Originally Written By Bob Blake Sr. in 2000. (Recent upgrades and minor changes In Italics by Bob Jr.)

            In recent issues of The Day Sailer Quarterly, we’re had two rigging guides for stern traveler set-ups.  (See the spring 1998 issue, pp. 45-51, “Good Ship Lollipop,” by Phil Root and the summer 2000 issue, pp. 25-44, “#316 Viejo,” by Ken Reitz and Dave Keran.)

            So here’s an account of a classic O’Day Day Sailer with a mid-boom traveler system with descriptions of our other rigging solutions, developed over some forty (now 50+) years.  The purpose of this account is to describe in words and show by photos some of the solutions to various rigging problems so an interested reader won’t need to re-invent the wheel when rigging a Day Sailer and go through the trials and errors Bob, Jr. and I did to arrive at a boat that has the controls that work in all kinds of weather and are virtually always available to both skipper and crew on all points of sail.

            The Blakes have sailed “Dumpling” since 1965 (Photo 1).  With a double plank Skaneateles Comet and a homemade wooden trailer as a trade-in, the brand new Dumpling and new Teenee trailer cost $1500.  Boy, what a bargain for the fun and excitement all the family has had with this beautiful boat!

Photo 1 – Dumpling in 2011 nationals (Photo by  Brett Elizabeth Blake)

Talk about a stock boat! She had mahogany floorboards (We still have them in my garage.), wonderful coaming to prevent water from coming in when we hiked out (but tough on your rear end), jib leads out to the gunwales, a jam cleat for the main sheet on the centerboard trunk, a shaped centerboard and rudder all right—shaped like the proverbial barn doors—and no tiller extension.

            A word about originally doing our own rigging.  At the Brockport Yacht Club on Lake Ontario, just 18 miles west of the home of daddy Kodak, we had plenty of do-it-yourself tinkerers in our club.  And were they clever at creating and re-designing boat “stuff.”  So I tried to keep up with them.  I fashioned tiller extensions from aluminum tubing but they always collapsed.  And many a homemade spinnaker pole fitting bent out of shape in any kind of moderate wind.

            I’m a slow learner, but I finally came to realize that I would be better off to let professionals produce all my fittings rather than trying to jury-rig my own parts just to keep up with those “handymen” in our club.

Jib Sheeting

            My first move was to take off the jam cleat from the centerboard trunk and get a stainless steel sheet, bend it over the centerboard trunk and bolt it to the thwarts (Photo #2).  (By the way, the original thwarts have been replaced with the present oak ones.)

Photo 2 – Jib sheet arrangement over the CB trunk.

On the stainless steel sheet I installed staggered blocks and fairleads (If you look closely, the two aligned holes on the stainless sheet were for a jam cleat and Bob’s original Barber Hauler).  We finally got the angles right for hiking out in weather.  (I replaced the original blocks and cleats long ago with Harkens as they became available.  Tom Haines, a past national champ, great sailor, and first class nice guy, advised me to replace all by blocks with Harkens.  How right he was!)

After reading how one needed to move the jib sheets inboard to about eight degrees from the centerline of the boat in order to point better, I went to work on that problem. (Remember, the original jib blocks were on a very light aluminum track on the wooden coaming.  When I asked my six foot two, 200 pound crew, Timmy Donovan, to “trim the jib,” he did and pulled the track right off the coaming!)  We’ve replaced the tracks with 1” Schaefer racing T-track with T-track cars with springs (Photo 3).  These are through-bolted to the combing and are a mite sturdier than the old aluminum ones.

Photo 3 – Jib track on combing.

            So I copied the rig of a Syracuse University English professor (Jim Scholes) who was beating our pants off because he could point so much better than all the rest of us.  He simply tied a line with a block on the coaming, thus moving the jib lead inboard to where it belonged.  I thought it was great.  And it was for the time. There are a number of systems available, but after much trial and error we have gone to this rig because the jib sheets can be adjusted on both sides of the boat.  The crew is able to pull the jib inboard by a line under the cuddy, while when the line is released from the Harken block, shock cord pulls the jib sheet outboard for reaching It then becomes an in-haul or out-haul, whatever is your pleasure (see photos 4 and 5).

            Now to our present rig for the jib (Dumpling has gone through a number of iterations of a barber hauler system. The first one described/shown here (photo 4) was copied from Mike Carpenter in 1984. The second one shown (photo 5) was installed after the 2006 nationals in Sharon, MA.  The system was changed because the earlier set-up had the barber haul block significantly forward – about 8 inches forward of aft cuddy edge. Given the North Jib, this set up put simply too much curvature in the jib. After Sharon, and with a discussion with Dean Iawashi, the current system was put in place.) 

