Recent content by JMertz

Ok I’ll look at all this more closely tomorrow and will post a few pics.

If I were to reposition the brackets, do you think that will solve my problem?

So the brackets are too close together. Rather they should be spaced just so the long pin fits without much play. Correct? And it does not surprise me that the rudder might be homemade. My dad probably picked this boat up at a yard sale or something!

Yes I have that plastic tube in place. I thought maybe there should be a short piece here too to keep the rudder either all the way up or all the way down. As it is now, it seems sloppy.

Well I decided to piece the boat together and just sail her for the summer. I'll tackle hull repair next fall or winter. The wood in the aft hull seems good enough to hold tiller parts so off we went. However we are having trouble keeping the rudder down in the water. It wants to come out of the...

Yes bottom part is there. I didn't look but is there a place for the screwdriver to register, or are you saying just force it sideways and make a lever to turn?

Another question on the boat. Is this drain plug removable? I have the following options for new drains among sunfish parts, but I'd need to get the old one out first. Seems rather stuck and I don't want to mess up the hull. See pics... thanks

Wow I never knew the Roy Rogers / Yellow Jacket connection. Cool photo!

Yeah I've got lots of time in these boats too. My grandparents owned a Thompson wood canvas canoe that my cousin still keeps in beautiful condition. The whole family grew up with these so we've always had lots of wooden boats around the family. Dad went through several - 3 Yellow Jackets, a...

Here are some pics of my canoe. It is a 17.5' Atkinson Traveler, currently in "interior finish" mode, which means lots of sanding and 4 coats of carefully applied varnish. The ribs are eastern white cedar and the planking is western red cedar. Decks and outside gunwales are cherry. Thwarts oak...

Very funny. I have a very active Moaning Chair with a rich depth of history several generations long. It was in fact passed down from my grandfather, to my father, briefly borrowed by my cousin and his dad, then on to me. I continue to add to its pedigree with each passing day, especially now...

I like the split the hull idea but only if I decide to make a larger project out of this. Right now I’m doing the finish work on a wood / canvas canoe I built so that’s going to take most of my project time. But there are gaps when varnish and paint will be drying where I could tackle this...

The dark spot in the last picture is a scuff mark but not a through hole.

Here are pictures of the aft end...

I have a pre-1970 sunfish that my dad picked up somewhere and which I inherited. The boat is in rough shape, most of the gelcoat is gone (the surface is quite rough so I assume gelcoat is no longer present), but it sails! My kids were thrilled! The sail was old and ripped so I bought a new one...