Fell for a Pretty Face

Breeze Bender

Breeze Bender
The hull looked clean, the price was right, but it was the North sail, so colorful and fun, that caught my eye in the ad. I hadn’t seen this color combo before, either!

Both seller and I were on tight schedules, so I didn’t rig the boat when I got there. The guy kept telling me that everything was perfect (*a sure sign to check things over!)
The pretty sail was wrapped around the spars. He delivered the boat for a very fair price.
I know it’s ‘buyer beware’ and I should have known better, but when I sell something I always disclose any issues. This guy clearly hid a big problem. Check out the end of the spar! It is toast. He hid this under the wrapped sail.
I can cut the end off and fit this to a Minifish sail, and I have another set of spars, but my great deal didn’t turn out as great as I’d thought:(
Moral of the story: Take your time to check things over thoroughly and don’t just fall for a pretty face!
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Ahhh, but you fell for a Sunfish. It's always okay to fall for a Sunfish.

One alarm bell for us is when the sail is rigged wrong, on the wrong side of the mast. Now of course as Pickers we hope that the price is awesome and the sellers don't realize they have an $800 boat vs the $500 they are asking.

If someone is buying a boat like that for personal use and $$$ are tight, they could swap that spar end to end, or dowel it, and she would sail fine. A new interlocking spar eyebolt should be obtained. The bolt ends should be trimmed, especially the lower bolt, so it does not scratch the deck. We would also add an outhaul cap and put that on the lower spar, with the outhaul tab down, so the tab acts as a bumper instead of the bolt/nut.

Back to being Pickers/Flippers, we would swap ot the rig for better spars and whatever other parts to sell a "Just Add Water" boat, one that we would put our Granddaughter on. We know at least $200 will be added to the invoice for a new bow handle, bailer, lines and a few other geegaws.

Now back to model railroading....new layout benchwork wrapping up...

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...and the Nutshell Pram build....scratch build of modified daggerboard trunk to accept a 1950s Sunfish daggerboard, new trunk cut from sapele mahogany solids and sapele plywood...

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BB,

You can actually repair that chewed up boom. If you have another bent Sunfish boom, cut a proper straight length of the donor boom, cut off the damaged section shown in your photo and join the two sections with a length (maybe 12") of wood dowel and secure with epoxy and a few stainless screws. When the epoxy has cured, grind or file the screw heads flush with the outside of boom sections. I would not make such a repair mid-boom, but at the end, it will work fine. If you dont have a donor section of boom, E-mail me and I will mail you one, no charge - you pay postage. Specify length.

Alan Glos
[email protected]
 
BB,

You can actually repair that chewed up boom. If you have another bent Sunfish boom, cut a proper straight length of the donor boom, cut off the damaged section shown in your photo and join the two sections with a length (maybe 12") of wood dowel and secure with epoxy and a few stainless screws. When the epoxy has cured, grind or file the screw heads flush with the outside of boom sections. I would not make such a repair mid-boom, but at the end, it will work fine. If you dont have a donor section of boom, E-mail me and I will mail you one, no charge - you pay postage. Specify length.

Alan Glos
[email protected]
That’s a repair and a deal I’d love to accept, Alan! No charge?
I guess Signal Charlie is right, you can’t go wrong with a Sunfish- or this community!
I think I’d cut off about 3.5”.
I will send you an email now. Thanks for the tip, Alan- eh, both tips!
 

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Ahhh, but you fell for a Sunfish. It's always okay to fall for a Sunfish.

One alarm bell for us is when the sail is rigged wrong, on the wrong side of the mast. Now of course as Pickers we hope that the price is awesome and the sellers don't realize they have an $800 boat vs the $500 they are asking.

If someone is buying a boat like that for personal use and $$$ are tight, they could swap that spar end to end, or dowel it, and she would sail fine. A new interlocking spar eyebolt should be obtained. The bolt ends should be trimmed, especially the lower bolt, so it does not scratch the deck. We would also add an outhaul cap and put that on the lower spar, with the outhaul tab down, so the tab acts as a bumper instead of the bolt/nut.

Back to being Pickers/Flippers, we would swap ot the rig for better spars and whatever other parts to sell a "Just Add Water" boat, one that we would put our Granddaughter on. We know at least $200 will be added to the invoice for a new bow handle, bailer, lines and a few other geegaws.

