But it presents very well in pictures and text.That price seems quite high.
A 1968 would have had the old-style rudder… so that has been upgraded, I’d make sure that work was done well.
Yeah I know, I just fell in love with the colors of this one but I agree, I need to just keep looking and go with something else.One more follow up. This craigslist search for your area shows 3 other Sunfish (and a couple of clones - an AquaFinn and a Scorpion) available in the $1200-1500 range, some with trailers. The orange Sunfish appears to be a '72-'74 model (which has the cubby in the cockpit for storing items). The sail is old and, of course, you would want to inspect the hull for damage and also weigh it to see if it has taken on water. If it weighs more than 140, that would indicate water. I would prefer boats sailed in fresh water to those sailed in salt. I hope that is helpful.
lol, yes you did!Wow...I paid $650 for mine, which I thought was a fair deal. Sounds like I did better than fair!
Thanks! Do you have his contact info?That boat is significantly overpriced. It’s probably a $1200 boat. It sounds as if they are admitting it’s heavy, and a newer, lighter boat with a storage cubby would be much nicer to have.
It’s odd that all 3 boats for sale in the area have been painted. It’s better to have a boat with the original gelcoat and no paint. Paint scratches and chip easily - note they are giving you paint for that reason.
I’d contact John Butine at Lake Norman YC. He is a Sunfish veteran and can probably point you to a better boat in the area. Also, despite the sellers claims, trying to use that trailer as a dolly won’t be fun - it’s too heavy and awkward to use as anything but a trailer.
It's been on Craigslist for over a month now. He said he had it listed for $4k and dropped the price recently. It'll be up there a while until he comes back to earth.But it presents very well in pictures and text.
I think Ironton trailers are similar to Harbor Freight, but sold at inflated prices by Tractor Supply. (They are frequently quoted as "the" competition by HF).
This boat appears to have received a LOT of love, and suspect before the 11th, this Sunfish will have found a new home.Find a way to inspect it sooner than later.
Is there a way to know if the boat has been sailed in salt water other than rust?Yeah I know, I just fell in love with the colors of this one but I agree, I need to just keep looking and go with something else.
Depending on what year the Sunfish was manufactured it will have aluminum parts, stainless steel parts, and on older boats, brass parts. Where you have dissimilar metals in contact with each other, electrolysis causes a galvanic transfer from one metal to the other, bonding them together. So if you can't unscrew the bailer (assuming it is the older metal bailer) or you see corrosion where stainless steel screws attach to the aluminum spars, that could indicate salt water usage. Note that electrolysis happens in fresh water too and if the boat is several decades old, there will be some evidence of that even if the boat has only seen fresh water use. Regardless of what type of water the boat was used in, it is good to look at the mast where the gooseneck rubs against it, and the lower boom where the gooseneck attaches. Those are the most likely places that a mast or boom will fail.Is there a way to know if the boat has been sailed in salt water other than rust?
For $125, I bought a beautiful 1971 Sunfish--always moored (no trailer). Maroon in color, it needed only the deck polished. I sold it for $800 the day after placing a Craigslist ad after having polished only about 2 square feet of its deck! (So the deals are out there).It's been on Craigslist for over a month now. He said he had it listed for $4k and dropped the price recently. It'll be up there a while until he comes back to earth.