Restoration of an AMF Puffer

Al Court

Al Court
Re: New Section: Open Discussion

Is there anyone out there with experience with the AMF Puffer? I'm restoring 2, but have no sailing experience with them. I believe I once heard they have undesirable sailing characteristics.
 
Al,

Colgate University, where I work, bought two Puffers in the late 1970's for our recreational sailing program on a small lake a few miles from the campus. I had the opportunity to sail them a few times, and I must say that I was not impressed with how they sailed. With or without the jib, they did not point very high into the wind, and the helm always felt unresponsive. In a word, the boats felt out of tune and no amount of tinkering with the rig seemed to yield improvements. The problem with the boats I sailed may have been with the sails themselves as the sails that came with the new boats were of poor design. Maybe better sails would make a huge difference, but the Puffer is not my favorite AMF product based on my several outings in them.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 

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