Early 50s sailfish restore

I have a few things I'd sell:
- period correct dagger board - $75
- used sail with Sailfish class logo - $50
- rudder hardware - $75

All prices are plus shipping costs.
Definitely interested in the sail, probably the rudder hardware. I have the hardware that attaches to the boat. Does this include the hardware that goes on the rudder itself?
 
Definitely interested in the sail, probably the rudder hardware. I have the hardware that attaches to the boat. Does this include the hardware that goes on the rudder itself?
The part on the bottom left of the picture attaches to the rudder and allows the rudder to be attached to the hull. I'll do that part without the hull hardware for $45.
 
The part on the bottom left of the picture attaches to the rudder and allows the rudder to be attached to the hull. I'll do that part without the hull hardware for $45.
how much for that and the sail with shipping, I'm in ballston spa ny 12020
 
Make sure the sail is for a 13' 7" Super Sailfish, 75 square feet, same size as the Sunfish sail. The 11' 7" Standard Sailfish had a smaller 65 sf sail. With those green and white panels though, it's most likely a Super Sailfish sail.
 
Make sure the sail is for a 13' 7" Super Sailfish, 75 square feet, same size as the Sunfish sail. The 11' 7" Standard Sailfish had a smaller 65 sf sail. With those green and white panels though, it's most likely a Super Sailfish sail.
I also have a minifish that needs a sail, if it's the 65 sq foot, will the sail fit the minifish? From what I see the 65 is the correct size for that.
 
Hi chucklane92. You will probably want bronze screws, not brass or stainless. Brass screws will corrode quickly in a marine environment, as the zinc will be leached out of it. Stainless is great above the waterline, but in a low oxygen, high salinity environment (e.g., the bottom of a boat when in the water) it will develop "crevice corrosion". See here: Stainless Steel vs Silicon Bronze — Rigging Doctor . Above the waterline stainless is great, just about every sailboat on the planet now uses stainless rigging.
 
Hi chucklane92. You will probably want bronze screws, not brass or stainless. Brass screws will corrode quickly in a marine environment, as the zinc will be leached out of it. Stainless is great above the waterline, but in a low oxygen, high salinity environment (e.g., the bottom of a boat when in the water) it will develop "crevice corrosion". See here: Stainless Steel vs Silicon Bronze — Rigging Doctor . Above the waterline stainless is great, just about every sailboat on the planet now uses stainless rigging.
thanks for the tip
 
Any suggestions on how to remove the boom blocks without damaging the deck. Steel screws again :mad:
 
I also have a minifish that needs a sail, if it's the 65 sq foot, will the sail fit the minifish? From what I see the 65 is the correct size for that.
Yes, you are correct and it looks like you’re getting two great sails- the classic green and white 75 sf Super Sailfish sail looks sweet! It will fit your boat. The Minifish sail is a rare deal, too, and at 65 sf it will be just what you need for your Mini.
I’ve also got an old wooden Sailfish project in the garage with the elephant ear rudder. I have a second rudder I hang on the wall; it is a beautiful piece of mahogany!
 
If the screw heads are stripped and impact screwdriver isn’t doing it you may need to drill them out? match bit diameter to screw.
that's what I attempted on the handrails, ended up cutting the rails. Worse case scenario, I will do the same and make new Like I'm doing with the handrails. Problem is they are original screws and my guess is, they saved a few bucks using steel. They are so rusty that when try to drill they wouldn't stay stationary.
 
Yes, you are correct and it looks like you’re getting two great sails- the classic green and white 75 sf Super Sailfish sail looks sweet! It will fit your boat. The Minifish sail is a rare deal, too, and at 65 sf it will be just what you need for your Mini.
I’ve also got an old wooden Sailfish project in the garage with the elephant ear rudder. I have a second rudder I hang on the wall; it is a beautiful piece of mahogany!
I'm going to make a centerboard and rudder, probably going to make the longer centerboard as signal charlie suggested, haven't decided which rudder to make yet. My local lumberyard has a great selection or hardwood but, I will probably use Philippine mahogany to keep it correct for the era. Enjoy your project
 
Are you talking about the brackets on the transom? BTW those are not Alcort parts.

