Hull bottom preparation

farupp

farupp

Good swimmer
We have three Sunfish and have heard various recommendations about preparation of the Sunfish hull bottom for racing. All the hulls are smooth and in good shape. Some say use Sailkote. Some say RainX works great (I've tried RainX and it does make the hull very slippery). Other say wet sand with 600 or finer paper. Other say wax is slow (so don't wax).

What are the "latest, greatest" thoughts from the forum about how to prepare, and what to put on, the hull bottom for maximum speed? :confused:

Thanks, Frank
 
Thanks, Soggy.

More than I ever wanted to know, but at least I know why there isn't any one magic formula!! :eek:

Back to practicing technique.

Thanks again,
Frank
 
Thanks,

Fortunately our hulls are still shiny with just a few stratches from shells. So, I just wash and buff them periodically to keep them smooth, shiny and clean. We store them indoors out of the sun.

Has anyone else ever tried RainX? We have and the boats slide right off the dolly so we have to watch it while moving them to the beach.

I have not tried sailkote or teflon. Those are the other coatings (other than wax) I have seen mentioned.

Frank
 
We had one of the sailing club try his "secret weapon"; one of the teflon bottom coating. Not sure if it gave him any more speed; but what it did do was when he capsized, not allow him any purchase on the boat. Grab, slide off, grab, slide off, that kept up until a power boat came along and lifted his mast out of the water.
FWIW any prep on the hull be it a coating or sanding/buffing, should be done parallel to the water flow. In other words from front to back; not side to side.
 
Thanks, Mike.

I had not thought of the difficulity that a very slippery hull might create when trying to right a Sunfish.

I use a random orbit buffer to an 3M polish on the bottom to maintain the finish. There are no sand marks or swirls to speak of when done.

Frank
 
I just read the rules for the World Championship this fall in Charleston. It states, in part:

Competitors will be allowed to use Teflon or McLube spray only on spars, sail ties and sail controls. Other actions: Use of anything (e.g. Teflon tape, Velcro) in the centerboard trunk or mast step; application sealants or anything other than soap on the hull or blades is not allowed. [/I
Does this mean that anything other soap is not legal at other official association events as well?:confused:

This may answer my entire question.

Thoughts?
 
farupp said:
I just read the rules for the World Championship this fall in Charleston. It states, in part:

Competitors will be allowed to use Teflon or McLube spray only on spars, sail ties and sail controls. Other actions: Use of anything (e.g. Teflon tape, Velcro) in the centerboard trunk or mast step; application sealants or anything other than soap on the hull or blades is not allowed. [/I
Does this mean that anything other soap is not legal at other official association events as well?:confused:

This may answer my entire question.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...


No, it doesn't mean that. The Worlds boats are brand new and need to be sold afterwards. That's why you can't 'work' on the bottom. Besides, those bottoms are baby smooth anyway; no need to do anything to them.
 
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