Early 50s sailfish restore

Wood work and finishing complete. Now to put her back togethet!
 

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More pictures. Now with most of her hardware.
 

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Yes, the boat looks sharp... and being a classic, she should get some positive attention on the water. It's always nice, sailing a sharp-looking boat, rather than some dinged-up nautical beater, LOL. :eek:
 
Looks great! We eased the edges of the handrails with a 1/8th inch roundover bit on a router, but not the surfaces that touch the deck.

What's the finish scheme going to be?
 
The Super Sailfish and wooden Sunfish started getting aluminum spars about the time the fiberglass boats started coming out, so depending on the year of your boat...

I'm not sure if all of the wooden factory and kit boats switched to aluminum spars right away or if it was mix and match for a while depending on what they had in supply.
 
That's the plan. Hope to have that and the bottom painted tomorrow.
Sealed the cracks in the fiberglass with epoxy as you recommended as well.
More pics tomorrow :)
 
I have an aluminum set for now, still in search of wood, I have a lead in VT. Going natural on the deck.
I'm a natural finish gut at heart, I love wood grain.
 
Very nice, those handrails look amazing. And you're going to like that small extra bit on the skeg, the Sailfish need all the help they can get to mitigate leeway. The bigger daggerboard, 1960 or newer, is definitely a must and I think you had that worked out already.
 
Very nice, those handrails look amazing. And you're going to like that small extra bit on the skeg, the Sailfish need all the help they can get to mitigate leeway. The bigger daggerboard, 1960 or newer, is definitely a must and I think you had that worked out already.

couldn't have done it without your guidance thanks
 
Nothing is nailed down in the pics I am posting now, shiny spots are epoxy, which I used in damaged areas. Waiting a couple days for it to dry, then final sand and finish, almost there :) Thanks for the tip Signal Charlie!
 

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Standard sailfish sail, Honestly haven't looked closely at it. I saw white or off white.
Pinstripe, sure, what color is the sail? We have Fire Red accents on ZIP.
White or offr white, standard super sailfish sail, I haven't opened it up yet. Looked in the box, seemed ok.
 
I second the pinstripe... a bit more work, but it'll look sharp. Doesn't have to be white either, other colors would also look nice. You ever name the boats you bring back to life? Not in the traditional location on transom or stern, but in bold letters along the side, where all can read the name as the boat heels slightly? A name outlined in another color looks primo, check out "VOODOO CHILD" in that first link in Post #1 of my 'Laser Island Voyages' thread (photo is on the second page of the linked thread), that was a boat I was restoring for my young niece at the time. A boat should have a name, and if she doesn't have one, it's not bad luck to give her one, ya know? Changing a name, well, some believe THAT will bring bad luck, LOL. :confused:

Maybe you're simply restoring these boats to sell 'em? In which case you probably wouldn't bother with it, but if you're gonna sail this craft yourself, why NOT give her a name? Something to bring her even closer to your heart, and a way to identify with the boat... you see how Signal Charlie & Skipper name all their boats, it's a cool tradition. Not trying to wax sentimental here, but you're doing such a fine job of restoring these craft, it only seems fitting that each should be named. A small point of pride as well, almost like saying, "I BROUGHT THIS BOAT BACK TO LIFE, AND I GAVE HER THIS NAME." My Minifish was named "HEART OF DIXIE" after I restored her and converted her into a Confederate Gunboat... hull, sail & all. :rolleyes:

She remained "HEART OF DIXIE" even after further conversion into a pirate ship, then a Z-Flex/Wild West craft with a Z-Flex skateboard logo on the port side of the main, four aces and two blazing crossed six-shooters on the starboard side, LOL. In each phase, that boat was filmed & photographed by countless tourists and locals while under way, folks ashore or aboard the cattleboats in San Diego Bay. [Cattleboats = harbor excursion craft & ferries.] Moi, I was the Master of Low Profile, dressed in baggy Cabela's pants, baggy white long-sleeved T-shirt, brimmed Henschel hat or ballcap, sunglasses & goon cord, gloves, booties, etc.---me own beloved & dear departed mum wouldn't have recognized me, and I let my BOAT do all the talkin', if ya catch my drift. :cool:

Anyway, I like seeing the progress you've made on each boat, there's a certain magic in bringing boats back to life... it's almost like therapy for hands who've been around for awhile. I see that same magic & dedication in others at this website: Breeze Bender, L&VW, Signal Charlie, et al, happily bringing boats back to life, even if that process can occasionally be a PITA. Meh, work is good for the soul, and so is the restoration of old boats... particularly old sailboats, LOL. If I ever hit the Big-Time, I'm gonna buy an old wooden schooner and totally bring her back to life, just so I can pull my usual routine and let the schooner do all the talking. Probably won't cross Zuniga Jetty like I did a thousand times with my Laser & Minifish... timing the crossing of the semi-submerged jetty with an old wooden schooner would be a different proposition, and a dangerous one, LOL. :eek:

