yawl owners if they have a mind to, on ways to improve the DD’s windward performance. Obviously new sails will help. To start the ball rolling I have two suggestions: 

Rig tension is important. To enable sufficient tension to be applied without the cuddy top caving in, insert a king post inside the cuddy bridging the space between the mast step and the bottom of the boat. For lightness use grey round plastic drainpipe, make it a good tight fit before applying tension to the rig. 

The second suggestion is a repeat of that given in the Spring ’93 newsletter, but only taken up recently by Alan Cole who has fitted it to DD45 with immediate benefit as shown by their performance at Rutland. 

The suggestion is to fit a lever kicker system to control the main, as there is insufficient distance between the boom and cuddy roof to enable a block based system to work effectively. The angle is too acute for a proper mechanical advantage to be applied to tension the leech and thus reduce twist in the sail. The modification is very simple and utilises a Proctor Europe dinghy kicker lever.