Early 50s sailfish restore

I have great inspiration and guidance, Skipper tells me what to do...

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I like that shot... reminds me of a pic I once saw of some true Zen master standing on his head on deck while sailing, he was keepin' EVERYBODY guessing, lol. I also like the color combos on those boats: nothing wrong with color combos, and some colors really help reduce glare on deck, as opposed to bright white where good sunglasses are necessary. Having a brimmed hat or ballcap helps, something with a bill to cut the glare from above as your shades cut the glare off the deck. Before I had Lasik done on both eyes, I used to wear polarized prescription Vuarnets with 'Blue Flash' lenses, those shades were GREAT for totally reducing glare to an absolute minimum, including heller glare from low-angle sun off surface chop. Hey, OP, going back to those color combos, my family and I lived in Greece from 1968-1973, and as a youth I loved seeing all the brightly-painted fishing craft and whatnot down by the waterfront. Frankly, some of the colors were downright gaudy, but they were all cheerful, lol... and ya can't fault ANY skipper for taking pride in his boat, a mariner's life is all about taking pride in his nautical ride, be it a Sunfish or the Mirabella V. That's just how it is when sailing is in your blood... :cool:

P.S. And from a historical perspective, a well-kept ship was a safer ship, no doubt about it... imagine some naval commander issuing orders to his men in the heat of battle, and some sailor replying, "Er... just one moment, Captain, we have to mend this sail, splice that line, and fix that damned rudder again!" ;)

About one nanosecond before an incoming shot struck the magazine: KA-BOOOOM!!! :rolleyes:

Problems solved, lol... :confused:
 
Hmm, maybe you can find another set of spars... make a set if necessary. Don't let this setback throw ya off course... your mission still is to get that boat up and running, aye? Good luck! I bet Signal Charlie has an extra set o' spars for sale, lol... he has enough boats, maybe he has some extra spars. Cheers!!! :rolleyes:
 
Hmm, maybe you can find another set of spars... make a set if necessary. Don't let this setback throw ya off course... your mission still is to get that boat up and running, aye? Good luck! I bet Signal Charlie has an extra set o' spars for sale, lol... he has enough boats, maybe he has some extra spars. Cheers!!! :rolleyes:

I won't maybe I can locate aq sailfish setup, I also have the minfish so it will see water.
 
Easy enough to make a mast. Boom is a little trickier. Table saw or Power planer to make a 4x4 8 sided. Spokeshave. Sand paper.

Where are you located?
 
And is the whole mast bad? You might be able to use part of it. Alcort used a hybrid mast for several years, late 1950s. The bottom 4 feet or so was aluminum tube like the current mast, and the top section was wooden, tapered at the top with a sheave for the halyard.

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You mentioned Minifish, it has the same size rig as the Standard Sailfish. Here's a comparison of the Standard Sailfish rig to the Super Sailfish rig, which has the same size as the Sunfish.

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And is the whole mast bad? You might be able to use part of it. Alcort used a hybrid mast for several years, late 1950s. The bottom 4 feet or so was aluminum tube like the current mast, and the top section was wooden, tapered at the top with a sheave for the halyard.

View attachment 36411

You mentioned Minifish, it has the same size rig as the Standard Sailfish. Here's a comparison of the Standard Sailfish rig to the Super Sailfish rig, which has the same size as the Sunfish.

View attachment 36410

I figure I can use the mini to test mine until I get the correct mast. I will look closer at the mast I have to see how bad it is. I know it is weak at the base.
 
Howzit goin', OP? I trust yer handlin' yer bidness, LOL... :rolleyes:

Been goin' through a foot fracture on this end, which is why y'all caught a break, LOL... :confused:

No worries, it's just another injury, been there & done that before, AYE??? ;)

All be the same in a hundred years, that's for GODDAM SURE, LOL... :cool:

MAHALO, MY GOOD INTERWEBS FRIEND!!! AND CHEERS!!! :D

Carry on, small craft sailing brother, and know that we're in yer court, so to speak... LOL. :)
 
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Howzit goin', OP? I trust yer handlin' yer bidness, LOL... :rolleyes:

Been goin' through a foot fracture on this end, which is why y'all caught a break, LOL... :confused:

No worries, it's just another injury, been there & done that before, AYE??? ;)

All be the same in a hundred years, that's for GODDAM SURE, LOL... :cool:

MAHALO, MY GOOD INTERWEBS FRIEND!!! AND CHEERS!!! :D

Carry on, small craft sailing brother, and know that we're in yer court, so to speak... LOL. :)
hope it heals quickly
 
I just bought these, guy said from a sunfish but, I think they are from a larger boat. I think I can easily make them work
Dagger board 12x40 roughly rudder 37x10 Opinions?
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That is new style rudder hardware but the wood is not Super Sailfish shape. You can adapt I suppose, you'll want to go with the spoon tip rudder blade or the current style, and those shapes are close. For the daggerboard 41 inches should be good, the original 31 inch board was way too short. Are you planning to stay with the old style hardware or adapt the new style.
 
