Favorite Sunfish Design

jleonard99

Sunny Sailor
If anyone would like to comment what is there favorite, design, color, and manufacturer of the Sunfish, it would be interesting to see what everyone likes. Pictures of favorites are encouraged as well as why it is your favorite. I look forward to seeing the interesting discussion and comments on this subject.
 
I have always been a fan of the green striped sunfish, although I have never had one. That is one of the ones I would like to have. I like the vintage design, as they have the classic look to them, but the rolled edges are a nice feature for picking up the boat. The solid color yellow and light blue ones I find very cool looking as well, with their bright look. For sails, I prefer bright colors, as they attract attention on the water. Mahogany rudder and daggerboards are nice, as it makes the boat unique. One advantage of the newer ones that I like is that on the sides of the cockpit there are more of a groove grip type thing. I saw a picture of a wood sunfish a while back and that is probably one of the dream boats. Now that I think about it, all of the sunfish are beautiful, I do not think they made any bad ones. I am sure some people have done cool custom painted jobs on their boats. I will post pictures of my boat after I upload them to my computer.
 
I am sure some people have done cool custom painted jobs on their boats.
I actually haven't seen all that many and am kinda surprised. I think I might have posted a thread awhile back about just that...custom paint jobs. Look at some of the surfboards. You Californian fishers are letting us down!! :) How about some "graffiti" boats?
 
I actually haven't seen all that many and am kinda surprised. I think I might have posted a thread awhile back about just that...custom paint jobs. Look at some of the surfboards. You Californian fishers are letting us down!! :) How about some "graffiti" boats?
Out of all the sunfish I have seen, most of them have been in peoples yards and just covered with pine needles, mildew, and surrounded by overgrowth :(. I wish they would just put them on craigslist so they could be enjoyed and cleaned up. The next one I see like this I will go give a knock on the door and see if they want to get rid of it or sell it, maybe we will see more people sailing if the people who wanted them could access them on my lake for the most part. I hope in other areas people who have them use them more than where I live. But to get off my rant, I have seen one graffiti designed sunfish. It had a blue top with with white electric bolts. Hope that boat wouldn't get stuck in a storm or it could lead to a shocking situation;)
 
Most marinas have more than their share of negleted boats....out of sight, out of mind. You'd think a slip fee notice or insurance payment would draw attention.....but.... Sunfish are almost ...or are...disposable due to the sheer numbers and low pricing. A 35 ft, older $65k sailboat....hhmmm
 
Most marinas have more than their share of negleted boats....out of sight, out of mind. You'd think a slip fee notice or insurance payment would draw attention.....but.... Sunfish are almost ...or are...disposable due to the sheer numbers and low pricing. A 35 ft, older $65k sailboat....hhmmm
What color is your boat?
 
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These are old pics too. Tiller updated, splash guard re-gelcoated, new deck hardware, running rigging...
 
The marina boats are often abandoned. If you visit a few marinas there will
be boat free for the taking. The trouble is the lein process and the how much
the neglect has ruined the value. Funny thing about fiberglass boats is that
it's the interior that suffers water damage. Your free boat may just be a fiberglass
shell. That being said diligence may land a deal. Remember the saying, "The second
happiest day of my life was when I bought my new boat and the First happiest
day is when I sold it."

There was a green Sunfish for sail on craigslist on Higgins lake in Michigan. Personally
I like the Blue Sunfish as it was the one I sailed in College. So I got another
Blue Sunfish who's previous owner said they sailed it while in College. Now to
find a Red Sunfish as that was my second one I owned.
 
I typed in "Sundish sailvoat" into Google to see what colors had been offered. Google automatically corrected my spelling off my microscopic cellphone keyboard. :cool:

Now I'm thinking my "borrowed" Sunfish was a blue one. I appreciate the darker colors as a practical matter, as the glare off the deck does "get" to me--especially if I forget my sunglasses. My three Sunfish all have white decks :confused: but painting their decks gray or black (to protect my vision) would reduce their resale value. :(

Red coloration in boats and cars of the 1970s were especially subject to fading from the sun, and likely to be a high maintenance item unless repainted with "newer reds".