I miss crossing the jetty on my way to patrol the beach in my home town, that was always an exciting adventure. Spooky too, seeing those dark and forbidding rocks below the surface, knowing that if ya didn't correctly time your crossing you'd rip the hull open like a friggin' sardine can, LOL. Might even get hurt or die, with a strong swell running and the rocks regularly exposed---what I call "showing their teeth." But a skipper could choose his moment and commit to the crossing... if conditions were dicey, I'd hold off and work my way close to the jetty, eyeballing each swell and trying to time my crossing so I had the max amount of water under my hull as I crossed, gliding over the submerged rocks with daggerboard halfway up. If conditions were REALLY DICEY, I'd simply sail round Zuniga Point, forgoing the crossing & adding time to my voyage, no worries. But those crossings were radical, LOL... good times in those days. :D

Enough rambling and thread-jacking, it's a Sunday morning after all... nice and quiet here, just the way I like it. Weather has eased a bit too, not so friggin' hot in double digits, that run of triple-digit weather was kind of early for late spring. Meh, high temps are part of the program here in warmer months, at least we don't have the miserable humidity at this elevation. BTW, going back to those Henschel hats I mentioned earlier, those make GREAT sailing hats, though I beefed up the cord on my Advantage Camo hat from Henschel. Best brimmed sailing hat I ever had, though I'd switch to a ballcap when the small craft warning hit. Had that Henschel hat for YEARS, until one gusty day on North Bay, the wind howling and the surface chop a regular maelstrom... a powerful gust whipped my hat from my head, cord and all, and even though I quickly pulled the 'Man Overboard' drill my hat had already sunk just far enough for me to lose it. :(

TO THIS DAY, I TELL FOLKS: "POSEIDON STOLE MY HENSCHEL HAT!!!" :mad:

LOL... that was a rough day on the bay, with strong wind and spring tide in opposition and the surface chop the worst I've ever seen it in that location, which is off NASNI (Naval Air Station, North Island) right in that area where winds descending from Point Loma hit the surface hard. Most experienced sailors know that when wind crosses a landmass like Pt. Loma (roughly 425' high), it takes awhile before that breeze drops back down to the surface, but when it does, LOOK OUT!!! Same goes for the mouths of those canyons on the Point, even in the lee of the Point the wind comes BARRELING out of those canyons like an express train... and woe to the skipper who isn't prepared for each gust, that skipper will be swimming in short order, LOL. Don't ask me how I know this... I've done my share of Mark Spitz action under the Point, that was just part of the learning curve back in the day. Okay, NOW I'm done thread-jacking, CHEERS!!! ;)

P.S. Anyone who wants a decent brimmed hat for sailing or other outdoor adventures, you can find the Henschel Hat Company on the web... whenever I get around to buying another boat for these lakes in Arizona (and possibly my old stamping grounds in San Diego Bay & environs), I'm gonna order a Confederate Cavalry Officer's Hat from Henschel, just to make a statement, LOL. It'd go over well with these rednecks in the AZ boondocks, not so much with the libtards in Kalifornia, AYE? Of course, those Confederate hats have probably already been outlawed in Kalifornia... it'll be a "hate crime" to wear one, LOL. Wind up doing life in one of those privatized jails, don'tcha know? The hot new investment opportunity in Kalifornia: the privatized jail, pffffffft. Maybe I'd better wear an ANTIFA cap in Kalifornia, that way no cops will bother me, LOL. I'm outta here, and OP, KEEP UP THE GOOD RESTORATION WORK!!! :cool:
 
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I second the pinstripe... a bit more work, but it'll look sharp. Doesn't have to be white either, other colors would also look nice. You ever name the boats you bring back to life? Not in the traditional location on transom or stern, but in bold letters along the side, where all can read the name as the boat heels slightly? A name outlined in another color looks primo, check out "VOODOO CHILD" in that first link in Post #1 of my 'Laser Island Voyages' thread (photo is on the second page of the linked thread), that was a boat I was restoring for my young niece at the time. A boat should have a name, and if she doesn't have one, it's not bad luck to give her one, ya know? Changing a name, well, some believe THAT will bring bad luck, LOL. :confused:

