I was reattaching all my hardware after a paint job and everything was going smoothly. This was the fourth screw for the tiller plate, and the head snapped off as it was getting tight. The plate feels tight as it is, but how much do I need to extract that screw shaft and replace it?
I was lucky enough to pick up a free Sunfish the other day. Looks like it needs a little TLC. There is one crack on the hull that I can find and the sail looks like it needs replaced. Am I missing anything? Where do I start on getting it back on the water? Any good channels or videos to start with fiberglass repair? I've got some g-flex and have worked on canoes and kayaks but nothing fiberglass.
Hey guys, full resto in allcort 1967 sunfish, what do you guys think? Also did I rig the sail up right? Ive got a brand new white one with new clips in route. Thoughts? Tips? In thinking about taking it out, im a first time sailor. The only advice ive been given is to tie up the dagger board somehow
im going to hand craft a spash guard out of some red oak to match, i have the old one all finished, but it totally ruins the sex appeal
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guys I did it! my first time sailing when amazingly well. I took my wife with me who also has never sailed and we just got a hang of it super quick, we didn't even flip! 12mph cross wind at launch we put it at a 45 degree angle twice it was crazy fun!
The pics show my beach at its widest distance, old concrete sea wall to water. The paddleboard is 32" wide by 11'6", for reference. Property line is close to where teeth end of beach rake is seen beyond. Want to dolly-park it (looking at the FB Marketplace listings and will buy when I find the right one) to get it out of water between usage, with the sail-mast-boom parts sitting atop the boat, then wheel it on dolly, maneuver and turn, and in the water she goes. Will garage-store in winter, on dolly. Very few sailboats on this 250-acre clear water lake. It's nothing but 'toons and jetskis, but they'll just have to maneuver around me. Used dollys are the same cost as used manual boat lifts, but the lifts are all grungy messes from weedy lakes, and really old, most of them. Plus, we cannot store the boat on one in the garage like we can on a dolly.
I've been doing a deep dive into all things Sunfish, in anticipation of buying one. My goal is to have a Vanguard-era one by next early spring. It is for grandchildren, 9 and 11, and their dad has committed to a learn-to-sail summer, and NOT sign them up for continuous camp things next year. Camp will be here at the lake. I've come to believe that DRY is paramount in finding one to buy. Here is what we'll do to measure. First, get two $9 digital floor scales from Walmart. Cut two 12" pieces of 2x4. Get the target boat down to its hull only. Nothing attached to it. Set the two chunks of 2x4 on scale 1 near the stern, set the hull on it with its keel between the chunks, and with scale 2 at the bow end, one person has it under their feet while holding up the bow. The hull is borne by scale 1 at the stern, and by the person holding up the bow while on scale 2. Note scale readings. Whoever held the bow now weighs and that weight is subtracted from the total. Hope for 130 pounds. Walk away if it's heavy. I am not doing the inspection port thing, with computer fans, fix all the leak points, yadda yadda yadda. I hope to find a well-cared-for boat.
As can be seen in the pic, the tongue handle end, when this dolly is in its shortest position, makes dolly 9''10" long, so the 13'9" hull of the Sunfish, with its nose to the handle, has its stern hanging 4 feet off its rear bearings. This dolly has a significantly narrower wheelbase that the typical beach dolly you see at club sites and other places, but for my intended purpose, getting a boat out from the yard onto the 48" wide dock, and back up and on-dolly, it might do. My problem (not yet 'cause I've not bought the boat yet) is the yard/lakefront situation. 75 foot lot width, concrete seawall about 20 inches high across entire yard, a 4' break in the wall at center where attaches the 4' wide by 36 foot dock, 24 feet of it above water. The sand beach at one corner of the yard is zero, and an even taper to a width of almost 15 feet at the other corner. There's enough sand beach at the wide end that the boat can be dollied out and turned 90 degrees and snuggled up to the seawall, leaving about ten feet of beach between boat and water's edge. So back to the question. Will this dolly handle the Sunfish for the two moves, the get it in the water move on Memorial Day, and the get it out and into the garage move in October?
For a Sunfish? I know it does not cradle the boat like the $600 ones do, but might it do?
Tomorrow I'll do a proper leak test to find where to make the repairs.
It leaked 14 cups of water in 30 minutes lol!
Just bought my first Sunfish, a 1985 AMF build. Boat as a whole is in pretty great condition, the only minor flaws being these small cracked repairs on the bottom of the hull.
Having no prior boat repair experience, I was wondering if these would be the general correct steps for repair (or if there was a simpler method)
Wipe down area with acetone, dremel out cracks, fill with some kind of Marine epoxy, sand down excess once cured, cover with a gel coat.
Wasn't sure if that was overkill, or what would actually be the correct steps here.
Im wondering a loose value after my restoration, it has a trailer with a spare, carpeted bunks as well. Should I replace the sail? Its seen better days.. location is southwest michigan
Helpful tips for first time restoration
Dont buy gelcoat with wax already added, just mix it in in case you need extra coats.
If you want a mirror finish and hate sanding. Buy a sprayer. No amount of thinner will get it perfect. You can do what I am doing and do like 8 coats of gelcoat and sand it down with 400 grit before a final gelcoat wax coat
Acetone is an excellent surface prep, but you need to let it dry, especially if youre going over fairing compound with it.
Soak the brass in vinegar, even the plastic if it has old varnish on it. Baking soda and water mix to neutralize it. You have to wax your cleaned pieces immediately after the water bath.
All of this information is my experience, I am NOT a professional. This was my first time working with fiberglass at all.
Hello! I work at a children’s summer camp and we’re working on reviving a small sailing program on our lake. We sail sunfish and have a decent fleet with plenty of boats and sails, but we’re pretty short on helms due to them being broken. For the most part, a lot of them have an issue where the pins get jammed into the rudder making it impossible to click the helm into the gudgeon. Does anyone know if this is fixable? How would I go about doing that?