There couldn't be more colors in my new Intensity sail, but it doesn't seem to matter to all the nearsighted speedboaters we've got around here. :rolleyes:
 
The marina boats are often abandoned. If you visit a few marinas there will
be boat free for the taking. The trouble is the lein process and the how much
the neglect has ruined the value. Funny thing about fiberglass boats is that
it's the interior that suffers water damage. Your free boat may just be a fiberglass
shell. That being said diligence may land a deal. Remember the saying, "The second
happiest day of my life was when I bought my new boat and the First happiest
day is when I sold it."

There was a green Sunfish for sail on craigslist on Higgins lake in Michigan. Personally
I like the Blue Sunfish as it was the one I sailed in College. So I got another
Blue Sunfish who's previous owner said they sailed it while in College. Now to
find a Red Sunfish as that was my second one I owned.
I will have to call the marina when I get back in town then. They have a summer sailing camp, but I hear they are always updating the boats, so they may have a few old ones they would like to get rid of. The blue is nice as well as the green. Do you prefer solid paint color on the top or the white with stripes?
 
I typed in "Sundish sailvoat" into Google to see what colors had been offered. Google automatically corrected my spelling off my microscopic cellphone keyboard. :cool:

Now I'm thinking my "borrowed" Sunfish was a blue one. I appreciate the darker colors as a practical matter, as the glare off the deck does "get" to me--especially if I forget my sunglasses. My three Sunfish all have white decks :confused: but painting their decks gray or black (to protect my vision) would reduce their resale value. :(

Red coloration in boats and cars of the 1970s were especially subject to fading from the sun, and likely to be a high maintenance item unless repainted with "newer reds".

There couldn't be more colors in my new Intensity sail, but it doesn't seem to matter to all the nearsighted speedboaters we've got around here. :rolleyes:
Phone keyboards are definitely small, I prefer typing on the keyboard much more, but autocorrect is a nice feature sometimes. I never thought of it, but you are completely right about the darker colors not being as blinding. My current sunfish the 2007 Vanguard has the light blue stripe running all the way down it, and on both sides of it the paint is more of a grayish white tint, it helps a lot with the blinding affect. The only thing about a black deck for me in South Carolina where it is pretty hot, the black paint would be quite painful to sit on. Auto body sports car red may be a fun color for a Sunfish. Some of the speed boaters and jet skiers on my lake are either blind or just not educated on the subject of sailboats, or other boats for that matter. Ive had them come straight at me before, in most cases when the wind is dead and I am not able to move or turn, I just sit there and prepare to jump off. Luckily I have not had to experience the jumping part.
 
Black decks would be regretfull...even grey. Even though the sunfish is a wet boat, dark decks get uncomfortably hot. Reds and deep blues oxidize faster than other colors but can be sanded and buffed out too as it ages
 
Black decks would be regretfull...even grey. Even though the sunfish is a wet boat, dark decks get uncomfortably hot. Reds and deep blues oxidize faster than other colors but can be sanded and buffed out too as it ages
What color would look really cool on a sunfish, I might try something neat.
 
What color would look really cool on a sunfish, I might try something neat.
Some shade of pink might make a manly statement. :-D

I always liked the 60's phycedelic stuff.....Google Eric Clapton's SG guitar or Hendrix's Gibson flying V
 
Some shade of pink might make a manly statement. :-D

I always liked the 60's phycedelic stuff.....Google Eric Clapton's SG guitar or Hendrix's Gibson flying V
Great idea. I like that stuff to, John Lennon pyscadelic rolls Royce was pretty cool.
 
My current sunfish the 2007 Vanguard has the light blue stripe running all the way down it, and on both sides of it the paint is more of a grayish white tint,

That isn't paint, it's gel coat, as is the blue stripe and the white bottom. All Sunfish come from the factory in gel coated - no paint involved.

I am sure L and VW will point out wooden boats were painted, but there haven't been wood Sunfish in 50+ years so I left them out.
 

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