exposed foam

[SteveJ]

Hello All,

This may seem ridiculous but here goes. I'm just learning to sail and I picked up an old Sears Whirlwind (looks like a Sunfish to me). It cost almost nothing and the sail and topside is in great shape but there's no covering on the bottom of the boat; just foam. The plastic covering below the trim (water line), is completely removed.

Can I create a new cover by using epoxy, fiberglass, or something that will harden over the foam rather than melt it? I found something called vanillacryl which -might- work. Has anybody every done anything like this?

Thank you,
Steve

 

[Porpoise2]

"...Can I create a new cover by using epoxy, fiberglass, or something that will harden over the foam rather than melt it? I found something called vanillacryl which -might- work. Has anybody every done anything like this...?"

Epoxy (West® System) would work, and you'd have a very strong hull when finished. But you'd have 'way too much money in the job, and not a have a particularly smooth and symmetrical hull when finished. Count yourself lucky you got the rigging and sails cheaply.

OTOH, there are plenty of used Sunfish around with bad sails (torn, stained, squirrels, bats).

Put an ad in your local paper for "Used Sunfish sailboat wanted—condition unimportant". With any luck, you'll get a bad sail—but a good hull! Even if the topside is bad, you can peel the top and bottom apart and epoxy your two good halves together.

(I'd throw out the foam inside anyway and replace it with new foam or other floatation—keeping in mind that the foam is part of the structure that strengthens the topsides.)

P2
Wolfeboro

 

[DanB]

Weren't those boats made for Sears by Snark? Might be the boat was just foam like the early Snark boats. As I recall they looked like a $1.99 beer cooler with a sail. Contact the Snark people and see what they suggest is compatible for foam.

 

[Fred P]

I think Dan is right about there being just foam on the bottom hull. Unless you see evidence of the removal of a bottom covering he's correct. I remember seeing those boats at Sears and I'm pretty sure there was only foam. Do a Google on the boat name or check with the Snark people and maybe you'll see a pic.

Fred

 

[Fred P]

FYI from Wickipedia:

The Snark is a lightweight lateen rigged sailboat. The early Snarks had Styrofoam hulls. Later versions have a Styrofoam hull clad inside and out with a layer of ABS. At fifty pounds, eleven feet long with a thirty-eight inch beam, these boats are easy to transport, easy to sail, and unsinkable, a good choice for a beginner or day sailing.

Fred

 

[SteveJ]

Thanks for all the feeback!

I can see little pieces of broken plastic sticking out from between the transom and the foam, so it did have something.

I gouged the foam just putting it on top of the car to get it home, so I'm going to try and coat it with something.

I saw this stuff and it looked ideal, but it sounds like it might leave a porous skin:
foamcoat

 

[DanB]

Just an aside to this thread. It's sort of a joke that Snark were unsinkable. The material is unsinkable, true, but I remember seeing the shore littered with chunks of these boats after a weekend. I think when the wind came up or the waves rose above dead calm those hulls liked to disintigrate into bits. They continued to float per se, but didn't seem to provide much for continuing to float their occupants.

Steve, I think you will be better in the long run to spend your money on something more substantial rather than chasing after ways to make this boat something it isn't. Of course, we are all guessing based on your written description. A photo would help to dispell further speculation.

 

[SteveJ]

Here it is:

If that doesn't work here's a link

 

[Wayne]

Looks very similar to the Snark Sunflower

 

[Fred P]

If you're just learning to sail, use it as is to get some experience on the water and learn the basics.
After that, do what Dan said and get yourself a used Sunfish and you'll be ahead of the game. Anything you do to the Whirlwind is iffy and time and money consuming. You'll never regret the Sunfish.

Fred

 

[Porpoise2]

"...Weren't those boats made for Sears by Snark? Might be the boat was just foam like the early Snark boats. As I recall they looked like a $1.99 beer cooler with a sail..."

Oh yeah.

I've "Snarked" before, and exposed Styrofoam® was the case.

Fred's right: A Sunfish is the way to go, but I even liked sailing the Snark!

(Heck, I'd sail a swim raft).