Dart 15 Forums

I have just purchased a Dart 15 no 1201 and rigged it last Sunday followed by a short sail in thick sea fog and little wind!

This leads me to several questions.

One of the toeloops has pulled out on one side, I am awaiting a replacement rivet, but am confused by the fact that this seems to go into a hidden cavity rather than the one accessed by the hatch – I had intended putting a washer inside. How does this cavity drain? Anyway to make it stronger?

Does anyone still use the righting lines in the front beam or should I just attach a line to the mast?

Looking at the diagrams of the mainsheet on the web I seem to have only two double pulleys rather than the triple in the diagrams, does this matter?

Anyone got a large wheel launching trolley for sale, the small wheel one is hard going on shingle – can it be converted?

I seem to have the old style downhaul, does the newer system make a big difference or is it just a nice to have?

Hi Cedric
New boat only have the toe loop behind the back beam and I took all the others of my last boat and filled the holes to stop water geting in. I thinkthe rivets go through the deck buy you would not see them because of the cocktall cabinet.
Again the new boats don't have the righting line and I have always used a line to the mast with a knot every foot so as the boat comes up I can mave up the rope without sliping.
If you do have less pulleys it will be harder on your arms.
The big wheel trolleys cost about £300 but I have seen a dart 18 with wheels about double the normal size on a normal trolley.
Most people have changed to the new downhall system and is well worth the bother, parts can be seen on the Shanklin web site.

Cedric, welcome to the Sprint 15, here's hoping you get every enjoyment from your new acquistion. It is worth joining the Association for some of the tech tips that come out in the magazine.

The hull has a flange at the top and the deck is bonded to that. The toe loop rivet goes through the deck and the flange (about 6-8mm of material). There is no access to the inside to put a washer on.

Unless your rivet hole has grossly enlarged then a new rivet should do the trick. Otherwise you may have to bond some fibreglass mat into the hole and redrill it.

It is best to avoid lifting or dragging the boat using the toe loops as a handle as that will not help their longevity. When you have put the rivet in either use a plug or some mastic to seal the rivet head hole (and all the other rivetsif the seals have come out). Any water that goes through will end up in the bottom of the hull and can be sponged out from the rear hatches. The 'cocktail cabinet' hatches are sealed from the rest of the hull to provide storage - especially for the special 'praddle' paddle. These you have to sponge out separately.

Some people swear by the front beam righting lines but others use the rope on the mast ball. Personally I find it easier to use the rope on the mast ball as the shock cords had gone in my beam and it all hung out. Some use the main halyard and throw it over the higher hull but that is not knotted and can be difficult to hold onto when trying to pull the boat upright.

If you do use a knotted rope with a loop on the mast ball be careful. Tie the loop on the mast ball and then run the rope over and down one hull - start the knots (double ones) after the bottom of the hull - then you will not be pulling a knot into the side of the hull when using it.

Early boats had just double blocks which are Ok if you have good finger strength (say after an hour or so on the water) but nearly everyone uses triples (either old 2+1 or newer composite triples). If you are just doing the recreational thing then doubles will do for now but when you get into sailing or racing in higher winds you are likely to miss out on the extra purchase (7:1 instead of 5:1).

Again getting enough downhaul on with the old arrangement is a strain and really does require you moving well forward. Wth the 3:1 arrangement and a cleat you can actually run a longer downhaul to the rear beam (laying on the tramp) this enables you to adjust the downhaul and cleat it without moving forward - a bonus in heavier winds.

Some form of righting line is a near must and the downhaul advantage saves a lot of strain (to me a must rather than a nicety). The blocks may be a reasoable christmas or birthday present!! Check out the suppliers listed on this site.

Large wheel trollies are expensive and scarce. We too have shingle to cross and as it banks with the waves we get bogged down. One thing to make sure is that you run a rope loop from near the wheels and each side of the trolley long enough to loop around and tie to the mast ball or the toestrap ropes - this helps stop the trolley slipping out from under the boat as you move it (I have put to eyes on the trolley crossbar to hold the rope in position about 12" in from the wheel on each side).

One club I know uses guttering to slide the boat on rather than wheels as they have a large shingle bank to cross. They curve the guttering up the bow and tie it to the forestay plates and it runs right back to the skegs.

I hope at least some of this is useful.

