Putting a private party sale value on a Sunfish?

CapeRomain

New Member
Hello to all,

I'm new to the forum and hope y'all can help me. I am looking to buy a sunfish from my uncle this summer. This one has been in the family for years. Perhaps y'all can help me appraise it? Here are some details on the vessel:

Serial No: AMF55103M77K
Hull is reddish orange, deck yellow with stripes in the same color as the hull. Splash guard is the red color, shows wear on the top of the guard, you can see the fiberglass. Hull and deck are in great condition. Paint is worn off on the foredeck at the stripe. Hull and deck are scratched up, only one or two scratches on the hull that go through the gelcoat. No apparent damage to the fiberglass. Auto-bailer needs work, she has a slow leak at this point. I think if I pull the autobailer out and clean it up, throw in a gasket it'll be fixed.
Sail in okay condition. Has racing numbers, has a few patches, and two quarter sized holes. Tell tails are in tact on both sides of sail. Grommets on the sail are covered in corrosion, but are not degrading. Needs new sail clips.
Daggerboard is in okay condition. It is a wooden daggerboard and the top where the two slats are bolted on to keep it from slipping through are coming loose slowly. Needs to be revarnished.
Rudder is in okay condition. Had to cut about two inches off of the tiller and reattach the extension because the end where it is bolted through broke. The extension has the metal universal joint, not the rubber thing. Rudder blade has a split in it, though it is not full length of the rudder, only partial, more towards where the tiller attaches. Also needs revarnishing.
Mast and spars are in excellent condition.
Had to put a new halyard on. Mainsheet needs to be replaced. The bridle cable on the stern that the mainsheet attaches to needs to be replaced. The plastic coating has come off and it is only bare wire. Mainsheet race block needs work, the clamshells are not opening as freely as they should.

That's about all the details I can think of. If you have other questions, please ask. I'm just looking for what you think this boat would be worth for private party sale. My uncle has told me to give him a price and I want to be fair. Thanks for the help!
 
Sounds like a well used boat, and that's OK. I bought mine last year, fully rigged for racing including sail, dagger board, hiking strap, cunningham/outhaul, cleats, rachet block, all for $1000. To get this boat in that shape would probably cost you 8-9 hundred over the purchase price. And you haven't stated what it weighs or what shape the spars are in. So, to me, this boat is worth about 2 or 3 hundred, tops.

Cheers, Winever
 
I'm new to the forum and hope y'all can help me. I am looking to buy a sunfish from my uncle this summer. This one has been in the family for years. Perhaps y'all can help me appraise it? Serial No: AMF55103M77K
  • Splash guard... shows wear on the top of the guard, you can see the fiberglass.
  • Hull and deck... Paint is worn off on the foredeck at the stripe. Hull and deck are scratched up, only one or two scratches on the hull that go through the gelcoat.
  • Auto-bailer needs work, she has a slow leak at this point. I think if I pull the autobailer out and clean it up, throw in a gasket it'll be fixed.
  • Sail... has a few patches, and two quarter sized holes.
  • Grommets on the sail are covered in corrosion, but are not degrading.
  • Needs new sail clips.
  • Daggerboard... the top where the two slats are bolted on to keep it from slipping through are coming loose slowly.
  • Needs to be revarnished.
  • Rudder... had to cut about two inches off of the tiller and reattach the extension because the end where it is bolted through broke.
  • Rudder blade has a split in it, though it is not full length of the rudder, only partial, more towards where the tiller attaches.
  • Also needs revarnishing.
  • Mainsheet needs to be replaced.
  • The bridle cable on the stern that the mainsheet attaches to needs to be replaced. The plastic coating has come off and it is only bare wire.
  • Mainsheet race block needs work, the clamshells are not opening as freely as they should.
My uncle has told me to give him a price and I want to be fair.
The model year is 1977

The verbal picture says to me this boat needs a lot of little stuff that could add up quickly. The described lack of maintenance points to a high probability for discovering other problems. My initial evaluation ranks this boat as fair to poor.

I'd start low and wouldn't go over $200

.
 
Thanks for the input y'all. Definitely gives me a better idea of where to start. I wil be sure to post photos once she's mine! :)
 
The bare hull weight (without spars, sails, rudder, daggerboard) is critical. When new, this boat probably weighed about 135 lbs. + or - a pound or two. If it now weighs 140 or higher, it leaks somewhere and has taken on and absorbed water into the interior foam. Yes, you can find the leak(s) and yes you can dry the boat out with inspection ports and
air movement through the interior, but this is additional time and expense.

If the hull is heavy, $200 for the whole rig should be to dollar.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 

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