Thinking a Sunfish: Looking to get back into sailing

Mark Z

New Member
Hi Folks, as the title states I am thinking about getting a Sunfish to return to sailing. I learned the very basics of sailing when I was in Boyscouts sailing a JY-15 and had always wanted to get into it as a hobby (I grew up on Lake Sidney Lanier in Georgia). Now that I have young children, I want to get a small boat to take them putting around.

I've never sailed a Sunfish or seen one up close but I can tell that it would be a great fit with my lifestyle. I live in Kentucky and Cave Run Lake has a vibrant sailing community but would also trailer a boat to Lake Lanier and Destin, FL. At this point, I'm leaning towards just getting a new boat that I can take care of and maintain. Relatively speaking, they aren't that expensive and it seems like most used boats end up being a resto-project (my house is a resto-project so not in the market for any others).

I'd like to hear some feedback on my approach thus far or if there are some more things I should consider or be thinking about.

Thanks in advance!

Mark
 
Sounds great! I would say shop around a little for a used boat because sometimes you can find amazing deals (newish boat with trailer and dolly and extras for a thousand or two less than new). I don't think I would ever buy a brand new boat just because I would end up crying at every scratch and not want anyone else to touch it. You might see what the popular dinghys are in your area...google local sailing clubs and stuff. It's nice to have a local community. I think sunfish are everywhere though. One thing: I don't know how comfortable it would be with an adult and multiple children on a sunfish. Two not-large people are fine and I've had three (smallish young women) on at once before, but as I recall one stood forward of the mast, which is probably not good parenting :). Good luck and have fun!
 
In comparison with the JY-15, you could find that the Sunfish "comes up short" in cockpit space. Then again, with Sunfish being so popular, there could be several Sunfish in your locale interested in having a one-class racing event.
 
The small cockpit doesn't bother me at all. I like the small size so I can launch from a beach when I go to FL.
I will confess that I am deluding myself to believe its mostly for the kids because its not; it's mostly for the big kid!

The second-hand boats I have seen available are 1970s vintage and typically sound like a project. But I could be wrong; I'm sure there are plenty of good used boats out there with age but it does seem like if they are good boats, nobody wants to sell them. I'll start looking for a complete setup that is a few years old. That would be a compromise.
 
You might want to send a message to Signal Charlie. He lives in Florida and spends his time restoring and selling Sunfish. Look at the thread "Sunfish Pickin' Pensacola" for an idea of the kind of work that he does.
 
Mark, unless you bumped into a recent lightly used boat without having to drive all over tarnation to look at it, I'd just go to the dealer and get a new one. I've never bought a used Sunfish and given the price have of a new one, it's a great deal.
 
Hola Mark
I love the idea of a new boat, it has a warranty. Give Kirk Newkirk a call at Key Sailing in Pensacola Beach (850) 932-5520, he can set you up with a new boat and trailer. Think about getting a galvanized trailer, pretty much required if you plan to dip it into salt water. That rig will last forever if you rinse it and let the sail air dry.

Kirk may also have some 2013 charter boats left over from the Sunfish Masters and Midwinters that was held in Pensacola last March, he bought 6 new boats, it was cool to see them being unboxed. Last year he was already offering 10 percent off, but keep in mind the price was lowered from around 4300 to the current 3995 last year and I'm not sure if LP passed along the difference to dealers, so he may have a new new boat below 4K.

The Gulf can be a very nice sail if the waves are right, and start checking out Choctawhatchee Bay and juanas pagoda at Navarre Beach, some beautiful areas over there.

As for getting back into sailing, the Sunfish is a sure investment. Easy to rig, easy to sail and they keep their value. Kids from about 8 and up can get them going, I see them out at the Navy Sailing Club doing it. The boat is rated up to 500 pounds and it can do that also. Sunfish has a great Class Association if you decide to race and there are 2 great support forums, this one and Yahoo Sunfish_Sailor. There are a lot of new and used parts out there, with over 300,000 boats made.

If you changed your mind after a few years and sold the boat it would disappear fast at a good price.

One other consideration is where you will store it, they like being under cover to protect gelcoat from UV.

Good luck!
 
I'm kinda on the fence about what I want. Probably will end up getting a new boat because I don't realistically see a one or two year old boat coming for sale in my neck of the woods but who knows; maybe this spring will yield some supply in the market.

But in the meantime I bought this old wreck just get familiar with the brand. From what I can tell, it's from the 1960s. Take a look and see if this is worth cleaning up and doing simple glass work to rehab.

http://s728.photobucket.com/user/markzoller/library/Sunfish
 
Hi Mark

Your wreck is a 1966. She looks like a fine ship to me! The first thing I would do is weigh it, because that will drive what you do next, a lot of hull work or some simple glass work. Stand it on edge on a bathroom scale and try to not push down on it :)

Those hulls' factory weight was 139 pounds, but it is not uncommon for them to be 145ish. If it weighs significantly more there is water in the foam and you either need to 1) cut inspection ports and dry it out with fans over several months or 2) split the deck from the hull on the bow and stern and scoop out saturated expanding foam. Most people won't do 2) but that's how the factory fixed them: http://smallboatrestoration.blogspo...sacola-merci-beaucoup.html#uds-search-results
If the weight is okay, then you have some simple glass work to get the gelcoat chips sealed up.