Photo 4 – Mid 1980’s – 2006 Barber Hauler system 

Photo 5 - Current Dumpling System (see barber hauler, twing line, and boom vang)

Mid-Boom Traveler

            Next, because all the hotshots (at the time) were using mid-boom travelers—the legendary Len Fiock had one—I decided to go to one, too.  (It took me virtually all one winter, sitting in Dumpling in my garage, agonizing before I could drill a hole in my beloved yacht.  Now, there are so many holes in her that she looks like pieces of Swiss cheese, patched together.) 

            The original track and car have been replaced with Harken racing track and a Harken windward sheeting traveler car (Photo 6). I can’t praise this system enough.  (The windward sheeting car was a game changer and was installed in the mid 1980’s). One of the valid criticisms of the old mid-boom traveler was that one needed to let off the traveler before one tacked and then pull the car to windward after the tack.  What a pain!

            With the windward sheeting car, after the tack, the leeward purchase releases the car.  All one has to do is simply pull the car—and most importantly, the boom—to windward. (It has one flaw and that is in very light air because pressure to release the windward cleat is not strong enough and at times it has to be done manually)

Photo 6 – Mid-Boom traveler with Harken windward sheeting car.

Notice the mainsheet as it exits a Harken swivel base—so that the lead always faces the trimmer, either skipper or crew--the Harken blocks on the boom and another Harken with becket on the traveler.  That’s enough purchase for us. (Yet Natalie Coleman-Fuller has added additional purchase for heavy weather Pleasant Bay sailing. Much like is done in a Hobie Cat).  Bob Jr. has added wooden supports on either side of the centerboard trunk, with the aluminum bar screwed and glued into these supports.  Both ends of the aluminum bar are attached through the deck under the combing by bolting through approximately 2.5 inches of deck.  Len Fiock suggested this for two reasons.

1) It would be very sturdy, and

2) It would provide lateral stability for the boat.

There’s a lot pressure on the traveler when the air is honking and with this arrangement the aluminum traveler bar is going nowhere.

            There’s always been a heated debate about the mid-boom versus the stern traveler.  Long ago, Dan Duggan removed his mid-boom traveler and went to the stern traveler.  He and Barbara Duggan-Foot do all right with the stern rig (with Cherry Bomb having won three national championships), thank you very much. And Phil Root has not disgraced himself with the stern traveler. (The influx of Thistle sailors has brought in era of “end-of-boom” mainsheet and using a 21:1 Vang for “vang sheeting.” The system has proven successful with national championships among Dave Keran and Janette Zeman , Mike and Mardi Gillum, and now Craig Lee and Mary Niederberger).

            However, Len Fiock, the all-time DS champ has always had a mid-boom and when Bob, Jr. asked Len, “How do make this traveler work?” Len replied, “Just get used to it, Bob.”

            Those who win with the stern rig say the boat is cleaner and much easier to get around in.  They’re right.  And in light air, all things being equal, the stern traveler skippers may have a slight edge over us mid-boomers because of ease of moving around in the boat.  Bob, Jr. and I believe, though, that when the air pipes up, the mid-boom is a distinct advantage.  Essentially, when one yanks on the mainsheet with the boom moved to centerline, the upper part of the flexible Epsilon mast (as well as the E and Beta-minus sections) bends, thus flattening the main and freeing the leech of the sail. This lets us keep the boat flat and moving to windward.  When the wind gets even heavier, we simply let the car—and thus the boom—to leeward, allowing the upper part of the mainsail to twist off to leeward and again letting us keep the boat flat.

            The other complaint about the midboom is that it makes for a very crowded cockpit.  It sure does!  In Dumpling, the skipper sits forward of the traveler, and the crew sits forward of the thwart.  But, that’s exactly where you want your weight!  Right in the center of the boat, especially when going to windward.  (Except, of course, in planing conditions, but that’s a whole other story.)

Other Controls

            Now to other controls of Dumpling (seen earlie in Photos 4 and 5).  The top chock of wood glued to the underside of the cuddy with the Harken cheek block and Harken block with risers holds the line for the port adjustment for the jib inhaul/outhaul sheet.  On the mahogany coaming, the top line controls the Cunningham adjustment on the main.  The middle line adjusts the vang, and the bottom line is for the jib Cunningham (Photo 7).

Photo 7 – Cunningham and jib luff.  Middle line is Vang but that has since been moved topside

Jib Cunningham

            A word about the adjusting the tension of the jib luff.  Many sailors use a Harken magic box or other means to adjust the tension of the jib luff.  For them, the jib halyard becomes the jib Cunningham for luff adjustments.

            For Dumpling, we drilled a hole in the stainless steel bow plate and led the jib Cunningham wire through the bow plate to a wire block below deck with lines leading to the control panels on both port and starboard.  The wire forestay is adjusted through the Stay-Master turnbuckle.  Then the jib luff wire is snugged as tight as possible on the deck for going to windward and let off very simply and effectively for sailing off the wind (Photo 8).