One last thing, I noticed in an earlier post is that you are missing the plastic/delrin tube that covers the carriage bolt in the rudder assembly (i.e the bolt with the wingnut on top.). You need that bit. I don't know much about sunfish compared to many on this site, but what I found is without that tube, the bottom rudder bracket can move side to side A LOT, and that will cause the rudder to pop up at the most inopportune times. Since putting that piece in, my rudder never releases unless I want it to. I got the replacement from McMaster Carr.
Texas Sunfish,
The board on my 71 boat had really ugly leading and trailing edgesthat were gouged and splintered. The bottom of it was at least 2 inches short from repeated groundings. I think it would have been easier to make a new one, but instead I refurbished my board much as fhhuber suggests. Instesd of dowels however, I used a plate joiner (i.e. biscuit joiner) and attached the new pieces with MAS epoxy. I then used different router bits to form the round edges at the top of the board, and then the more beveled edges of the board that are actually in the water with the board down.
Extending the length of the board was tricky, and trying to expalin what I did in words is difficult. I am out of the country at the moment, but will post a picture when I get back.
Also, the deck of my boat was stained badly, so I used Soft Scrub with bleach. That helped a ton, but the surface was heavily oxidized and if you looked at it, it got dirty. To get a smooth surface again, I decided to wet sand with a rubber block starting at 320 grit, maybe 220 grit cannot rememember, and worked my way up to 1000 or 1500 and then used a buffer. I was worried about sanding through the gelcoat, but it never happened. It turned out WAY better than I would have thought. You can have a look at the attached picture. It still isn't as smooth as a new gelcoat, but it sure looks good to me.
One last thing, I noticed in an earlier post is that you are missing the plastic/delrin tube that covers the carriage bolt in the rudder assembly (i.e the bolt with the wingnut on top.). You need that bit. I don't know much about sunfish compared to many on this site, but what I found is without that tube, the bottom rudder bracket can move side to side A LOT, and that will cause the rudder to pop up at the most inopportune times. Since putting that piece in, my rudder never releases unless I want it to. I got the replacement from McMaster Carr.
Vinyl tubing also works well for this. A rubber fuel hose would also work. You might have something around the house.
Going back to the bailer discussion. If you can obtain a metal bailer, make sure to keep the threads lubricated with something that protects against corrosion. If you can't find one the Sunfish plastic bailer works in the same hole. My 1969 has only been in salt water so a plastic bailer was a better way to go for me.
Can square off the back edge, then add on mahogany (that is the right wood) to make up for the lost back and front and reshape the edges.
Epoxy, dowels and clamps for affixing the new wood.
this guy's project is a lesson in woodworking
Big wooden boat project Page: 1 - iboats Boating Forums | 10098651
Great information! I'd love to see some detailed pictures when you get a chance.
Do you have a link to the part you used? I don't think I've seen it on any of the Sunfish parts sites. Maybe factory replacement NLA?
Being a "car guy" I have ton's of tubing of various sizes. Once I figure out exactly what y'all are talking about I can see if something will work.
I've read that Alcort/AMF originally suggested lubricating it with Vaseline once a month. I'm guessing any petroleum based lube would work. My Sunfish will likely never see salt water again, but still a good idea to keep the parts moving.
Does anyone know the exact thread measurements for the plug? That would be very helpful on my search since I can't exactly take the boat with me (it will make online searching easier as well).
One of these: McMaster-Carr . I might have gone with the nylon tube, I can't remember. I will have a look and measure the outside dimension when I get home this weekend. The inside dimension is whatever the carriage bolt is, which I am almost certain is 1/4 ".
The tube is shown over the carriage bolt, but not labeled.
No tube... or improper adjustment of the carriage bolt and you'll hope you have a string tied to the rudder and the back of the boat.
Did you scrub the fiberglass around the bronze rudder plate extra hard? If not the picture suggests that an even older, slightly different rudder plate might have been there in the distant past. It served the same function but I believe it used more screws to hold it down. I think that accounts for the extra holes. The serial number was inscribed on the really old fitting. Perhaps someone with an early 1960's boat could comment.A few more quick questions. I noticed 5 holes around the rudder plate. I assume the single hole (circled in yellow) is for the rudder pin chain. But what are the four on either side of the plate (circled in red)? Is there something I'm missing? Or, was there some aftermarket item commonly installed there?
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Nice woodworking.
Really not a whole lot of strength difference between the biscuit joiners and using dowels..
You have to get the dowel holes in exactly the right place and the biscuits need to just be on the right line.
So the biscuits tend to be a little quicker to do.
Thanks wjejr! I found some fuel hose that is the perfect size. 5 1/4" seems to long, but I haven't assembled everything yet.
So, I made some progress on the wood refurbishing this weekend with the help of my dad.
Sprayed everything down with stripper. It worked pretty well. Saved me a lot of sanding time!
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After soaking, scrapping and several hours of sanding I finally got all the varnish removed.
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I decided to make two new dagger board handles. The existing one was pretty rough and had screws added to it at some point. The new ones don't match perfectly, but they'll do. And instead of using offset screws I think I'll use nuts and bolts to secure them to the board.
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I decided to just trim the bottom of the dagger board. My dad scribed it and we just removed maybe a 1/4" then I reformed it with the random orbital sander.
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Next we filled all the major cracks with 2 part epoxy and let it sit overnight.
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While the epoxy was drying I straightened the rudder pin and my dad drilled out the broken cotter pin. You can see in previous posts how bent it was.
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To fix the rudder mount that was damaged I decided to use an epoxy putty. Mixed the two parts together and really forced it into the rudder.
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I let it cure for several hours. I maybe should have left it overnight, but it felt pretty solid and I was pretty excited to see how it would sand. Used a belt sander and random orbital to get it formed and ready to re-drill the hole.
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I did let the epoxy sit overnight and this morning sanded it all down flush with the wood.
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This spot below (on the edge of the rudder) was pretty bad. I was impressed how well the epoxy bonded and sanded back to make a pretty solid repair.
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And here is the rubber fuel line I cut to fit the rudder pin.
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I think I might order some spar varnish online. I did find some at a local hardware store in Elgin, but it says that it's not for use with things that will be in constant contact with the water. I may be overthinking it, but after doing all that repair and sanding I want to get something nice that will hold up for a while.
Also if you notice in the group shot of all the sanded parts my dad and I decided to make a new tiller extension. The one I have looks to be pine or something. My dad didn't have a long enough piece of mahogany, but he did have some Hawaiian wood (I'll have to ask him to remind me what species) that looked nice and very similar to mahogany. Since it wasn't original we decide to get a little creative with it. Once I get it all varnished I'll do the big reveal!
All in all I had a great time working with my dad and son! A little disappointed I didn't get to lay down some varnish, but that will come soon enough.
Thanks again everyone for all the comments and advise!