Recent content by cprettyman

It looks like ordering this foam directly from the MFR is much better than any price I can get locally. Which density is recommended? How far does the 4 LB kit (the smallest one) get - what I mean is, if every one of the foam blocks were 100% detached top and bottom, so I need 100%...

Thanks There is a fan blowing air from my inspection port at the stern through the hull and out hte inspection port at the bow now, to dry out whatever water got in there during the weekend sailing. Thursday night, I'll pop in the center inspection port, and then start he foam repair. I...

Thanks for that link - the picture of the cup on a stick answered a lot of questions.

So, I have a very old (pre-72 I think) sunfish that, after some time spent with fiberglass and gel coat, is watertight again for the first time in years, and I took it out this weekend and had a great sail. On to the next big challenge: The foam blocks inside are clearly detached from the hull...

I'm working my way through my own first sunfish restoration, so others may be able to offer more experience than I. But, a couple of things I have learned in my own research/repairs - The older style rudder (pre-1972) has a wood backing block. It's probably pressure treated, but it's wood, and...

There should be some sort of drain plug on the starboard (right) side. Unscrew it, and stand the boat up on its side, and let the water drain out. If the boat hasn't been used much, that (and a good cleaning) may be all you need. But, perhaps it would be prudent to leak test it. Serach this...

Just a thought, do with it what you will, but foam was used instead of plywood because it provides positive flotation. The general design principle is that if the hull gets a big hole in it when you are far from shore, and fills with water, it should still float.

To locate the leaks, you want to pressure test it. Drain it out as well as you can. Get it up on a couple of saw horses, or where ever you were working on it. Close up your inspection ports. open the little drain plug hole on the starboard side, but then cover it sightly with some tape. Take...

The ones with the CO2 cartridge come in two types - manual and automatic. Manual does not mean that you blow it up yourself - what would be the point of the CO2 cartridge? You pull a little rip cord to trigger it. You're totally right, though, that you need to be conscious to take advantage...

There is a foam block that runs up the center and stops a few inches short of the bow handle in my boat. I don't know how much this varies from year to year. Mine is old - 1969 or 1970, and it stops about 4" back from the back end of the handle. I chose to put a very small port at the bow, so...

what about the botton plate from an old style sunfish rudder assembly?

I'm just over 200 (202.6 according to my bathroom scale), and I find my sunfish reasonable for me and one of my kids, but a touch on the cozy side for me and my wife. Since you have a few pounds on me, if you had a crew my size, roughly, you would find a sunfish to be too small. There are a...

I'd remove the hardware before you patch. You might want to reinforce, or repair the mounting points while patching. Also, I have a 4" access port just behind my bow handle, for drying and for getting at the back side of the handle mount. It's just big enough. If I had to get my hand in there...

Nice! (that's all I wanted to say, but I have to say more, to meet the ten character minimum.)

I'm working on a late 60's boat (1969 or 1970), my first big repair project. I can't compare it to other years, but a couple of thoughts from someone new to this level of maintenance; - start with a couple of inspection ports. I was really nervous about taking a saw and cutting a great big...