77 Sunfish and a few questions

vmbray

New Member
Hi guys, I'm new to the forum so I figured I'd introduce myself and post a few pictures. We bought the boat from some folks who bought it new and it seems in pretty good shape, has some dings and such from getting knocked over and my son thinks we are missing the block for the rigging. My main concern is making sure we address the basic stuff decently before putting it in the water. We don't have a lot of boat experience and next to zero sailing knowledge but we're very excited.

The bailer has been replaced and looks like it could use replacing again. They put some fiberglass over the front of it - I guess it's damaged underneath but I won't know until it's removed.

The bottom of the hull has some spider cracks which seem to be where the foam blocks attach inside. It sounds like one of the foam blocks is loose inside. There is a ding on the edge that is probably leaking and little cracks all around under the seam between the top and bottom parts of the hull. We weighed it and it's about 155 pounds so a decent amount of water inside I guess. Generally the bottom seems firm and in good shape.

The front handle is missing and there are screw holes - not sure if the backing is damaged or why it's missing.

I think we need a bailer, the plug for the top drain, front handle, an inspection port or two, some gelcoat repair sort of stuff. Thanks a lot for any input or suggestions!

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Looks good to me. :) The existing bailer is no problem unless you want to drain water out while you are sailing forward. Collected rainwater can be easily drained the way it is. A $5 "freeze plug" from an automobile supply store can replace the entire thing, and seal any leaks should the inner bailer plug or bailer body be cracked or otherwise compromised. The diameter would be 1¼", still drains rainwater, is easy to install and reduces drag. :cool: I'd suggest fitting it with a wing nut, and installing the smaller washer to the outside.

The loose foam is only annoying. :oops: It can be pushed back into place and "glued" with a two-part expanding foam. Years ago, I used a blob of exterior "Liquid Nails" underneath the foam, and "Great Stuff" on top—which seems to have fixed the problem.

The daggerboard trunk damage, likely caused by striking an object, can be a nuisance to trace and handful to fix. It may be OK, but use the forum's search feature to locate repair suggestions. The replacement (chrome) halyard cleat may loosen, depending on how it is affixed. We had a recent discussion about installing hiking straps using "toggle bolts". As the strain is lateral, the same technique can be used on your cleat. The bow handle wooden backing plate may still be attached, so you may only need a new bow handle to fix it. The bow handle takes a lot of strain, so substitute hardware should not be considered. (Unless you really need to go sailing, in which case, plumber's strap will work). ;)
 

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Thanks for your help - that's encouraging. A freeze plug sounds good because the list of stuff is growing. The trailer bearings are well shot and the leaf springs are questionable. I think since they're rated for 500 lbs each they are maybe okay but the shackles on the leaves are going and almost gone and the small leaf is very bad and lots of flaky rust between the leaves. Salt water here so this looks about right.

Point taken on the halyard cleat - we've been discussing that it appears people tie off the halyard to the mast to avoid loading the deck cleat and I'm sure our cleat does not need a lot of strain put on it. I guess options are put a cleat on the mast or tie the halyard off to the mast.

It looks like the backer for the handle is gone after a better inspection with a straight pick. Maybe that's what's floating around in the hull, probably is. Love the plumbers strap and yeah I think we need to go sailing so we may put some gorilla tape over it :) Or hmm maybe we actually need some sort of handle.

Thanks again really appreciate it!

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L&VW's comments are spot on. You can buy a new bailer for about $45. The real safrty concern is the springs on your trailer - they are shot and will fail. Find a spring store in your area and spring (bad pun) for a new set of leaf springs, both sides. The rest of your trailer looks fine, but these springs WILL fail and could total your boat or worse.

I can sell you a used bow handle for $10 + $6 shipping but you may have to install an inspection port near the bow if your old back-up board under the deck has gone bad,

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
L&VW's comments are spot on. You can buy a new bailer for about $45. The real safrty concern is the springs on your trailer - they are shot and will fail. Find a spring store in your area and spring (bad pun) for a new set of leaf springs, both sides. The rest of your trailer looks fine, but these springs WILL fail and could total your boat or worse.

I can sell you a used bow handle for $10 + $6 shipping but you may have to install an inspection port near the bow if your old back-up board under the deck has gone bad,

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY

Thanks Alan yes the pictures show the extent of the damage better than you can see due to the angle. I think I found some springs online that will work. I will send you a message about the handle too that sounds good.

The daggerboard trunk damage, likely caused by striking an object, can be a nuisance to trace and handful to fix. It may be OK, but use the forum's search feature to locate repair suggestions. The replacement (chrome) halyard cleat may loosen, depending on how it is affixed. We had a recent discussion about installing hiking straps using "toggle bolts". As the strain is lateral, the same technique can be used on your cleat. The bow handle wooden backing plate may still be attached, so you may only need a new bow handle to fix it. The bow handle takes a lot of strain, so substitute hardware should not be considered. (Unless you really need to go sailing, in which case, plumber's strap will work). ;)

I was looking at your idea about taping off the daggerboard trunk and using vacuum to pull epoxy into the cracks. It seems like a good idea, I guess boat would have to be dried out well. Also I think less epoxy could be used if a piece of styrofoam was used as a filler piece to reduce the trunk volume. Unless someone said it was a bad idea I would probably just do the mast hole while I was at it. http://sailingforums.com/threads/daggerboard-trunk-repairs.29260/#post-138550
 
I did the repair to fix loose foam blocks (see my blog post about it here). it was pretty tricky to get the foam poured out of a cup, all while reaching through a 5" diameter hole for an inspection port! but it can be done, and seems to have held up well ever since.
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"...The trailer bearings are well shot and the leaf springs are questionable. I think since they're rated for 500 lbs each they are maybe okay but the shackles on the leaves are going and almost gone and the small leaf is very bad and lots of flaky rust between the leaves. Salt water here so this looks about right..."

