Excessively heavy old Sunfish

lyle bivens

New Member
I have a 1970" vintage sunfish that is 40-50 pounds heavier than my later models. Cutting an 8" access hole revealed no major water infiltration into the foam, but lots of ants! Is it possible to remove the whole top deck by drilling out the rivets in the aluminum channel, removing the channel, and cutting the top loose from the hull? And any hypotheses about the excessive weight?
 
Maybe the extra weight is from the ant nest. If they have been in there long enough they could have drug a lot of debris in there. You would be surprised how quickly the stuff would add up. Although 40-50 lbs does sound a little high. Oh well..its just a thought.
 
The water in the foam does not necessarily make the foam look wet. If it is deep into the pores, it will evaporate from the surface and it will appear surface dry. The water is still in the deeper recesses. I think the ant factor is not very significant, although to a small extent, they may have accumulated some kind of junk. I would actively dry it out, venting, blowing air, etc. for about a week straight and see how much the weight comes down. It may take a long time to get all the water out. Make 2 inspection ports.

As far as the ants, I wouldn't kill them all inside the boat. Maybe opening it up will encourage them to come out. Then kill 'em :D .

And yes, it is possible to remove the deck as you mentioned. It is apparently a very time consuming job to re-construct properly. Any work you can do through an inspection port is probably the better way to go.

Good luck.

Tim
 
Tim: Thanks for the advice. I'll try drying it out more through inspection ports and fans. I guess I should figure out a way to monitor the weight of the beast.

Lyle Bivens
 

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