I’m going the dowel route, thanks to our friend Alan
You’re right,SC, he had me at Sunfish.
the bow handle and bailer are like new. She’s a little overweight but aren’t we all? I’m debating whether to add ports. Leak test is next and I know two suspect areas. Here’s the stern- note two rivets are all the way through the trim and are not proper size- evidence of a previous poorly done repair. These are little things that I saw and can easily repair after leak test.
 

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I'm guilty of buying things because I like the way they look, for sure. Operating on pragmatism can go out the window if I'm visually attracted to something. On a different note, I like how Signal Charlie slipped in his model railroad benchwork, I love N scale!
 
That all the damage you got Breeze Bender? She's a creampuff.

We have ideas on trim/rivet repair, but want to hear BreezeB's approach first.
 
How are you going to repair the trim above the gudgeon?

Just curious how our approaches would differ. ;)
I plan to do a leak test first. If there’s a leak at the hull/deck seam I’ll drill out the section of trim using a 1/8” drill bit (careful not to drill through the bottom trim), then clean out the seam and use a syringe to inject Flexpoxy or Six10 into the seam and clamp it down. Might lower the bow first so gravity keeps the epoxy in place.
I’ll replace the wrong rivets and the missing stern trim rivets with the proper ones I have in my supplies- aluminum 1/8”d x 3/16”g
 
That all the damage you got Breeze Bender? She's a creampuff.

We have ideas on trim/rivet repair, but want to hear BreezeB's approach first.
Well, that’s not ALL the damage, SC. More concerning is the bottom of the daggerboard trunk, which is the main suspect for the excess weight, but nothing that can’t be fixed!
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Fantastic approach BreezeB! If there is popped trim then there is the possibility of a popped seam, so your approach keeps folks from doing double work. D"Do the bubble work before the double work." (Copyright 07 May 22: Signal Charlie)

You may surprised, as we were, as to how much water can run off a deck and into the hull through a popped seam. We had a heavt resto, popped seam on the bow. Daggerboard trunk, bailer seam, etc...all in great shape. That little or large trickle of water doesn't know "Oh, I shouldn't go in there..."

The Flexpoxy doesn't run. You could put a blob on your shirt and it would be there all day, ask me how I know. Now when it gets in Skipper's hair, that's when you need to bow down, fast.

Bonus question 1: What is the purpose(s) of the trim?
Bonus question 2: What is the maximum airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
 
Bonus question 1: What is the purpose(s) of the trim?
It mostly acts as a bumper; however, once you have one-foot piece of Sunfish trim in your hand, you want to say, "This is a dang dagger!" :eek:

You definitely want to fix any loose trim-piece right away or risk injury through misadventure.

The trim is a robust strengthening armament to protect the relatively fragile fiberglass seam. ("Robust" to spread the load from a collision).
 
As for the repair, I'd assume that the rivets were sheared, so would "reinvent" the seam holes with THIXO.

I'd Vise-Grip a piece of metal to the gudgeon to press the trim back into alignment, fill the seam area with THIXO, allow to cure, re-drill the fiberglass holes, and replace the pop-rivets.

Some prior straightening of trim may be necessary using leverage and ingenuity...
:cool:
 
Finally spread out the sail yesterday and discovered both boom ends were shot. Not sure how they got so ugly when there is no corrosion anywhere else on the booms or the mast. I used an old hacksaw with a dull blade and cut the ends off. New end pieces are from a set of spars I cut down for a Minifish.
Got a nice oak dowel at Lowes and cut two 1’ sections. Tomorrow I should have time to epoxy and screw the new sections in place.
 

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Nunchucks! You have to be careful though, they're illegal in Massachusetts so definitely don't bring them over the border.
Ha! That’s exactly what I thought of, danpal! My brothers used to make nunchucks in school (Industrial Arts) when we were kids. They’d also make deadly sharp metal stars that were thrown into a wooden target but could easily maim someone. I’m sure it wasn’t part of the curriculum! As a girl, I had to take Home Economics and learn how to sew. Now I’m making up for lost time.
 
The hull looked clean, the price was right, but it was the North sail, so colorful and fun, that caught my eye in the ad. I hadn’t seen this color combo before, either!