That is new style rudder hardware but the wood is not Super Sailfish shape. You can adapt I suppose, you'll want to go with the spoon tip rudder blade or the current style, and those shapes are close. For the daggerboard 41 inches should be good, the original 31 inch board was way too short. Are you planning to stay with the old style hardware or adapt the new style.

I'm not sure but, I was definitely going with the longer daggerboard. I was thinking of using the original hardware on the rudder but, wanted your advice.
You know how they work best.
 
If you are a wild and crazy, hair on fire sailor then go to the new style rudder. You might be the first person to ever convert to that on a wooden boat, primarily because so few people have wooden hulls. You'll need to add wooden shims on the deck and/or hull to get a vertical surface large enough to accommodate the stainless gudgeon screw holes. I guess you could drill new holes closer together, but you will be the test case and use your best judgement.

I like the look of the old style bronze on the wooden boat, and if you wont be pushing the rudder to its limits on a Super Sailfish, stay with the old style rudder assembly. Make sure that the bottom tip of the vertical hinge and the cup in the keel latch plate do not look worn, that is where a lot of slop allows the vertical plate to pop out when under load. Now IT IS supposed to pop out when the rudder hits a submerged object.

Keep in mind on the diagram below that the carriage bolt goes through the wooden transom on the Super Sailfish, it is not external like it is on the fiberglass hulls. Going through the hull helps limit side to side play on the carriage bolt, which was a problem on the fiberglass boats, and why they later added the external carriage bolt tube. Food for thought when folks start saying the the old style rudder assembly vertical hinge plate popped out all the time.

_Old Style Rudder Diagram small.jpg


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While you are working on the hull, make sure that the holes where the previous screws for the spring plate and latch plate are cleaned out, filled with plugs and adhesive, so that the hull us watertight, and ready for new fasteners if you decide to go the old style route. FYI that area is about 1 inch thick, 1/4 inch of plywood over a solid oak 3/4 inch deck/keel longeron. No need to buy screws over 1 1/4 inch, taking into account the hardware. Buy bronze screws.

IMG_8835 4.jpg
 
If you are a wild and crazy, hair on fire sailor then go to the new style rudder. You might be the first person to ever convert to that on a wooden boat, primarily because so few people have wooden hulls. You'll need to add wooden shims on the deck and/or hull to get a vertical surface large enough to accommodate the stainless gudgeon screw holes. I guess you could drill new holes closer together, but you will be the test case and use your best judgement.

I like the look of the old style bronze on the wooden boat, and if you wont be pushing the rudder to its limits on a Super Sailfish, stay with the old style rudder assembly. Make sure that the bottom tip of the vertical hinge and the cup in the keel latch plate do not look worn, that is where a lot of slop allows the vertical plate to pop out when under load. Now IT IS supposed to pop out when the rudder hits a submerged object.

Keep in mind on the diagram below that the carriage bolt goes through the wooden transom on the Super Sailfish, it is not external like it is on the fiberglass hulls. Going through the hull helps limit side to side play on the carriage bolt, which was a problem on the fiberglass boats, and why they later added the external carriage bolt tube. Food for thought when folks start saying the the old style rudder assembly vertical hinge plate popped out all the time.

View attachment 36482

View attachment 36484

While you are working on the hull, make sure that the holes where the previous screws for the spring plate and latch plate are cleaned out, filled with plugs and adhesive, so that the hull us watertight, and ready for new fasteners if you decide to go the old style route. FYI that area is about 1 inch thick, 1/4 inch of plywood over a solid oak 3/4 inch deck/keel longeron. No need to buy screws over 1 1/4 inch, taking into account the hardware. Buy bronze screws.

View attachment 36485

Awesome, Thank you
 
Sorry no updates Lately, had to get a couple of vehicles fixed aND BY THE TIME i WAS READY TO GO, LOCAL LUMBER YARD THAT HAS WHAT i NEED IS CLOSED DUE TO THE SHUTDOWN.
 
So... our King Cuomo in NY just closed all launches and marinas. What an idiot! Long Island and downstate don't do what they should so, upstate gets punished. Hopefully by May.

I have a gal pal in Rochester, NY, just a good friend with whom I occasionally correspond, and she is ALWAYS ranting about that Cuomo idiot, LOL... she has also said more than once that she has to pay welfare for most of NYC. She won't even use the term 'Upstate NY'---calls her area Western NY instead, probably in some subconscious effort to distance herself from Albany & NYC. :confused:
 

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