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Thanks, beldar. I ordered a west system 101 handy repair pack and it uses epoxy so I think that gelcoat won't stick to that? Paint will probably be the best choice and should stick if I sand the epoxy.

Here's the boat with the crack. The color should be more vibrant when it's all polished up, but this should give an idea of the approximate color.

My girlfriend has been looking for a sunfish and ran into a phenomenal deal. Her neighbor had his old boat 1974 that he used to race as a kid and it's been stored covered for a very long time. The boat is in excellent condition but there is one small 3" crack through the fiberglass (edge of the...

I put my front port behind the splash guard and there is no foam down there. In the back there is foam that you might have to cut through. I should have put my rear hole about two inches further back and I would have missed part of the foam block. Front hatch is 6" and rear is 4".

That's what I did. The locknut is narrow and the thread only goes around one time. It's just a little loose and it's popping off the threads when I try to tap it on tightly. I've got the bailer hole temporarily filled in with epoxy putty so I can take it out sailing as long as I bring a bailing...

I haven't had the time to look for the float ball yet but I temporarily plugged the bailer hole with epoxy putty so I can take the boat out (weather permitting) before the season is over. I can drill that putty out in a couple minutes. The conduit locknut isn't sufficient (I'll probably need...

I just hit it a bit with a file to get down some rough spots and overrun of epoxy. Fairing and sanding will have to wait until next year, before it gets a coat of paint. I have a rubber mallet and a riveter. Not sure if they're aluminum rivets or not, so I'll check before I put them in.

Still have a little finish work to do. But the bow repair looks solid.

Got the new handle put on and the hull closed up. Hopefully, going to get everything finished up so I can take her out this coming weekend.

L&VW- Menards sold the "correct" diameter conduit locknut individually packaged too, but it didn't fit. I'm not sure why, but I tried all the different ones they had in the store and only the one that was part of the coupler set worked. I bought a pair of plastic cutting boards at the dollar...

If you want to see what's involved in splitting a hull and what things look like under the bow handle, just check out my thread on Starting a sunfish project. I'm replacing the handle on my boat with a new one, after it arrives in a week. Fiberglass repair is pretty easy. You can get a kit at...

An update on the cost so far: Boat $20 Inspection ports: $12 Fiberglass cloth/epoxy: $20 Bow handle: $14 Stainless steel hardware and silicone for inspection ports: $16 Spray foam: $3 Bailer parts: $3 Total: $88 Hopefully I'll get her out for a test sail by the end of the month... Maybe...

I got most of the work completed on the bow this weekend. The repair is a mix of fiberglass cloth, epoxy, and some epoxy putty. A few more minor touches and sanding down some raised areas are all that's left. I ordered the bow handle and should hopefully get it within a week. I also spent some...

I found a suitable replacement nut at Menards for the DePersia bailer. The only one that fit came as part of a compression coupler set. The part number is in the pic for anyone interested. Next question is that I thought there was supposed to be a ball in there. What are people replacing the...

Thanks for the tip. I'll see if I run into a cheap cutting board at Walmart. If not, then I've got plenty of treated wood I can grab from my shop. I hit a snag on the retaining nut for the bailer. The diameter of 1 1/4" I measured is not a plumbing diameter. It looks like it actually takes a 1"...

Yes, but I'm not quite there yet. I have to buy a new bow handle and replace the wood underneath it first, before I close up the hull. I'm also running into problems finding the retaining nut for the bailer so I might just glass over that hole if I'm unsuccessful. On another thread the retaining...

Seven layers of fiberglass are on. I had a bubble on an inside layer that I cut out this morning and I'll fill tonight, then she'll be ready to smooth out and fill in the weave in the fiberglass, then do final shaping. I have to replace the wood block under the bow handle and buy a replacement...

I've got a thread a few below yours with a wet damaged hull that I'm repairing. To dry it you cut holes in the hull and put a fan in there and wait. The rest is fiberglass work, which is a bit messy but not too difficult. Starting a sunfish project

Just a quick update. I pulled the trim and started work on the nose repair. I ground out the bad area and put some epoxy putty on there to form the general shape then fiberglassed two layers on the outside. There are a few small bubbles to grind/fill. Next step is I'll grind the putty flat and...

Update on drying. All the free standing water is dried from the hull. I'll probably leak test the hull this weekend and then drill out the rivets and remove the metal on the bow so I can start the fiberglass repair on the bow. I figure I might as well get that done while the boat is still drying...