Douglas 32

[Kim Gregory]

All Douglas Owners,

The new Douglas Owners Group web site is now on the Internet.

https://sites.google.com/site/douglasownersgroup/home

It has been updated with new Douglas boats and owners, and has two new items:
1/ The 'Kemana' book is online as a series of pdf files, one for each chapter.
It covers Niek and Brita Zeldenrust's 7 years sailing the Pacific!

2/ Mark Hood's restoration of 'Dodger' has been added to the 'Projects' page.

Please send any new information to the webmaster e-mail address on the main page.
- Kim

[Nateman]

Hi Guys!

We are in the process of buying a Douglas 32. Really excited! Details to follow... Don't want to jinx anything, LOL...

[Kim Gregory]

Nateman,
Looks like you have experience with major boat repairs. Is it the one in Trenton with a Volvo 30, no sails and no rudder? Will look forward to more details...
- Kim

[Nateman]

Originally Posted by Kim Gregory

Nateman,
Looks like you have experience with major boat repairs. Is it the one in Trenton with a Volvo 30, no sails and no rudder? Will look forward to more details...
- Kim

Haha, we made sure this one isn't going to need a restore!

She's a beautiful example and in immaculate condition. We are very happy to have her soon and have our work cut out for us! The original owners have taken really good care of her!

[Nateman]

We splashed her May 23rd. It was a very exciting day for us as the new owners and bitter sweet for the previous owners. Mike bought the boat new when he was 26 years old. 45 years later he is saying good bye to her. Truly wonderful people that helped us get to know her and continue to help as we need it. Once in a lifetime you find a boat in this condition with only one owner. I'm 41 and will be lucky to own the boat for even 30 years...

[paradoxbox]

I thought I'd revive this thread as I have just purchased a Hullmaster 31 which I understand is nearly the same thing as a Douglas 31 She is currently at the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club near Belleville, Ontario, but I will be sailing her to Port Whitby Marina shortly after launch, sometime in May or June - whenever this latest COVID lockdown ends.



I also have a Grampian Discovery 7.9 which I'm not sure what I'll do with yet - maybe put her on a smaller lake, or just sell her. I like both boats - the Discovery 7.9 is huge inside, but it was clear to me the moment I stepped foot on my new boat, the Douglas design was built very tough.

[Kelkara]

Hi Paradox ... congratulations on your new boat. I have your boat's little sister the Hullmaster 27, which I believe shares a lot in common.

[paradoxbox]

Thanks Kelkara! They seem to have made some good boats!


How does your 27 handle the rough water around Vancouver Island? I am a native of the Sunshine Coast, across from Nanaimo and the winter storms (And the sea conditions they created) are forever etched in my memory.



I live by Lake Ontario now but would love to bring my 31 footer to the pacific for some beautiful west coast sailing. I've got nuclear power plants on either side of me now, not quite the same thing..

[Enfant Du Vent]

Ahoy paradoxbox:
Stumbled over this thread and decided to read it as a nostalgia trip.


"Nostalgia" as in I owned a Command Engineering Douglas 32 for 17 years.
Home port was Halifax, NS and I sailed it "south" 4 times during my "7 year sabbatical". Finally sold it in Cape Canaveral, FL


Would be happy to chat and/or answer any questions you might have.


Allan

[gonesail]

I recall an ancient and decrepit Douglas 32 on the hard that I thought was such a cool boat and handsome design to my eyes back in the day. Good luck with your boat search.

[paradoxbox]

Originally Posted by Enfant Du Vent

Ahoy paradoxbox:
Stumbled over this thread and decided to read it as a nostalgia trip.


"Nostalgia" as in I owned a Command Engineering Douglas 32 for 17 years.
Home port was Halifax, NS and I sailed it "south" 4 times during my "7 year sabbatical". Finally sold it in Cape Canaveral, FL


Would be happy to chat and/or answer any questions you might have.


Allan

Thanks Allan!



I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Douglas 32's sailing ability and characteristics offshore, and more about your trips south.



One of the main reasons I bought a D31 was to try to help with the bashing we take every time we sail west on Lake Ontario. The very short wave periods make even small waves an unpleasant and wet experience. I don't know that the extra length and weight of the Douglas will eliminate this, but I'm hopeful it will be a little gentler than our current boat!

[Enfant Du Vent]

Ahoy Paradoxbox:
Thoughts on the Douglas 32 / 31:


Sailing Ability and Characteristics
-displacement:
-Being heavier, the Douglas is going to be more comfortable than your Grampian.
-going to windward in short/steep waves:
-The key for a Douglas hull is to shorten sail EARLY
-switch to working jib and reefed main = much more comfortable and only

minimal loss of speed.
-plus less beer spilled LOL
-Command Engineering skimped a bit on the thickness of the forward part of the hull. Hence mine was prone to flexing—called oil canning, I believe. Wrote Brewer who said to add longitudinal stringers. That resolved the problem for me.
-
-full keel with keel-hung rudder:

-slower to respond but tracked well = less attention needed to tiller/wheel.
-offshore winds are less gusty, just change direction slowly.
-With an wind vane">Aries wind vane, I once put up JUST the cruising chute
-After an hour of not having to touch the wheel, I went below and

had a nap for 2 hours!
-After another 2 hours sitting in the cockpit—not steering—I finally took

the chute down as wind strength rose and I was making close to

7.0 knots!
-They certainly aren't a fast boat.....well, mine wasn't--so maybe it was just my lack of skill. Lol
-For dead reconning I would use 3.0 – 3.5 knots and that worked for me.

But then I never turned the engine on to make up for wind dropping.
-Hell, I once had to run off under “bare poles” in 6-8 foot seas and still made

3.0 knots!
Downwind:
-The extra foot of the Douglas 32 may have or have not been significant but I was only pooped” once. I was below and the Aries was steering so it didn't adjust for a
wave from a slightly different angle. Cockpit drained immediately, but the wave
was big enough to “behead” the compass. ie: took the sun shade right off the binnacle.


-bridge deck
-wide enough to lay on comfortably.
-great for sleeping if you want to be ready to swing-into-action.
-without falling off OR laying in a puddle.



-All in all I can say I never felt I was any risk of sinking. But then I was never offshore in more than 35 knots / 8 foot seas.


Will write another time about my “commuting” north-and-south. (I used to tell people that I only had TWO items on my Annual calendar: Get your ass out of Canada before it snows, and get your ass out of the Caribbean before hurricane season.)

[paradoxbox]

We launched last week and stayed overnight on the boat this weekend. Very enjoyable. Sorry to any neighbors annoyed by our anxious 7 month old pup...the pup is going to be a bigger project than the boat.



Fresh paint in the plans for next year, and will probably redo the deck core and then full deck/topsides repaint, and renew the anti-skid with kiwigrip in 2023 Interior repaint likely this year but maybe next if we decide to just sail instead..COVID has really shortened the already short sailing seasons...

[Enfant Du Vent]

Ahoy Paradoxbox:


Congratulation on the launch!

[paradoxbox]

Have taken the boat out for a few sails..what can I say - it sails better than I imagined it would, and it is buttery smooth. Powerboat wakes that would have launched our butts into the air on our other boat barely do anything on the new one.



Was pleasantly surprised at how close to the wind she points. Just about as close to the wind if not closer than my Grampian. Everything takes a little longer to get done - course changes, speed changes, etc..but it all happens very smoooooth.



Very happy with the new boat