Maybe you're simply restoring these boats to sell 'em? In which case you probably wouldn't bother with it, but if you're gonna sail this craft yourself, why NOT give her a name? Something to bring her even closer to your heart, and a way to identify with the boat... you see how Signal Charlie & Skipper name all their boats, it's a cool tradition. Not trying to wax sentimental here, but you're doing such a fine job of restoring these craft, it only seems fitting that each should be named. A small point of pride as well, almost like saying, "I BROUGHT THIS BOAT BACK TO LIFE, AND I GAVE HER THIS NAME." My Minifish was named "HEART OF DIXIE" after I restored her and converted her into a Confederate Gunboat... hull, sail & all. :rolleyes:

She remained "HEART OF DIXIE" even after further conversion into a pirate ship, then a Z-Flex/Wild West craft with a Z-Flex skateboard logo on the port side of the main, four aces and two blazing crossed six-shooters on the starboard side, LOL. In each phase, that boat was filmed & photographed by countless tourists and locals while under way, folks ashore or aboard the cattleboats in San Diego Bay. [Cattleboats = harbor excursion craft & ferries.] Moi, I was the Master of Low Profile, dressed in baggy Cabela's pants, baggy white long-sleeved T-shirt, brimmed Henschel hat or ballcap, sunglasses & goon cord, gloves, booties, etc.---me own beloved & dear departed mum wouldn't have recognized me, and I let my BOAT do all the talkin', if ya catch my drift. :cool:

Anyway, I like seeing the progress you've made on each boat, there's a certain magic in bringing boats back to life... it's almost like therapy for hands who've been around for awhile. I see that same magic & dedication in others at this website: Breeze Bender, L&VW, Signal Charlie, et al, happily bringing boats back to life, even if that process can occasionally be a PITA. Meh, work is good for the soul, and so is the restoration of old boats... particularly old sailboats, LOL. If I ever hit the Big-Time, I'm gonna buy an old wooden schooner and totally bring her back to life, just so I can pull my usual routine and let the schooner do all the talking. Probably won't cross Zuniga Jetty like I did a thousand times with my Laser & Minifish... timing the crossing of the semi-submerged jetty with an old wooden schooner would be a different proposition, and a dangerous one, LOL. :eek:

I miss crossing the jetty on my way to patrol the beach in my home town, that was always an exciting adventure. Spooky too, seeing those dark and forbidding rocks below the surface, knowing that if ya didn't correctly time your crossing you'd rip the hull open like a friggin' sardine can, LOL. Might even get hurt or die, with a strong swell running and the rocks regularly exposed---what I call "showing their teeth." But a skipper could choose his moment and commit to the crossing... if conditions were dicey, I'd hold off and work my way close to the jetty, eyeballing each swell and trying to time my crossing so I had the max amount of water under my hull as I crossed, gliding over the submerged rocks with daggerboard halfway up. If conditions were REALLY DICEY, I'd simply sail round Zuniga Point, forgoing the crossing & adding time to my voyage, no worries. But those crossings were radical, LOL... good times in those days. :D

Enough rambling and thread-jacking, it's a Sunday morning after all... nice and quiet here, just the way I like it. Weather has eased a bit too, not so friggin' hot in double digits, that run of triple-digit weather was kind of early for late spring. Meh, high temps are part of the program here in warmer months, at least we don't have the miserable humidity at this elevation. BTW, going back to those Henschel hats I mentioned earlier, those make GREAT sailing hats, though I beefed up the cord on my Advantage Camo hat from Henschel. Best brimmed sailing hat I ever had, though I'd switch to a ballcap when the small craft warning hit. Had that Henschel hat for YEARS, until one gusty day on North Bay, the wind howling and the surface chop a regular maelstrom... a powerful gust whipped my hat from my head, cord and all, and even though I quickly pulled the 'Man Overboard' drill my hat had already sunk just far enough for me to lose it. :(

TO THIS DAY, I TELL FOLKS: "POSEIDON STOLE MY HENSCHEL HAT!!!" :mad:

LOL... that was a rough day on the bay, with strong wind and spring tide in opposition and the surface chop the worst I've ever seen it in that location, which is off NASNI (Naval Air Station, North Island) right in that area where winds descending from Point Loma hit the surface hard. Most experienced sailors know that when wind crosses a landmass like Pt. Loma (roughly 425' high), it takes awhile before that breeze drops back down to the surface, but when it does, LOOK OUT!!! Same goes for the mouths of those canyons on the Point, even in the lee of the Point the wind comes BARRELING out of those canyons like an express train... and woe to the skipper who isn't prepared for each gust, that skipper will be swimming in short order, LOL. Don't ask me how I know this... I've done my share of Mark Spitz action under the Point, that was just part of the learning curve back in the day. Okay, NOW I'm done thread-jacking, CHEERS!!! ;)

