I spend six months of the year on the Caribbean island of Bonaire. (I’m retired and my wife & I do a lot of scuba diving.) This is divided into a three month spring trip and a three month fall trip. I am a long time diehard racing sailor, so with the Sunfish being the dominant Caribbean boat, I recently purchased a slightly used Sunfish with a brand new racing sail. I love this little boat; it really gets up and goes. I like the clean centerboard trunk/deck arrangement. I love the clever rudder/tiller arrangement. However, I can’t believe that in all these years there is not a better arrangement for attaching the halyard to the gaff – which is to say there is no arrangement. I tried 30” of rope half-hitched with every wrap around the gaff for the halyard to butt against and that started slipping after 45 minutes of sailing. I tried black electrical tape and that also started slipping after 45 minutes. I am now using a stainless steel hose clamp which seems to be successful. Question #1) This does seem to solve the problem, but is it legal?
The next problem is that at this time of year, the trade winds are strong and they blow day and night, week after week. I’ve been here five weeks and during that time there has been one single day when the wind dropped under 15 mph. There has been a week of days when the wind was under 20, so the rest of the time it has been between 20 to 30. So, for more comfortable spring sailing I’m planning to purchase a recreation sail without a window and put in a set of reefing grommets about 12 to 18 inches up from the foot of the sail. Both the foot of the sail and the luff of the sail will then slide forward. This will leave a sail that would be the same as cutting off about 12 to 18 inches from the leach. Question #2) Has anybody done this and if so, does it work? My white, North, racing sail has a window sewed in place, but the Dacron has not been removed. I don’t know if this is customary or if this was a mistake on the assembly line. I am concerned that if I just cut the Dacron with scissors, it will start unraveling. On the other hand, if I had a “hot-knife” to use (which I don’t) I would be afraid of touching and damaging the window. Question #3) Any answers to this problem?
We have over a dozen Sunfish at the Bonaire sailing center, but most of them are raggedy “club” boats. None of the boats have a cleat on the mast. I see that a mast cleat must be no more than 4 feet from the base of the mast. Question #4) Is 4 feet a good place for that cleat, or would 2 or 3 feet make more sense?
At my age of 70, I would like to put a central swivel mainsheet cleat, with ratchet block on the boat as I did when I had a Laser many years ago. I do not like the idea of side cleats, they are very awkward to use, especially on tacks and jibes. Question #5) Has anybody found a central swivel mainsheet cleat with ratchet block that is small enough to be mounted on the Sunfish?
The next problem is that at this time of year, the trade winds are strong and they blow day and night, week after week. I’ve been here five weeks and during that time there has been one single day when the wind dropped under 15 mph. There has been a week of days when the wind was under 20, so the rest of the time it has been between 20 to 30. So, for more comfortable spring sailing I’m planning to purchase a recreation sail without a window and put in a set of reefing grommets about 12 to 18 inches up from the foot of the sail. Both the foot of the sail and the luff of the sail will then slide forward. This will leave a sail that would be the same as cutting off about 12 to 18 inches from the leach. Question #2) Has anybody done this and if so, does it work? My white, North, racing sail has a window sewed in place, but the Dacron has not been removed. I don’t know if this is customary or if this was a mistake on the assembly line. I am concerned that if I just cut the Dacron with scissors, it will start unraveling. On the other hand, if I had a “hot-knife” to use (which I don’t) I would be afraid of touching and damaging the window. Question #3) Any answers to this problem?
We have over a dozen Sunfish at the Bonaire sailing center, but most of them are raggedy “club” boats. None of the boats have a cleat on the mast. I see that a mast cleat must be no more than 4 feet from the base of the mast. Question #4) Is 4 feet a good place for that cleat, or would 2 or 3 feet make more sense?
At my age of 70, I would like to put a central swivel mainsheet cleat, with ratchet block on the boat as I did when I had a Laser many years ago. I do not like the idea of side cleats, they are very awkward to use, especially on tacks and jibes. Question #5) Has anybody found a central swivel mainsheet cleat with ratchet block that is small enough to be mounted on the Sunfish?