Beat up used Sunfish vs. Newport Panther - is it worth it?

Great ending to the story and beginning to fun! Definitely a huge score on the Mini! Fiberglass repairs will be easy and the sail looks great. Best of all, you’re out and sailing already! And the Panther can be your project. When you’re ready to start send us some pics of that ugly seam. It might be worth popping the top entirely to dry it out faster, but pics will tell a lot.
Happy for you- I think you were right to grab both boats!

Definitely agree. Fixed up, a re-sale of the Panther could pay for the Minifish entirely. Thanks for "the rest of the story".

Seaotter5 said:

Sailing is like golf. You need one for every situation!

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I'm all set--with five Sunfish! The bargains are out there--and so are the buyers!

WTB="Want to buy" in Craigslist-speak.

Selling a fixed-up Sunfish is especially rewarding when a young sailor is introduced to sailing.

Gorilla tape is available in clear, as well as white or black. (2-inches wide).

Clear is about 4x thicker than regular packaging tape, and is invisible in sail repairs--especially where matching colors with sail-repair tape would be frustrating. (I suggest two or more helpers when making sail repairs).

The Panther sounds "wet". (Two people shouldn't need to struggle). It's not too early to start drying it out.

Crack? You're describing a straight crack along the starboard bow, about 16-inches long?

Yes, post pics of damage to both boats, we will check it out and give ya some advice on repairs. Don't cut any holes for inspection ports yet, not until we see the damage. Good news is that you can use the same materials to fix both boats, so you should be able to save a little money that way, though you've already done well enough in the finance department...

L&VW is right, that Panther hull may be waterlogged, so start by opening everything possible: drain, hatches (if it has any), inspection ports (if it has any), etc. Get the boat in a dry place (garage, carport, whatever) so rain doesn't compound the problem. You can store the boat up on a rail so she takes up less room if necessary. You're probably gonna need an inspection port (or two) to fully repair her, but don't cut till after we see the pics...

Get that crack in the Minifish taped up for now, no need to make her condition any worse while you sail her. Glad to hear you had fun with the Mini, I miss mine on occasion, although I always considered myself a diehard Laser man. Nothing wrong with a Minifish for cartopping & sailing fun... and of course you can eventually put her on a trailer, the same trailer you use for the Panther if you keep her, just rotate the boats from rail cradle to trailer & vice versa.

Or make like Tag or Signal Charlie and modify a trailer to accommodate two boats. Which reminds me: you're now a "fleet owner!" Makes ya feel important, doesn't it? LOL. In nautical & social circles, when folks ask who you are, you can now casually drop the line, "Oh, I'm a fleet owner..." Of course, you're not quite such a fleet owner as L&VW, but you can still call yourself "Commodore, Panther & Minifish Squadron!!!"

norcalsail said:

I was born in Winter Haven Florida and my Dad sailed his Sunfish on Lake Howard! I also had a Snark for a time and sailed it on Humboldt Bay and Stone Lagoon in northern California near Arcata. Cool photos...

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Wow! that blows my mind. I was a '79 Blue Devil. My brother reminded me of sailing on Lake Howard in my Jetwind and doing some ad hoc racing against Sunfishes. Maybe one was your Dad! We were just learning to sail, so, I'm sure he outran us.

Weston said:

Wow! that blows my mind. I was a '79 Blue Devil. My brother reminded me of sailing on Lake Howard in my Jetwind and doing some ad hoc racing against Sunfishes. Maybe one was your Dad! We were just learning to sail, so, I'm sure he outran us.

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Small world certainly. My folks divorced and Dad left to Tampa area by 1979 but in the late 60's and early 70's, my great Uncle Vern Vineyard was a part owner of the Haven Hotel. Dad, my stepmom and me and my sisters lived there when we visited and as a kids we ran around that place. Six stories and roof and basement. Scary but really fun. There was a sign on the top that said, "Home of the Boston Whitesocks" (I think that's right). We would hang out in the far staircases and play with our GI Joes or play "ditch em" through the stairwells. We ran on the roof and once, took the fire escape down. My Uncle knew Ray Croc and I think the McDonald's next door was owned by him. My Uncle bought a bunch of Mc Doanld's franchises in south Florida and did very well. They have since redesigned the Haven Hotel, many years ago, but boy do I have memories of Winter Haven. We lived on the corner of Leisure Drive and Marilyn across from Lake Hartridge (?) My Dad sailed his Sunfish there too.

The Haven Hotel! that brings back memories. My first paper route for the WH News Chief included the Haven Hotel. In the mid 70's it was a bit scary, as you say - dark hallways, creaky elevator, etc. I remember that the elevator had a full time elevator operator. crazy, right? I'm guessing the sign on the top said, "Home of the Boston Red Sox". The Sox held winter camp in WH until the city refused to give them the upgrades they wanted for the practice field. So, the Sox moved their winter camp to Ft. Meyers. I would have been sailing my Jetwind in Lake Howard between 75-78, so a very good chance I crossed paths with your Dad on his Sunfish before he moved to Tampa in 79

Weston said:

The Haven Hotel! that brings back memories. My first paper route for the WH News Chief included the Haven Hotel. In the mid 70's it was a bit scary, as you say - dark hallways, creaky elevator, etc. I remember that the elevator had a full time elevator operator. crazy, right? I'm guessing the sign on the top said, "Home of the Boston Red Sox". The Sox held winter camp in WH until the city refused to give them the upgrades they wanted for the practice field. So, the Sox moved their winter camp to Ft. Meyers. I would have been sailing my Jetwind in Lake Howard between 75-78, so a very good chance I crossed paths with your Dad on his Sunfish before he moved to Tampa in 79

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Yes, The Boston Red Sox. I just visited the cemetery where my Uncle Vern and Aunt Janet are in Land O Lakes. They had a beautiful property on a lake up there too. Do you remember the elevator operator being a disabled guy? He was the uncle of my babysitter. She was really cool and drove me around in her VW Beetle...Gee, we're kinda off topic here, Sorry!

You are stretching my memory with those kind of details. . There were two different elevator operators, a 40ish man and a thin woman in her 30’s. Winter Haven was a great place to learn to sail in the 70’s. So many lakes (and not nearly as many gators as there are now). I just read your post about your Dad. It is great that he introduced you to sailing. I’m sorry to hear of his passing.

L&VW said:

Crack? You're describing a straight crack along the starboard bow, about 16-inches long?

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That's the one, the owner had repaired it (ugly, but should be watertight). For now I just taped some black gorilla tape over it to reassure myself. I've already taken the Minifish out several times now, including one brief adventure outside of the breakwater on Lake Ontario! It's super fun, although I am excited about getting the Panther lake-worthy because that storage compartment will be a game changer for late-summer lunches on the water! The extra room to lounge will probably be nice too, as well as the rope cleat. My hands were killing me after several hours on Oneida Lake last Saturday.

Cactus Cowboy said:

Which reminds me: you're now a "fleet owner!" Makes ya feel important, doesn't it?

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YES! I love it! I feel so important!

As far as Panther updates, I haven't begun to further investigate what work is required, mainly because I've been putting off cleaning space in my garage, and the Minifish has been satisfying my sailing cravings! It is dry under a tarp in my yard for the time being. I did tip it on its side recently and realized that I can hear lots of things clunk around inside the hull... so maybe it is worth completely removing the top to see what is going on in there?

Removing the top is not for the faint of heart! Even just lifting off the stern end is more of a project than I’d take on (though Signal Charlie does it in his sleep
Why not start with a couple of inspection ports?