1971 Sunfish Repairs

Garrett12

Member
I have owned a 1971 Sunfish for almost 3 years now; It has served me well with many hours on the water. However, I had noticed this past summer it has been taking on small amounts of water into the hull and over time it builds up. This spring I would like to make it a goal to refinish / restore the bottom of the boat. It has some small cracks in the corners but no major damage.

As I have never done any work on a sunfish I was hoping I could turn to here for help.

Is there a detailed explanation on how to go about doing this and what materials I will need?


Thanks,
Garrett
 
I have owned a 1971 Sunfish for almost 3 years now; It has served me well with many hours on the water. However, I had noticed this past summer it has been taking on small amounts of water into the hull and over time it builds up. This spring I would like to make it a goal to refinish / restore the bottom of the boat. It has some small cracks in the corners but no major damage.

As I have never done any work on a sunfish I was hoping I could turn to here for help.

Is there a detailed explanation on how to go about doing this and what materials I will need?


Thanks,
Garrett
First , figure out where the water's getting in. Common places are the mast socket (see if water poured in there gets into the hull), the daggerboard well, or from condensate from humid air and a cool bottom. Try to tell whether the corner cracks go through or are just surface crazing. There are lots of repair threads in this forum's archives.
 
Hi Garrett,
Every screw hole, fiberglass seam and and areas where fiberglass is compromised are potential areas where water can enter. Another common area is the bailer hole where the cockpit is epoxied to the hull.

Does the water get in while sailing or while the boat is stored?

There is a lot of good info in the Sunfish Knowledge Base: http://sailingforums.com/categories/the-sunfish-forum.20/
Check out Air Leak Test: http://www.sunfishforum.com/content.php?pg=airtest

Post some pics of the areas you want to repair.

Cheers
Kent
Sunfish Wave, Phoenix and Madison
 

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