Cleaning the bottom of my sunfish

[drylander]

Here is a shot half way through cleaning the bottom of a sunfish I just was given. It sat under a small pine tree for over twenty years. I used a mixture of detergent and tri sodium phosphate with a little bleach for kick. Seemed to do the trick....
There are quite a few scratches left in the gel coat, maybe I will get around to fixing them, but I am too excited about getting out and sailing right now to think about it much. Sail is in usable shape so if we have some wind I will put her in the lake here in town tomorow (Ashfield MA.)
Love the forum!
Mark

 

[Alan Glos]

So noted. I got a hull for free once that had about an inch of lichens growing on the bottom and it cleaned up like new. Fiberglass gel coat is pretty remarkable stuff even when left out in the elements and a little straight laundry bleach can work wonders.

 

[Gail]

After the major cleansing, to get 'er fine, consider buffing compound with a power buffer, then follow with a good teflon polish. Unless you're going to be an analytic-detail racer, those scratches really won't hurt much. One good roll tack will overcome them. Some day you could fill them with Marine-tex, sand them down, and rebuff it if it's your pleasure.

There was an era in Sunfish racing where sailors took BRAND NEW hulls and dragged them over the rocks to get lengthwise scrapes which were considered at the time to be "fast." Later proven to be false, but ...

 

[nate95366]

There was an era in Sunfish racing where sailors took BRAND NEW hulls and dragged them over the rocks to get lengthwise scrapes which were considered at the time to be "fast." Later proven to be false, but ...

I think I may have just learned something new about my hull (a '74 freebie). Thanks!

Nate