And in every instance we've come across, Alcort used bronze for the rudder hardware on their wooden boats. They had a contract with Wilcox and Crittenden for bronze hardware, sold by the pound. They also had chrome plated brass. Later fiberglass boats had stainless and aluminum bits, a lot of the stainless made by Harken.I have come across some shade tree repairs where people put stainless through the bronze, not a good mix.

Wilcox and Crittenden
 
If the screw heads are stripped and impact screwdriver isn’t doing it you may need to drill them out? match bit diameter to screw.
Perhaps a reversible drill with left-hand drill bits will work.

As above, match the bit size with screw shaft size, and reverse-drilling could back out what's left of the steel screws.
 
Are you talking about the brackets on the transom? BTW those are not Alcort parts.

And in every instance we've come across, Alcort used bronze for the rudder hardware on their wooden boats. They had a contract with Wilcox and Crittenden for bronze hardware, sold by the pound. They also had chrome plated brass. Later fiberglass boats had stainless and aluminum bits, a lot of the stainless made by Harken.I have come across some shade tree repairs where people put stainless through the bronze, not a good mix.

Wilcox and Crittenden

My guess is that it was a kit boat in that case
 
Are you talking about the brackets on the transom? BTW those are not Alcort parts.

And in every instance we've come across, Alcort used bronze for the rudder hardware on their wooden boats. They had a contract with Wilcox and Crittenden for bronze hardware, sold by the pound. They also had chrome plated brass. Later fiberglass boats had stainless and aluminum bits, a lot of the stainless made by Harken.I have come across some shade tree repairs where people put stainless through the bronze, not a good mix.

Wilcox and Crittenden
all of the nails (brads) are brass or bronze
 
More progress! Looks like her original name was FLOTSAM. Found it under 3 coats of paint. The items I refered to as "Boom blocks" are the blocks mounted on the deck that I haven't removed yet. Mast blocks?
 

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Not the brackets, the wooden blocks that the mast goes into. The brackets on the transom were mounted with brass or bronze.
In the mid-50s, when I was building wooden boats, the nails were described as copper nails.

Brass is a bright gold color, bronze is brownish-red, and copper is, um, copper-color.

If it's a silver color, it could be chrome-plated brass or stainless steel. Neither is magnetic, so you have to file a spot to see if it's brassy-gold color or stainless.

There is a surprisingly large selection of aluminum and nylon fasteners, (including aluminum nails), but would be a rare find among boats.
 
In the mid-50s, when I was building wooden boats, the nails were described as copper nails.

Brass is a bright gold color, bronze is brownish-red, and copper is, um, copper-color.

If it's a silver color, it could be chrome-plated brass or stainless steel. Neither is magnetic, so you have to file a spot to see if it's brassy-gold color or stainless.

There is a surprisingly large selection of aluminum and nylon fasteners, (including aluminum nails), but would be a rare find among boats.

They could definitely be copper, until I start sanding I can't tell the actual color. I'm sure thaey aren't steel ir plated
 
I think you’re referring to the mast step. I like the name! Cool to find it under all the paint. If your rails aren’t too badly damaged from the screws you can probably make them strong as new with Flexpoxy, then epoxy both rails.
 
