Sunfish full of water

I bought an 86 sunfish that had been sitting on a trailor for 10 yrs and it was full of water. Only paid 100.00 but my goal is to sail her. The bottom had a few shallow divots from the trailer that I filled with marine tex and it seems solid. I'm going to install 2 hatch covers and try to air it out. Any advice would be welcome. Not looking to compete, just want to sail!

I would weigh the hull and see how much weight needs to come out. Ideally you should be at 130-135 pounds. If you are north of 200 pounds, this will take a while. That also might dictate what you use to help dry it out. If you got all the other parts with the boat you could keep your eyes open for someone selling just a hull. Here in New England, there are a lot of just hulls available.

Funny thing is all I needed was a hull. Anyway she weights in at around 200. I really don't want to cut it up and start from scratch but I guess I won't be sailing any time soon. Do I have a chance?

I had a hull that was quite heavy. I added two inspection ports and ran a small hair dryer on low for about a week. The hull lost a lot of weight. I still have to weigh it but just by picking it up, you can tell it's much lighter.

Thanks, I'll try the hair drier.

I would be careful leaving a hair dryer running non-stop... I'd be concerned it would overheat. Several other people have used a small wattage light bulb (40W or so) and then some type of fan to generate airflow through the boat to help draw out the moisture.

I ended up using a 12V computer fan that I mounted to an extra inspection port cover (see my blog post). Just a small amount of airflow will make a big difference, but all methods will take time.

tag said:

I ended up using a 12V computer fan that I mounted to an extra inspection port cover (see my blog post).

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Hey, that's cool. I made the same thing for my boat with a few Radio Shack parts in preparation for re-enforcing the mast step in my Laser... what with all the resin fumes the process will create.

Sucks the air nicely right down the access hole I cut out of the deck and out the access port I have the fan screwed into.

- Andy

I did run the hair dryer over the winter and checked it constantly, making sure to turn it off when I wasn't home. It worked really well though.

I used a hair dryer but it was going very slowly (maybe it's too humid down here in TX). The foam blocks were completely detached so I could reach in through the deck plates and get a sense of how much water was absorbed. I ended up putting several high watt bulbs inside the hull in addition to the hair dryer and was finally able to make some noticeable progress, although I melted some of the foam. Never did weigh the boat. Maybe it absorbed more water than is typically seen. Best I can tell boat dates to early-mid 60s.

Thanks, this boat is very heavy and I have my doubts but I am going to fashion a fan to blow thru while look around for a good hull.

Hello all,

I'm new here and have the same issue with a water logged hull. I just got a four- inch port to install and hope it works. I need a second port and I'm wondering if a six-inch would help speed up the drying process?

Thanks...

Wavedancer said:

A six-incher might facilitate installing a fan of some kind.
Getting some air to flow through the hull will help with the drying process.

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Good advice--thanks. Holes are done, and I removed several gallons of water that were sloshing around the stern. Let the dry out begin!

Hello all,
I think the hull is dry. I used a warm vac from a dog training business that not only blew air, but blew warm air across the foam. I've pushed my fingers into the foam and it appears dry, but I must say the hull weight is very heavy. Am I optimistic? This is crucial, as I am a NH ocean sailor, not a lake guy. Just wondering,
Up and down the beach from Plaice Cove to Boar's Head is all I need. but I'm a long time waterman and I want the vessel safe...I haven't a scale, but I'll find one. Just thinking out loud....Thanks guys. Postscript-- can anyone tell me why a

beach-dollie can't be converted into a full time dolly when you are only going a mile? Any plans out there...