Inspection Port

[squash]

I have noticed that a lot of good sailors put inspection ports in their Sunfish for inspection/compass/repair/storage. I would like to put an inspection port in my Sunfish, but I want to do it correctly since it involves cutting the boat.

Can anyone here direct me?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wayne]

I would like to put an inspection port in my Sunfish, but I want to do it correctly since it involves cutting the boat. Can anyone here direct me?

If not to facilitate repair access, then primarily to help ventilate to keep the inner hull dry. The aesthetic location of choice is the forward wall of the foot well, offset to avoid the dagerboard trunk. For maximum reach to mast step, daggerboard trunk, foam block re-attachment, and foot well..., on deck just behind the "V" of the coaming.

• Sunfish KB & FAQ (in the menu bar at the top of this page)
  • Repairs and Upgrades
    • Inspection Ports [PDF]

...also here,

How to install an inspection port.

 

[squash]

Is it best to place a compass on an inspection port cover, or on the deck in front or behind the port?

 

[Wayne]

Is it best to place a compass on an inspection port cover, or on the deck in front or behind the port?

It's best to place a compass where it can be easily read while still watching the attitude of the boat. This will primarily be a function of the compass you select. If the optimal location happens to coinside with a deck plate, then you might choose to combine the two.

Styles vary...

​

.

 

[L&VW]

The previous owner of my Sunfish installed a 6" port in the "V" of the splash rail.

It's a handy bayonet-style mount made in England (Holt & Allen). Though it's not strictly watertight, a 1/8th turn opens it.

When raising the sail away from the dock, my weight tends to somewhat flex that area.

If I were to do it over again—though a more-difficult installation—I'd install a 6" port in the forward bulkhead. (Hat-tip to Nightsailor):

1) Observation of water-accumulation, hull flexing or flotation attachments is easy.

2) Camera, sunblock, apple, bug-spray, paddle, and other items is out from under your feet—yet readily accessible—even while sailing.

3) Largely shielded from rain, it can be left open for drying between outings.

4) It's a good place to store a natural sponge—where you can see it to grab it—and it can quietly pick up any water that has accumulated from elsewhere inside the hull.