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Many thanks for the helpful and extremely detailed responses. Smilin' Beard, your method seems to be the most practical for my situation, although I would love let fly in irons while paddling but my narrow curvy canal can get quite congested, and a 14' boom wung out could cause some problems...

Kevin that is great advice! I happen to play some r-ball from time to time and always have several extra balls. I'm wondering if the smaller squash ball would do a similar job in the smaller booms. I've enjoyed reading about Jeff Linton and his races against Eduardo Cordero among others...

I can surely understand the contention in the Finn and Laser classes about kinetics. My contention is that some racers sneak in extra kinetics in such a way that enables them to get away with it sometimes. If all kinetics are allowed for certain classes, I think enforcement would be more...

I got my sfbible at www.dinghyshop.com (ph) 631.264.0005 for $29.99 two months ago. I called Barnes and Noble and they wanted $81.00 (!) I think I have the most recent edition (1996) which is 3 books in 1. Not sure if previous editions had the 3 in one thing. Pretty thick book. Fun reading too.

Thanks for the info Mike. I have previously perused the class rules, etc. to note the legal mods to a fish. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that only one "pump" per wave is allowed (subject to apparent variations in enforcement from regatta to regatta). I would think from a purely athletic...

As far as the barrier coating is concerned, I happen to have some unopened 2000E thats only about 16 months old which should be enough for the job. I've used it extensively over the last ten years on other restoration projects with excellent results except when applying it underneath alkyd...

As far as the barrier coating is concerned, I happen to have some unopened 2000E thats only about 16 months old which should be enough for the job. I've used it extensively over the last ten years on other restoration projects with excellent results except when applying it underneath alkyd...

Thanks again for the help guys. To answer Dan's question, the mast will cost me about 50 bucks from an aquaintance plus an extra 20 for the manufacturer end caps. So I'm saving almost $100.00 give or take. I'm taking your advice to seal up the spars with silicone, but I happen to have lots of...

The metal is 6061 t-1 clear anodized aluminum.

Thanks for the replies fellas. Mike, you're right - there is in fact only a small section of that cork-like stuff at the spar ends, not the entire length like I previously posted. I know you guys are speaking from your personal direct experience with these boats which I completely lack, but I...

Get a copy of the Sunfish Bible. Great, great book to get you started.

I just removed the end caps from my booms to discover that they have cork-like plugs running most of their length. Does the mast have a similar floatation arrangement? I'm making a mast for my fish from anodized aluminum tube and would like some recommendations for floatation if it's desirable...

Ok, just go easy on the Red Bull with espresso. I might be nervous as well if you race a fish like you type in forums -jacked up on 2000mg of Starbucks. Heh heh. Just kidding - enthusiasm is good, however if I ever race against you I'll be sure to bring my extra heavy duty mil-spec rubrail. On...

Re: mast and boom cleats What is the best method of installing the mast cleat and boom cleats for outhaul and cunningham lines? Thanks again. Mike

I recommend weighing the hull, so maybe throw an old bathroom scale or 2 in the trunk of your car for when you peruse candidate boats. 130-135 pounds or so is about right, give or take, but they can vary in weight quite substantially. Try to find a light stiff boat. If you find one, give it a...

What would you say is the more efficient option? 1) installing removable oarlock brackets which utilize 2 collapsible oars; or 2) paddling the fish kayak style (a single 2-bladed collapsible oar). Since I live on a relatively narrow, curvy canal (lots of boat traffic) which leads to Great...

Thanks for the replies. I'm a little confused about a couple of things. First, if I install a halyard cleat on the mast itself and cleat the halyard to the mast cleat instead of the deck cleat, what would prevent the mast from completely falling out of the step if the boat were to turn turtle...

I'll be sure to post my findings as I get them. I'm also looking into Lubribond A and EZ Slide paint (graphite) in addition to molybdenum disulfide, teflon, etc. In the Sunfish Bible one successful sunfish racer used Helmsman Graphspeed which is seemingly no longer available. My sole concerns...

I agree that if the gelcoat is sound, then it never should be painted, but it looks like there are so many pinholes in his gelcoat in addition to deep gouges that he's gonna have to gelpaste the entire bottom almost. I got the recommendation from a guy who works with heavy equipment and said...

Just a couple more points of view: As Dan said, if all you need is a thorough cleaning, filling and sanding, that's probably your best bet. However, if your boat is often beached, trailered, or otherwise abused like my small craft, each season will leave you with the same problem of breached...