Good sailing

Steve Willis

Totally agree with Steve Willis being a member of the the dart/sprint 15 association is great value for £15 by cheque or £10 by SO you can enter any of the TT's or Nationals Winter and/or Summer received the class Mag full of useful tips & information. Go to join up on this site, and I'm not even on the commiitee !!
SteveR

Thanks for the info, the sales pitch on joining is unnecessary that’s why I gave the subject as “new member”!

cedric wrote:Thanks for the info, the sales pitch on joining is unnecessary that’s why I gave the subject as “new member”!

Whereabouts do you sail, Cedric? Will we be meeting you at any of our events?

Andrew,
TBYC.

I sail at Pevensey Bay, and yes I hope to come to some events once I get the hang of the boat

Hi Cedric,

Congratulations and all that stuff !

As you're a member and used to using the wonderfully informative website, you'll be fully aware of the Nationals in just over a week now.

I've sailed mine twice in my short ownership, here at Queen Mary's (most of which was spent leaping off the side while watching the bow of one hull disappear below sea level), and would hate to be the only one at Gurnard practicing underwater manouvres at the back of the fleet....

See you there then?

For the brief moments it will be visible above the water, mine's 1800.

Enjoy !

Hi Alex
While it would have been very tempting to come I have already said I will take my Byte, my small dinghy, to race in the local interclub regatta - I expect the Byte will not get much use after that.

From all the replies that you have been good enough to write I think I am going to upgrade both the downhaul and the mainsheet and might as well do it now so I learn on the new systems. When I put the triple blocks on I assume I will need to replace the main sheet with a longer one, what length would you suggest?

My book says 8500mm +/- 2500mm. I started out with 10 metres and cut some off eventually. You need enough to be fully sheeted out on a run but still be able to have hold of the sheet whilst well forard (trying to lift the skegs out of the water on a run) and then enough to tie the end to the end of the traveller rope (so both are together - then if you drop them at least you only have to make one grab).

You can use the old mainsheet to make the knotted rope for righting if that is your chosen route for that.

By the way, it is well worth getting Brian Phipp's book 'The Catamaran Book' (he of Windsport International) and possibly 'Catamaran Racing' by Kim Furniss and Sarah Power. They both have a wealth of information and excellent photographs to help get the best of of Cats.

If you fancy a trip to North Kent over July 14/15 we are holding a Sprint 15 TT and will have a few newer Sprint sailors entering. Space for camping is available on site and boat parking and club are only metres from the water (short haul over the sea wall via the ramp).

It would be an ideal time to have a look at other Sprints and to check over anything you have concerns about.

regards

Steve Willis

Thanks Steve
When you say your book, what is this and is it info I can find on the web?

Afraid I can't make the 14/15 July, the trouble is I have arranged all my holiday etc before getting the Dart and seem to be away/booked for almost every traveller weekend.

I am going to see if I could manage the Southern Champs on the 23/24 June though as this will only be the 2nd or 3rd time I will have been on it this will be more a matter of not getting lapped by everyone too often!

The book I have is the original Panthercraft Spark manual (the Spark is the original format of the boat before it became the Dart15 and subsequently the Sprint 15) and mine dates from the early 1980s. It contains nearly all the measurments of rigging etc. which were omitted from the later rigging manuals labelled Dart15.

You have probably seen the manuals section of this web site which give part numbers but no measurements. If you are in any doubt then it is worth talking to Brian Phipps at Windsport and getting what you need from him.

Bob Carter and I did some research last summer with regard to forestay lengths as there were some problems with them being too long. Hopefully soon we will be publishing an article about changing the mast heel wear plate and its impact on mast rake when it wears.

Have fun at the Championships. One of our guys who always used to go to the Nationals advised keeping clear of the mass at the start and get clean air - then just enjoy yourself. It is well worth the effort because you can learn so much from talking to people and seeing how they have got their boats rigged - mast rake and tension etc.

One thing I found very useful in my early days with cats is the 3 point turn - when the boat stalls head to wind and will not complete a tack, reverse the rudders fully until the sail flips (you will be sailing backwards at this point!) and then put the rudders back over the right way again. Also remember to release about 12-18 inches of main sheet as you go through the wind tacking - this helps the sail get drive again when it flips

Regards

Steve Willis