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Jim: I missed this update from over a year ago (! wow time flies). I know you were taking measurements on bulkhead placement, widths, panel sizes, etc. Did you ever finish that list? I hope you will compile and publish your findings on this forum sometime in the future. It should be possible to...

I'm assuming the hull shape is slightly different between wooden and fiberglass hulls. If working from a wooden hull, I wouldn't want to cut it into sections. There really aren't that many pieces in the wooden sunfish, according to the kit instructions. I would remove the top and measure the...

I would love to get my hands on a wooden hull to take the measurements, but it hasn't worked out so far (haven't found a wooden hull so far on craigslist around here - NC). We do have the kit installation instructions so if we had those measurements you could make a replica but with epoxy. I...

It wasn't plumbers putty. I'm not familiar with window glazing, so can't help there. It was white overall but seemingly very porous on the surface because it had taken up a lot of dirt and stuff so had black spots all over it. I'm familiar with uncured epoxy being sticky and impossible to sand...

I picked up the rubbing compound and will try it out this week. I plan on taking some progress photos tonight or tomorrow and posting them for you guys. I've given the entire hull an extreme deep-cleaning with all the soap products in my house. That got rid of the mildew and lichen. The deck was...

Thickened epoxy is actually stronger with a looser joint. I concur with the other opinions here that a patch out of wood can easily be made.

I'm absolutely going to get the 3M rubbing compound and use that, but to take the devils' advocate position, wet-sanding first at 400 grit or above first and THEN rubbing compound wouldn't hurt, right? Assuming I don't sand through the gelcoat (and in each case I'm just removing a small amount...

Thanks for the cleaning ideas. I've started at the bow and it is turning out well so far. Under the splashguard, the gelcoat untouched by the sun for the past 45+ years looks amazing. What a deep blue!

I picked up a 1973 Sunfish on Craigslist last weekend and thought I'd document the restoration on this forum. Partly I want to keep myself committed to taking lots of pictures, partly because I think we all enjoy seeing a half-dead boat come back to life. The boat is actually in pretty good...

And she's done! I want to thank everyone on the forum for their comments (on this thread and all the others that I've read to figure out how-in-the-world-to-fix-this-thing). The boat was in worse condition than I originally thought, to be honest. I think I did a little of every kind of repair...

Thank you all for your replies. I have carefully considered the options and will install the inspection port in the centerline just in front of the rudder. From inspecting the guides on this site, that should allow me to access both bridles and the rudder in case I need to make repairs in the...

And before you all say "I told you so," I'll pre-empt you: yes you did! Unfortunetely I didn't read those hints until after I did it. Background: last year I purchased a beat-up old sunfish (and posted here for help in getting its value! - Thanks!), and promptly turned it upside down to fix the...

When you say chisel out a "straw sized channel", do you mean at a couple of places along the block? I guess my question is this: when I press down on the hull bottom (upside down), the hull flexes at that point because the foam block has seperated from the fiberglass. I (believe???) that I...

It said that when I ordered on Tuesday but the order still shipped on Wednesday. So I think they haven't updated the inventory field yet.

Intensity Sails has a sale on red/white/blue race sails now - just $99. In case you want to blend in with the recreational daysailers...

I will post more pictures for interested parties later. I've removed all the hardware and have it upside down in my garage with a 5 inch fan held tightly against the inspection port to dry it out. Good news: Lot of air is being pumped through the hull. Bad news: it's coming out of holes in the...

Thanks all for your comments. I'm not as concerned about "looks" as about just getting it clean and not damaging the sail. It sounds like a good scrub with soap and water and maybe a slight abrasive is the best course. I DEFINITELY don't want my new sails blackened by aluminum oxide - yikes.

I've searched on this site and the web but can't find any guide: what is the appropriate way to clean and restore the mast and booms on a Sunfish? I've read on other sites to be careful when sanding or you'll remove the anodized layer, but I'm not sure if the Sunfish mast was treated that way...

Wow, so many good details in this thread. I'm going to follow your steps as I work to restore the hull I just purchased. First, a stupid question. You made repairs to the holes, cracks, divots, etc, by fiberglass patches or epoxy putty. After that, you seemed to sand the entire hull down which...

Hi all, I picked up the boat today. Final price $150, and bought a trailer off him as well for a good price. The boat is indeed a newer style with the storage compartment behind cockpit. It is in pretty rough shape, as we saw from the pictures. There are dings and dents around the chine which I...