P.S. Anyone who wants a decent brimmed hat for sailing or other outdoor adventures, you can find the Henschel Hat Company on the web... whenever I get around to buying another boat for these lakes in Arizona (and possibly my old stamping grounds in San Diego Bay & environs), I'm gonna order a Confederate Cavalry Officer's Hat from Henschel, just to make a statement, LOL. It'd go over well with these rednecks in the AZ boondocks, not so much with the libtards in Kalifornia, AYE? Of course, those Confederate hats have probably already been outlawed in Kalifornia... it'll be a "hate crime" to wear one, LOL. Wind up doing life in one of those privatized jails, don'tcha know? The hot new investment opportunity in Kalifornia: the privatized jail, pffffffft. Maybe I'd better wear an ANTIFA cap in Kalifornia, that way no cops will bother me, LOL. I'm outta here, and OP, KEEP UP THE GOOD RESTORATION WORK!!! :cool:

While stripping her, under about 4 coats of paint, I found her original name, FLOTSAM, I'm going with that. The 57 Sunfish, which is my next project has no name so far, I will probably name her JETSAM, seems like they go together somehow. LOL Thanks for the cheerleading. My dream since I* was a kid was to restore old wooden boats, it's a love thing. I'm 62 and I think I have begun. Thanks for the kind words. Chuck
 
Ah, that's right, I remember reading that somewhere... and the two names would go together famously, LOL. :)

I'm not that far behind you in age, so I sometimes suffer from CRS... especially with everything going on in this crazy modern world. :confused:

To me, boat restoration was always similar to technical rock climbing, in the sense that each activity kept me focused. :rolleyes:

That sort of focus was a good thing back in the day... now it's a regular blessing, LOL. ;)

Thanks again for sharing the projects, they are heller cool and they generate positive thoughts... :D

Good karma brings its own rewards... CHEERS!!! :cool:
 
Cactus Cowboy said: “There’s a certain magic in bringing boats back to life... it's almost like therapy for hands who've been around for awhile. I see that same magic & dedication in others at this website: Breeze Bender, L&VW, Signal Charlie, et al, happily bringing boats back to life, even if that process can occasionally be a PITA. Meh, work is good for the soul, and so is the restoration of old boats... particularly old sailboats, LOL.”

Thanks for the mention, Cactus Cowboy! I agree completely, working with your hands and messing about with boats is good for the soul. I work in healthcare and lately my Sunfish and Minifish projects have kept me grounded when it feels like the world around us has become so unstable. The Sunfish has changed very little in 60+ years. Nature and great music are my other grounding tools. Combining the three is ideal!
 
Yeah, I hear ya about staying grounded... I'm glad I live in the boondocks, surrounded by nature & wildlife. No rioting or looting going on, folks wouldn't put up with that for long here... these rednecks are well-armed too, many of 'em are ex-service members like myself, others are ranchers & farmers who grew up with firearms. Funny thing is, there's virtually no crime here, any would-be perps know they'll get shot pronto, and that's not an idle statement... I'm serious as a heart attack, LOL. Good news is: as long as you're not committing crime, you're good to go! Pretty simple code, really... :rolleyes:

After waiting for several weeks, I FINALLY received my authorization letter from the TSA, now I have to see about putting the HazMat endorsement BACK onto my CDL-A. I'm gonna call this morning and set up an appointment, the sooner I get that endorsement, the sooner I can see about hauling chemicals to mines in this area... not a bad gig, since there isn't much traffic on these scenic highways & byways in southeastern Arizona. So that's my mission for this morning, I'm really hoping to get back to work soon; a few short months ago, I never expected to be in this situation, but sometimes life throws ya a curve... :confused:

I'M OFF TO MAKE THAT CALL... Y'ALL BE GOOD & STAY OUTTA TROUBLE, LOL. ;)
 
Yes, she looks good... many of us who work on boat restorations tend to be perfectionists, but the reality is that NOBODY will notice those tiny flaws from any distance on the water, LOL. I used to get gripped over a tiny scratch in the paint or varnish or whatever... believe me, NOBODY will ever notice it. How ya sail that boat, THAT is far more important in the grand scheme of things... but of course, we'll make things right if we can, LOL. :rolleyes:
 
2nd coat done. Rub Rails installed per signal charlie's advice.
 

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Thanks!
getting there, should be done next week :)
Hopefully the following week , I'll see how she sails
Then the Sunfish begins, also have to replace a strut in the FOLBOT, winter damage :(
 
Just rigged my minifish, Going to take her out tomorrow. First time sailing in 35 years.
Hope I don't spend all day turtled lol
I definitely need better rope for the mast but, this should work for now.
I think it will work. Anything wrong?
 

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