Your challenge will be finding spars and mast in your locale. All the other parts you can probably round up here, on craigslist or ebay. You'll also need to decide if you want to restore it with the 1960s rudder hardware or upgrade to later style rudder: http://smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com/2013/05/sunfish-rudder-conversion.html

Pour some water into the mast step. If it disappears, you need to make some epoxy repairs to the inside of the tube.

Try wetsanding a small section of the deck with 1600 grit, you might be surprised.

Kent
 
The hull weighed 205 lbs. I have a good mast and gooseneck, but that's about it. No tiller, rudder, daggerboard, sail, spars, etc. so I do not think it would be economical to source all these parts and turn this into a boat.

What I will try to do is split the hull to see what's going on inside for the education purpose. But in the meantime, I'm going to continue looking for a complete boat.
 
The hull weighed 205 lbs. I have a good mast and gooseneck, but that's about it. No tiller, rudder, daggerboard, sail, spars, etc. so I do not think it would be economical to source all these parts and turn this into a boat.

What I will try to do is split the hull to see what's going on inside for the education purpose. But in the meantime, I'm going to continue looking for a complete boat.

Throw economics out the porthole, we're talking SAILING here :) That boat is definitely a restoration project, the question is whether you have sailing scheduled for this Summer and do you want a project. Most people have good success with the inspection port and fan method but it can take months. Splitting the hull is the other approach, if you go that route remember to not split the hull all the way around, basically don't split it on either side of the cockpit as that helps keep the deck and hull aligned. I split the entire hull once thinking it would open up a bit more room to work in but it really doesn't. Also don't split the deck away from the cockpit or the mast tube.

Our restoration boat "Hoops" had 39 pounds of wet expanding foam inside, you can see how we fixed that on our Smalm Boat Restoration blog http://smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com/2014/04/sunfish-pickin-columbus-ga-hoops-and.html
or by searching for Hoops in this Forum.

Keep in mind the replacement expanding foam (marine grade) will run around $100-$150 depending on whether you get the hang of things on the first set of A/B cans or waste some, the kit of A/B foam mix we use costs $50 per set and you'll need at least 2 sets, one for bow and one for stern.

And lastly, if you rounded up the parts and did the work on the boat, you could sell it down the road and recoup your parts money, plus a little for your time. What you learn along the way is priceless. You have good options, have fun!

Kent
 
I think what I will do is start splitting the hull apart just to see what I'm dealing with. I may take on a project and let it last a while but I will also be on the lookout for a decent boat through the spring when more come to market.

The boat restoration doesn't look like all that big of a deal; plus I need a constructive hobby.

One glaring thing that I am missing is the upper spar. The lower one is mangled but I can find a replacement from any metal supply house but I don't have the dimensions of the upper one to go by to replace it.
 
I think what I will do is start splitting the hull apart just to see what I'm dealing with. I may take on a project and let it last a while but I will also be on the lookout for a decent boat through the spring when more come to market.

The boat restoration doesn't look like all that big of a deal; plus I need a constructive hobby.

One glaring thing that I am missing is the upper spar. The lower one is mangled but I can find a replacement from any metal supply house but I don't have the dimensions of the upper one to go by to replace it.[/quote

Material: 6061-T6 Aluminum Alloy
Mast -
Style: Round Tube
Finish: Clear Anodized
Length: 10' (3.05 m)
OD: 2-1/4" (57.15 mm)
Wall Thickness: .083" (2.11 mm)

Spars -
Style: Round Tube
Finish: Clear Anodized
Length: 13' 8" 164" (4.17 m)
OD 1-1/2" (38.1 mm)
Wall Thickness: .065" (1.65 mm)

Info courtesy of our sailed West friend Wayne
 
I just bought a sunfish for similar reasons and love it. Fwiw my boat was free and needed some minor glass work and paint which ended up costing almost $400.

I am an hour and half north of cave run in Ohio and there is a sunfish for sale here for $800, just hit CL.
 
I think what I will do is start splitting the hull apart just to see what I'm dealing with. I may take on a project and let it last a while but I will also be on the lookout for a decent boat through the spring when more come to market.

While anyone is parting a Sunfish out, what I've never seen—and it would be handy—is a fore-to-aft "split section" of a Sunfish.

Sorta on this idea, only using a saw, and perfectly centered:

:p

fetch

Can you tell it's raining out? ;)
 

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