72 sunfish restoration for son

brett72

New Member
I recently aquired a 72 sunfish from a friend . I hope to give it to my 12 yo son who has fallen in love with sailing. The problems are a wet hull from being in the weather untouched and filling with water, a damaged rudder, and a hull with multiple gel coat spirals and dings and probably some leaks. The good is a sail that appears nearly new, a good daggerboard and all other parts. What would be the most economical way to repair hull and deck to a presentable water tight finish where he could pursue his appetite for sailing. Are there any paint type sealants you can spray on to have a shiny seaworthy boat short of a new gel coat. I am obviously a novice and appeciate any advice. Thanks , Brett
 
Unfortunately, there is no magic bullet that you can spray on and have a "shiny seaworthy boat". New gelcoat has its own disadvantages, not the least of which being that you can really screw it up if applied poorly (a very high chance of that if your first effort ever and w/out a sprayer), and also that gelcoat adds weight to the boat. (If you do gelcoat, prep the hull and have a pro spray it.) Better to find and seal whatever leaks there are w/ Marine-Tex or GM-5200 (depending on the type of leak) and then "pretty up" the boat as a separate issue. I just repainted my stripes and splash guard recently with EasyPoxy, touted as a one-part epoxy paint (available at West Marine and such places) and am extremely happy with the result, especially the hardness of the paint to resist scratching. Anyway, some have even repainted entire decktops with it, although I would recommend a good wet-sanding instead. (The spider cracks are best viewed as "grey hair"--just a sign of age, since they aren't a structural or leaking concern.) I should mention that some people like two-part epoxy paints as well, but they're trickier to get a good result w/. Regarding the rest of the hull, wet-sand it and leave it alone (my advice!).

To test for leaks, arrange for air to be blown gently into the hull through an open portal with the air source an inch or more from the portal. A vacuum in reverse works well (not an air compressor!). Just don't go blowing up the hull from the inside, which is easy to do if you cram it right up to the portal! BE CAREFUL!! Anyway, one the inside of the boat is pressurized, you can paint on soapy water (kids' "bubbles" work great!) and find the leaks. Oh, some leaks can certainly be filled w/ fiberglass resin, etc., from the inside if you can reach the leaky area w/ a port. Otherwise, you can always cut a new access portal for a major problem that needs to be addressed.

Hope you have fun!
 
Thanks for the advice, I'll try wetsanding the deck and fixing leaks systematically. Can I repaint deck stripes with easy epoxy? Also hull is rough and has been painted previously, I need to strip it down but would like to ''pretty'' it up as well, Brett
 
Yes, you can use Easypoxy for the striping. The trick, as always, is prep. I taped off the stripes very carefully with blue masking tape, making sure that the edges were all down firmly. Then I dry sanded w/ 220 grit sandpaper for grip, cleaned w/ acetone, and applied one coat of the Easypoxy (one coat was all I needed--follow directions re: thickness). The Easypoxy is self-leveling and smoothed out wonderfully. After about half an hour, I removed the tape (so as to not have to razor off the edges), and the results were simply incredible. Very pleased with Easypoxy!

BTW, when you wet-sand the deck, 600 grit works pretty well. If you get much rougher, you'll be scratching too much IMHO. Finish w/ 1000 or 1200 if you care (although most 600 grit becomes 1000 after the first five minutes!)

Regarding the hull, what you need to do depends upon the type of paint that is on it. My local SF dealer says that wet-sanded is always the ideal (since all paint will scratch), but I think that might depend on what you find when you sand/strip the old paint off. A pic would be helpful to give more input. Do remember the advice given to me by an old farmer one time: "I don't know about you, but I've never had anything in life that was quite 100%." Translation: don't kill yourself trying to achieve "perfect" and then groan and agonize everytime you get a scratch. Pretty it up to a reasonable degree, but also live with the fact that it's an older boat. Sail it and have fun on it. Again, my opinion...
 
Just reread your original post and had two other thoughts to offer. First, I'd be surprised if the water was getting in through the top of the deck itself (as though seeping through the pores). Check around fittings, daggerboard well, cockpit drain, etc. Again, the aforementioned leak test is the way to go. Second, if water has sat in the hull for a long time, you might have issues w/ inner foam supports coming loose. I'd dry the inside of the hull well (you can search and find info on that here, but it's basically moving air through the hull) and check hull for soft spots, etc. I'm assuming you have an access port between the daggerboard well and splashguard, but if you don't, put one in. That's the area to reach into and check for loose blocks of foam. They can be reglued, but you have to dry it all out first.
 
Brett,

Go to Yahoo Sunfish Sailor, join if not a member, then check the Files and Photo sections. In those two locations, you will find info on installing ports, drying out the insides and various other repairs. The SF Class Home Page (Tips and Tricks & FAQs), Wind Line Sails, Layline and a few other places on the web also have repair and maintainence tips. If you can't find an answer to your problem, ask it here and someone will help you out.

From what you have indicated, you need to get your SF dried out first. That means doing a leak test and cutting openings for a couple of ports, normally one behind the splashrail (I like a 6" screw on) and one in the stern in front of the rudder. The rudder was changed in 1972 and the position of the port will depend on which rudder you have. If you have the newer rudder with a stainless steel bracket on the transome, then center the port (I like a 5" screw on port in the rear) side to side and about 6" forward of the transom edge (measured to the center of the port). If you have the old style with bronze fittings on the deck and under the hull, you need to position the port further forward, about 14" or centered on a line drawn acrooss the hull from the front of the bridle eye straps. The attached photo shows both locations, I upgraded to the new rudder and used the 6" measurment and remove the wood backing block (which is shown on top of my port). The port trim ring is the more forward location. You can upgrade later if desired.

Check SF Sailor and lets us know how you are making out or if you have any more questions.
 

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