I think you’re referring to the mast step. I like the name! Cool to find it under all the paint. If your rails aren’t too badly damaged from the screws you can probably make them strong as new with Flexpoxy, then epoxy both rails.

rails were rough anyway, fairly easy to make new, from what I read mahogany and it's readily available locally
 
FLOTSAM, a classic name for a boat... especially if the skipper parties hard, LOL. There's a book titled ROYCE'S SAILING ILLUSTRATED which will sort out the "boom block" controversy, and ya can't get too bent over the observations of armchair experts who dwell at this site, LOL. I sidestepped the last idiotic comment from one of these tards when I mentioned the "TASER"--- NOTHING the idiot said was NEWS to me, and some San Diego sailors did indeed call the Laser II the "TASER" when it first came out, before the "TASAR" [with two As, dumbass who made the comment] ever arrived on the scene---but I was busy prepping for this new gubmint job which is now going very well, so I couldn't be bothered by some stupid Internet troll, PISS ON THE F#%NG WANK, LOL. Ya know, I keep telling these nautical armchair experts to POST THEIR PICS & HEROIC VIDEOS, but I never see any results, go figure. And I reckon if ya call 'em on their idiotic bullsh!t, you'll soon realize that they HAVE NO PROOF OF THEIR HEROIC NAUTICAL EXPLOITS, LOL. :confused:

Meh, back to "MONTY PYTHON & THE HOLY GRAIL" on my ginormous friggin' television screen... I'm pounding beers while laughing my ass off and looking forward to Wild Card Weekend, AYE??? Already got my 15-bean soup mix soaking in water for the night, gonna dump a large hambone & heaps of ham into the pot manana after the beans have cooked for awhile, eventually adding fresh onion, celery & baby carrots to the soup and baking cornbread on the side. I'm thinking it won't SUCK, and as the soup simmers for HOURS it'll make my football Saturday MO BETTAH'... nothing like some good football matches on the 65" curved screen as the food cooks, LOL. I bought the Krusteaz Honey Cornbread as a side, and I have Kerrygold Butter to top that cr@p, along with maple syrup if I need it, but I may just DUNK that cornbread directly into the steaming 15-bean soup with burly ham chunks in it. Toss the bone at some point, or give it to a neighbor so her dog can go to town with it, LOL. Anyway, back to Monty Python, haven't seen it in years... it is F#%NG HILARIOUS!!! :rolleyes:

CHEERS, AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU WITH YOUR RESTORATION, REFURBISHMENT, ETC... YOU'LL GET IT DONE, I HAVE FAITH IN YA, AYE??? ;)

LOL enjoy your soup etc! Thanks, you made me smile! I will look for the book.
 
Royce's Sailing Illustrated is a great resource. Look for the earliest edition you can find, the pocket size resource. Later editions got bigger and focused more on big boat sailing.

Royces Sunfish.png
 
Not sure how deep you are going with the restoration but an air leak test at one point was helpful on our Sailfish. The seams were in good shape for the most part, but a few areas needed some dribbles of thickened epoxy, we used THIXO. FLEXPOXY is good also, or mix your own blend of resin and fillers.

Or a Float Test :)


Alcort Super Sailfish ZSA ZSA

I was reading about the air leak test and it seems like a good idea, rather than having to dry it out from a float test if there were any issues.
Thank you for your continued input on this, as I'm sure you can tell, I'm an amateur on this stuff. When I was in my 20s I did some sailing with a similar boat a friend had and I loved it. Now I'll be retiring in a few years and I'm interested in getting back into it. There is something about silent power that is exhilarating. Plus I love the outdoors and water. My knees are not great for hiking anymore so this will get me out. :)
 
If there was ever a mess about boat it is the Sailfish, perfect for light winds and ghosting. Great core workout, it is easier to lean back and tack vs leaning forward. You can also put a short beach chair on it and kayak, that would make a good picnic platform and with its weight it makes a very stable SUP. I can actually paddle one of these, vs falling off of the lightweight SUPs.

IMG_1047.jpg


We wrote an article about the Alcort Sailfish for Small Boats Magazine. It is a comprehensive look at the Super Sailfish with information on the smaller Standard Sailfish and same size fiberglass Super Sailfish MKII.

Where will your boat be homeported, and are you keeping the name?
 

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