1950's Alcort Sunfish?

Hey all, new to sailing and just picked up my first sunfish. I was told it is mahogany plywood, 1954 and seems solid except for a few soft spots on the deck, very small. I was planning on restoring over the winter, since the boat seems seaworthy now I'm gonna have fun this summer.

Pics can be found at http://pics.antiqueoutboard.com:81/sunfish

Anyway, Im excited and I got the boat and trailer at a very very fair price. What's it worth? Anyone know if it's from the 50's? Kit or from the factory?
It needs a nice paint job, I plan on stripping it down and repainting it

It has the old style rudder hardware with the wing nuts and says Alcort on the bronze fittings. There was a small inspection hole drilled in the rear of the cockpit. It seems dry inside and doesnt weigh a ton.

Where can I find a serial # for the boat? ANy ideas where to look?
Otherwise, seems great and although the sail isnt the best, and has a few small holes, I plan on keeping this baby and restoring and sailing it.

Hope someone can give me tips, ideas, etc. I'm excited!

-eric
 
Eric,

If there is no Alcort builder's plate on the deck with a serial number, I am guessing that this was a kit boat that somebody built, and the age is anywhere between 1952 and 1960 (when Alcort shifted from wood to fiberglass.)

I had a $50 wood Sailfiish for a decade or so, and I have seen a handful of wood Sunfish under sail. If it's light and not rotted, it should sail just fine. $250 or under is probably a good price (depending on condition).

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
Funny thing. I just bought a wooden sunfish too. I have been sailing it on the weekends and fixing and painting it during the week. It is shaping up fairly nice.
 
Eric, I couldn't get the link to work, but I believe I am familiar with the boat. I corresponded with the prior owner about it. If I'm correct, you will need a rig. I couldn't tell (and neither could the seller) if the mast was a Sunfish mast, but the main and booms are definitely not. There were some rigs for sale on the Rhode Island CL this past week. Glad he threw in the trailer for you. I was interested, but at the price he wanted it did not make financial sense to haul it from NH to Cape Cod.

Anyway, congrats. There are any number of ways to deal with the soft spots. I always had great success with West System microballoons, but found it expensive. Any wood boat site will help, and there is lots of good info here as well. Don't skimp on the paint. When you do the new rig, bear in mind that most of the boats of that era had wooden spars. I bet you could recreate them over the coming winter, if you could find a good source for spruce, etc. Wooden Boat Magazine always has ads for lumber suppliers, probably already the correct diameter. Or, just find a used rig and enjoy the heck out of your new baby. Again, congrats!
 
The sail is from a Snark Sunflower. The small coaming suggests it is a '60s fish. Hard to tell if its a kit or factory. Home builders were sometimes more meticulous than the factory assemblers. Kits came with name plates too, but home builders may have chosen to leave them off. I have seen one attached to the transom.

Wood spars and cotton sails would have been phased out by then. It might have originally had the tapered aluminum mast though. Sunfish_Sailor and Wooden Boat both have photos of a couple of nicely restored wood Sunfish and some wood Sailfish in the process of restoration.
 
Funny,
There are 2 Erics with wooden SunFish. Mine is a bit different in that it has a large oval wooden support for the mast which is actually very nice. I am painting mine white on bottom, light blue on top with some white stripes. I have repaired the soft spots with "Git-Rot", sealed everything with 5200, and am using Interlux top paint...which contains teflon. Did the bottom first....took it out a few times and it is holding up great. Only somewhat bad news is that I of course did a beach landing.....got some nice scrapes on the new paint....oh well...no big deal. Sand and Scrape should be the name of the boat. :)
I am doing the "racing stripes" today and re-sparing all the natural wood items. In a week or so I will take some pictures and post them.
 
Hey all-

I am planning my winter project - another boat for the kids. We currently have one excellent '74Sunfish and want to double the family fleet.

Right now, I'm leaning towards buiding a Sailfish, but am intrigued by all the discussion over the wooden Sunfish of the '50's. Does anyone know anyone who built one? I am really interested in construction tips and any input as to sailing and maintainng a wooden Sunfish.

Also, does anyone know where someone could get their hands on the original plans? I have seen various clonefish plans, and have also seen a jpeg of the exploded view of the Sunfish kit, but I have not seen the plans themselves.

If anyone has input or suggestions on these boats, I'd sure appreciate it.

Thanks,

Jim in St. Louis
 

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