Both seller and I were on tight schedules, so I didn’t rig the boat when I got there. The guy kept telling me that everything was perfect (*a sure sign to check things over!)
The pretty sail was wrapped around the spars. He delivered the boat for a very fair price.
I know it’s ‘buyer beware’ and I should have known better, but when I sell something I always disclose any issues. This guy clearly hid a big problem. Check out the end of the spar! It is toast. He hid this under the wrapped sail.
I can cut the end off and fit this to a Minifish sail, and I have another set of spars, but my great deal didn’t turn out as great as I’d thought:(
Moral of the story: Take your time to check things over thoroughly and don’t just fall for a pretty face!
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Beautiful sail... I bought an identical one on the forum last year and still use it. :)
 
Update: I put ‘new’ ends on the crusty boom, using 1’ sections of dowel, epoxy and stainless screws. I’m completely confident in the strength of the repair, but don’t think I’ll use this set with this boat afterall. I have a nicer set and this boat is more than a beach banger (AG). There was also a significant bend in the upper spar (see first pic). This is another thing I would have noticed had I taken my time when I bought the boat. I tried to straighten it with the ‘Y’ of a tree method with no success. Then I placed the spar with the bend centered between two saw horses and was able to put my weight into it and it straightened perfectly.
After a leak test I found two split seams, as suspected, where rivets were missing or replaced with the wrong size. All the dirt and crud under the aluminum trim shows where water easily entered the hull. I cleaned out the seam, sanded, applied Six-10 and clamped it down. Trim has now been put back in place with proper rivets.
I haven’t weighed the boat, but it definitely has a few extra pounds. I can lift it and turn it over by myself, my usual gauge, but it’s heavy.
I think I can get away with one port.
Waiting for that to arrive, so I cut a small hole in the stern to get things going. I’m using the deck drain as the second port. I cut the hole and scooped out about 5 lbs of damp foam before finding the white blocks and an opening for the air flow. When the port arrives I’ll enlarge the hole and put a shop light in for heat. I’ll cover in black plastic, too, and give this boat coveted garage space on rainy days. A couple minor fiberglass repairs to make and this one will be ready to sell as soon as it’s dry and sea trialed!
 

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Great work and pics! Is your fan exhausting or intaking? I wonder if it matters...

But most importantly, kudos on the proper citation to AG for "beach banger."

Get her sold and you'll have room for that Sailfish :) ...trying to lure you over to the dark woodenboat side...but you've been there before I believe. Standard Sailfish easier to lift than the Sunfish, 92ish pounds...
 
Fan is exhausting, air coming out of open deck drain, my ‘mini port’
I am somewhat tempted by that wooden Sailfish, but yes, I have been there before- twice. My first wooden one was a beauty- the one I’m sailing in my profile pic. It was crushed by a large tree limb. I didn’t have the skills to repair it, and sadly it was parted out. My second Sailfish took a lot of time and effort. There were so many small leaks! I sold it, unpainted and in need of finish work.
Guess I’m intimidated by the wooden boats, though I have two wooden prams, next in line for flipping. Currently I need only two hands to count all my boats. With only so much space I need to keep my numbers to under 10!
But maybe I’ll take a look at that Sailfish ad one more time…
 
I have a Nutshell 7.7 and a Norwegian pram (not nesting), both with full sail rigs. One protected on my front porch to greet friends and neighbors, the other safe under a tarp and on sawhorses in back.
But that’s not what boats were built for!
 

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I put a 4” Beckson port (I like the clear covers) in the stern a couple weeks ago, but it wasn’t until yesterday that I got around to putting black plastic garbage bags over the deck. I tipped the boat bow up and the fan continues to exhaust, the open deck drain (and even tiny vent hole) act as the other ‘ports’. Definitely heating up! Pic shows a tiny amount of water sits in stern after 12 hours. Meanwhile, second coat of spar poly applied to daggerboard and rudder. I ‘tipped’ the dagger end with epoxy before poly.
Waiting on bow stop, retrieval line, trailer brackets and bunk carpeting next. If all works out the bunks will lay flat with tilt bracket (not on edge as they are in photo)
I don’t enjoy working on trailers nearly as much as I do boats!
 

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