Dart 15 Forums

Hello,

do you have any trick to stop the main sheet from being washed away at the back of the trampoline?

My hulls leak a bit. I sponge about half a liter out in the most affected one after a couple of hours sail. How are the deck to beam socket build? Should I reef out the gel coat at the joints and replace it with silicone?

Thank you.
Cheers, Thierry, Loctudy, Brittany

the best way to ID any hull leaks is to use warm soapy water and a sponge . Apply low air pressure inside the hull via the rear hatch by sealing the hatch area with some gaffa tape with a hole in it to apply some air via hand pump or hair dryer / similar. Using low pressure air all leaks will show as bubbles when you run the soapy water over the hull / deck. NB only use low pressure ie. enough to give some back pressure.
Depending on the leak , the best way to fill any small leaks ( non - structural) is to reverse the hand pump to suck and apply gelcoat to the leaking area. The sucking action will draw the gelcoat into the leaking area. Then allow the gelcoat to harden.
Hope that helps.

I presume you have tied your main sheet and traveller together? Double fisherman's knot is good.

You can loop the main sheet and traveller round the mast. Otherwise you can put a piece of bungee string between the mast and the middle of the back beam. Tie a loop in the bungee about a third of the way back from the mast and pass the main sheet and traveller through it.

Thierry Msika wrote: ↑Sun Jul 03, 2022 10:21 am do you have any trick to stop the main sheet from being washed away at the back of the trampoline?

Thanks Brian for the detailed method,

I found the origin of the leak for the starboard hull. I got the boat with foot holds placed about 6" behind the big hatches. Someone used it as a handle to lift the hull. The deck got separated from the hull and there is a small crack. I will start fixing this one and I'll get rid of the foot holds ASAP.

Thanks Liam,

I'll try the first method first. I like the boat uncluttered and kept simple.