If you have a trailer shop near you, check on the advisability of using new—but weaker—springs. I car-top my Sunfish, but my latest well-used trailer purchase showed the value of much smaller springs. See this thread with a photo —near the end...:
http://sailingforums.com/threads/newbie-wondering-about-buying-this-2001-fish.32530/#post-148053
 
If you have a trailer shop near you, check on the advisability of using new—but weaker—springs. I car-top my Sunfish, but my latest well-used trailer purchase showed the value of much smaller springs. See this thread with a photo —near the end...:
http://sailingforums.com/threads/newbie-wondering-about-buying-this-2001-fish.32530/#post-148053

That's a cool spring setup. No idea if there's anyone here who could do that. I cut the second leaf off the new springs and they seem better when I bounce on it. Thinking of doing some long bunks that are curved to support the boat better. Also saw a post where the guy used foam pool noodles to cushion the bunks and thought that was a pretty good idea. Also I wonder if you could use small coil springs on the slipper end to make the ride softer.

Took the boat out in the little community lake that we're next to and had a blast, and with no wind to boot.
 
Although I don't trailer my Sunfishes, I've seen that they don't take a ride on an "over-sprung" trailer very kindly. :(

The supporting foam blocks can be separated from the hull by bending (from rollers) or rough roads, or one speed-bump. :oops:Follow an empty trailer some time, and you'll see that a box of marbles placed near the tail lights will soon have lost all your marbles. :rolleyes:

Checking around my little burg of 6000 people, I found that even we have a trailer shop. For further advise, give the nearest one a call. Check at Home Depot for their pressure-treated 2'x4'x16' warped rejects, which should appear on the top of the pile. You might find one long enough for two bunks that's naturally "warped to specifications". Pool noodles can be bought at Dollar Stores for $1 each.

Industrial packaging includes some nifty shipping supports that are sprung. A Grainger catalogue might have them listed, but attaching them would make this "Project Overkill". :confused:

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Although I don't trailer my Sunfishes, I've seen that they don't take a ride on an "over-sprung" trailer very kindly. :(

The supporting foam blocks can be separated from the hull by bending (from rollers) or rough roads, or one speed-bump. :oops:Follow an empty trailer some time, and you'll see that a box of marbles placed near the tail lights will soon have lost all your marbles. :rolleyes:

Checking around my little burg of 6000 people, I found that even we have a trailer shop. For further advise, give the nearest one a call. Check at Home Depot for their pressure-treated 2'x4'x16' warped rejects, which should appear on the top of the pile. You might find one long enough for two bunks that's naturally "warped to specifications". Pool noodles can be bought at Dollar Stores for $1 each.

Industrial packaging includes some nifty shipping supports that are sprung. A Grainger catalogue might have them listed, but attaching them would make this "Project Overkill". :confused:

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Thanks that was a very timely response - I was right next to a dollar store and they had the noodles.

I called two places and one didn't sound like they wanted to mess with the springs. The other guy said in salt water the springs don't last and said they snap when they go. Said he didn't recommend the single ended spring because if it breaks it would be Very Bad.

It seems like some long curved bunks, the pool noodles and it should be supported pretty well. I'm also going to adjust the bottom rollers so they are under the mast and the dagger board.
 
I found that building a cradle from treated lumber added enough sprung weight my trailer to improve the ride. Check out this topic.
Lets Talk Trailer Bunk Placement...
Discussion in 'Sunfish Talk' started by brianZ71, Mar 4, 2012.
http://sailingforums.com/threads/lets-talk-trailer-bunk-placement.23704/

Thanks that is a great link and I did something similar with less wood and maybe I'll add some ballast to the trailer (maybe pvc pipes with sand or something?) but I think this will get me going for now. Hopefully tomorrow we will road test the concept and see how it actually works and if anything comes loose. Here's some of pics of the setup.

Added a cross member of 2x4 which seems to be sturdy enough, and some new bunk brackets to support doubled 1x4 treated wood (using two thinner pieces makes it easy to bend). The trailer center tube actually flexes quite a bit and an A-frame would surely be better but I think it's okay.

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Tied the pool noodles down with paracord

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It follows the boat pretty well. I used eight foot lumber because if you go longer the wood is further from the chines in the middle of the boat and this seems to provide good support. Not sure if carpet would add to this or if it's good on it's own. Need to mod the front roller bracket to hold a bow stop because it's obviousl not tall enough as is.

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