And then there were FIVE

Mama H Chicago

Mother of sailboats
Meet Red! I’m guessing she’s a late 50’s Super Sailfish. I haven’t decided if she is a kit or factory build, but I’m leaning towards factory. She’s tight and dry, with beautiful wooden spars. She came to me with an aluminum mast, tapered at the top. She has her original red sail, that was tied on so beautifully I hated taking it off to clean her up.
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Wow she is in great shape! She looks mid to late 50s with that gooseneck and tapered aluminum spar.

The "Sailfish 14" showed up around 1952, and I think the aluminum tapered mast was late 50s, so it may have come later.

The red sails definitely should make a comeback. Alcort also sold color matched boats with yellow sails and blue sails.
 
Wow she is in great shape! She looks mid to late 50s with that gooseneck and tapered aluminum spar.

The "Sailfish 14" showed up around 1952, and I think the aluminum tapered mast was late 50s, so it may have come later.

The red sails definitely should make a comeback. Alcort also sold color matched boats with yellow sails and blue sails.
Any idea what color the sailfish were with those colored sails? Was the entire deck, hull, etc painted a solid color? I don’t think I know anything about what kind of paint they used, etc. Do you? I’d love to re-do it as authentically as possible. The previous owner painted the entire deck with a white sanded paint, and that is coming off pretty easily right now, so I’ll sand it down.
 
We read that they were color matched, solid hull, solid color sail. They would have used oil based (enamel) paint and primer back then.
 
We read that they were color matched, solid hull, solid color sail. They would have used oil based (enamel) paint and primer back then.
Old thread, but as I’m in the process of getting Red, now dubbed Red Rubber Duck, ready for her new family, I’ve found no evidence anywhere of red paint having been present on either hull or deck. Do you suppose that might make this boat more likely a kit build? The family that will own her is as interested as I am in figuring out as much history about her as we can. Of course this could be a hybrid of one or more boats and such, but I really just feel like the solid red sail is original, but maybe it came to her along with original wooden spars? I do love rooting around trying to solve mysteries like this!

edited to add: whoops! I haven’t actually sanded much of the hull yet, just the sides…. Perhaps there will be clues there!
 
There was a point in the 60s and early 70s where you could get a factory built boat or a kit boat, or in the case below a kit that a retailer built but didn't paint. Paint kits and sails could be ordered separate from the factory to go with factory kits, so there could be mixing and matching. The only way we know to identify a kit is to look at frames, the kit boat frames were numbered to aid in assembly.

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Sailed one of these 60 years ago on Crystal Lake Benzine, Michigan. I was 10. Yes, I’m old. I’m sure you can get red sails made.

now sailing Roxy
 

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Actually, I’m making her sail myself out of 4oz Dacron. I could put the sailfish logo on with sublimation, because I have a printer for that, but I’m going to use the self adhesive Insignia fabric and cut it out with a die cut machine. The new owner asked for red/white stripes. :)
 
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