TexomaPowerboater
New Member
I'm shopping for a sunfish and came across a few Dolphin Sr. sailboats in TX. They appear to fit my needs a bit better than a sunfish in that they are a little bigger and heavier and have a built in cooler. Primary use would be on Lake Texoma with 1-2 adults or my young kids. No racing just cruising. I wish the sunfish were a tad bigger for two adults to sail comfortably and this boat seams to fill that void very well.
From what I have read the Dolphin Sr. appears to be superior in construction with a honey comb core sandwiched between two layers of glass. They are certainly heavier from what I've read and most seem to think they are stronger. It also has a bigger sail, but many use a smaller sunfish sail. The cockpit is bigger. Cockpit and splash rails have stainless steel piping handles. There is a bit of a V in the bow more so than the sunfish. There are many around TX likely because they were built here. Most I've seen appear to be in much better shape than their sunfish counterparts, but admitingly have yet to see either boats up close.
Is there anything I need to be aware of with these boats? Parts is a concern but seems to be a few companies that still build rudder's tillers, daggerboards, and sails. I've read some older sunfish will flex midship from the mast and can allow water in thru the deck/hull joint, which tends to scare me off from older sunfish. I'm hoping the stronger build of Dolphin will not see the same problem. Can't race them, but I don't plan to.
This will be my first sailboat. Have been lucky to take the helm of a few bigger sailboats and have read a book on sailing, but that's about it. Have been a motor boater since I was 6, now 35. My family has a lakehouse on the main span of lake and can get a bit rough on many days. We have a few motorboats, but no toys I can just drop in the water and let friends loose on. On rough day's we typically stay on the beach rather than getting beat up on the boats. So I figured this would be a nice water toy to fill that void. Is it hard to sail these kinds of boats in a decent 15-20 mph wind? I saw this video of guy sailing Dolphin Sr in 30mph winds
and I think to myself it looks a lot easier than some of the extreme sunfish sailing I've seen videos of. Not sure if that's because of the boats design or if this guy has some tricks in his boat I'm not aware of.
From what I have read the Dolphin Sr. appears to be superior in construction with a honey comb core sandwiched between two layers of glass. They are certainly heavier from what I've read and most seem to think they are stronger. It also has a bigger sail, but many use a smaller sunfish sail. The cockpit is bigger. Cockpit and splash rails have stainless steel piping handles. There is a bit of a V in the bow more so than the sunfish. There are many around TX likely because they were built here. Most I've seen appear to be in much better shape than their sunfish counterparts, but admitingly have yet to see either boats up close.
Is there anything I need to be aware of with these boats? Parts is a concern but seems to be a few companies that still build rudder's tillers, daggerboards, and sails. I've read some older sunfish will flex midship from the mast and can allow water in thru the deck/hull joint, which tends to scare me off from older sunfish. I'm hoping the stronger build of Dolphin will not see the same problem. Can't race them, but I don't plan to.
This will be my first sailboat. Have been lucky to take the helm of a few bigger sailboats and have read a book on sailing, but that's about it. Have been a motor boater since I was 6, now 35. My family has a lakehouse on the main span of lake and can get a bit rough on many days. We have a few motorboats, but no toys I can just drop in the water and let friends loose on. On rough day's we typically stay on the beach rather than getting beat up on the boats. So I figured this would be a nice water toy to fill that void. Is it hard to sail these kinds of boats in a decent 15-20 mph wind? I saw this video of guy sailing Dolphin Sr in 30mph winds