Question What is the fastest a Sunfish can go?

C

Cascadian505

Member
According to my GPS app I hit 11 knots, but it was 1-2’ waves and I was basically running or deep broad reach. I took some green waves over the bow and damn near pitch poled!

But later, in more protected water my buddy was beam reaching and looked to go maybe 13-14 knots? I shot some video but this site won’t let me post videos.
 
Seems like it should be an easy thing to find out these days with all of the sport watches and apps (Strava comes to mind) but maybe there is more joy in the feeling of going fast and having to ease the main to keep from going over than to know the exact SOG (speed over ground) for a run.

I have heard it told 'one boat is sailing, two boats is racing...'

Old thread with some classic replies:
https://sailingforums.com/threads/whats-the-maximum-speed-of-a-fish.9632/
 
I asked this question a couple of years ago and found this post on FB saying they hit 14.5 knots (16.69 mph).

The fastest I have personally recorded is 12.8 mph.

US Sunfish Class | Florida Region Championship ⛵️
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Nice! Thanks. Now I have a goal. Since I can’t post a vid, I clipped a picture of Small Axe when my buddy had her lit up. It was about a 20+ kt gust, with pretty smooth water (we are in a small bay) and he was generally beam reaching.
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Not sure the actual speed but in a broad reach planing skipping across the whitecaps on the edge of disaster was quite a ride. Spent about 4 hours on the water that day. Was too fun to come in but exhausted from hanging on and hiking !
 
sadkins372 said:
I asked this question a couple of years ago and found this post on FB saying they hit 14.5 knots (16.69 mph).

The fastest I have personally recorded is 12.8 mph.

US Sunfish Class | Florida Region Championship ⛵️
sadkins372 said:
I asked this question a couple of years ago and found this post on FB saying they hit 14.5 knots (16.69 mph).

The fastest I have personally recorded is 12.8 mph.

US Sunfish Class | Florida Region Championship ⛵️
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sadkins372 said:
I asked this question a couple of years ago and found this post on FB saying they hit 14.5 knots (16.69 mph).

The fastest I have personally recorded is 12.8 mph.

US Sunfish Class | Florida Region Championship ⛵️
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sadkins372 said:
I asked this question a couple of years ago and found this post on FB saying they hit 14.5 knots (16.69 mph).

The fastest I have personally recorded is 12.8 mph.

US Sunfish Class | Florida Region Championship ⛵️
View attachment 58161
Click to expand...

16mph on a SF is crazy fast. The fastest I’ve ever clocked is 12.2 on a beam reach with 28 mph winds.

That reminds me - when launching my boat on Saturday, the guy launching his powerboat in the next bay looked over at me and said, "I don't understand what the attraction is in sailing."

Yes, it is hard to explain to someone who has never experienced the thrill of listening to the daggerboard humming while hiking way out on a Sunfish as it is planing over the waves at the 'breakneck' speeds of 10-11 mph - or the challenge of having to get from 'here' to 'there' in a boat that is limited by wind direction, speed, and even water depth - having to work with and understand the forces of nature.
 
Weston said:
16mph on a SF is crazy fast. The fastest I’ve ever clocked is 12.2 on a beam reach with 28 mph winds.

That reminds me - when launching my boat on Saturday, the guy launching his powerboat in the next bay looked over at me and said, "I don't understand what the attraction is in sailing."

Yes, it is hard to explain to someone who has never experienced the thrill of listening to the daggerboard humming while hiking way out on a Sunfish as it is planing over the waves at the 'breakneck' speeds of 10-11 mph - or the challenge of having to get from 'here' to 'there' in a boat that is limited by wind direction, speed, and even water depth - having to work with and understand the forces of nature.
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How do I respond?

“They say the two best days of boat ownership are the day you buy it, and the day you sell it. This is only said of power-boats. Every day on a sailboat is the best day of ownership.”

And/or

“Anybody can crush nature’s will with enough fuel, eagerness, and money. It takes skill to harness her will.”
 
There's a book, "As Wild As the Wind" (Original more apropos title was "This Book Is Drunk" LOL!) in which James Lee Meadows describes sailing from Miami to Boston on his Sunfish. Mostly drunk and high along the way...it was 1977...
He makes a claim of hitting 22 mph on his boat. Did I mention he was mostly drunk and high?
 
My Garmin watch showed I was maxed at 9 knots sailing Sunday in pretty strong winds. I could have maybe gotten some more speed out of it but I mostly wanted to keep from flipping over.
Later on shore I was talking to a kite surfer who was out on the water with me, and he asked: “why is your Laser (ahem… Sunfish) so slow?”
 
tag said:
My Garmin watch showed I was maxed at 9 knots sailing Sunday in pretty strong winds. I could have maybe gotten some more speed out of it but I mostly wanted to keep from flipping over.
Later on shore I was talking to a kite surfer who was out on the water with me, and he asked: “why is your Laser (ahem… Sunfish) so slow?”
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9mph on Ford lake is impressive, Tag, as it is essentially a dammed river with high banks and shifty winds. Well done.
 
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