fiberglass daggerboard and squall line

mixmkr

Well-Known Member
Had a thrilling ride today in my '69 Sunfish. The last mile or so was downhill with a 20+ mph winds with gusts, as a squall line was coming on quick. Flew like the dickens whizzing over the white caps and closely spaced waves. Since sailing in the direction of the waves as well, made for some nice moments... most notably looking not to "death roll"!.

On another topic my original, 69 wood daggerboard that I had lengthened by about a foot, (trying to sail higher??) will go into retirement. I've totally realized my new fiberglass daggerboard is much superior in many ways, most noticeable in being able to point higher. That was a big deal for me, tacking backing into straight headwinds sometimes, going back thru my cove to the launch ramp at the end. I also believe it is helping in tacking and acceleration...and all that good stuff, I'm trying to convince myself of.

Anyrate...great day....with a whopper of a sailboat ride and a daggerboard "moment".
 
I have a 72 Sunfish that I have upgraded to the new rudder, new sail, etc. I race it, but not supercompetitively (I am 62 years old). How much does a fiberglass daggerboard cost, and was it really worth it? I'd like to be able to point higher as well.

Thanks
Mike
 
Intensity has them for $169. I'd guess I got almost about 10 degrees more and can tack thru at 100 degrees maybe without excessive pinching
 
Hi Lafayette Mike,

I have a 71 Sunfish and as much as I like tradition and varnished mahogany blades, I like the new daggerboard more. I found the performance improvement so great that if I hadn’t experienced it myself, I would have said people were making it up. They weren’t.

Good luck.
 
HaHa, Mixmkr, those downhill sled rides are good for an adrenaline boost, the boat tearing along at phenomenal speed as you try to keep her flat… all the while knowing that if ya make one error in judgement, the dreaded death roll will be upon ya in Guinness World Record time!!! :eek:

The part that gets one's heart racing is when the boat starts rocking slightly from side to side while streaking across the surface, particularly when the skipper is trying to dodge the worst of the whitecaps, LOL... gotta really watch the sail & live ballast trim in moments like those. :rolleyes:

And ya know that rocking is merely the precursor to the dreaded death roll... gotta get it in hand or you'll be going for a swim, pronto. Might stress test some sail gear too if the death roll happens at speed, stress the spars and mast step in the bargain... LOL. :confused:

DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW THIS... CAN'T REMEMBER HOW MANY TINNIES I'VE SPILLED IN THE COCKPIT ONCE THE BOAT TOOK OFF ON A PLANE, AYE??? BETTER A BEER FOOTBATH THAN A DEATH ROLL AT SPEED & TOTAL IMMERSION, I RECKON. :D

MEH, THE PATH TO NAUTICAL GLORY IS LITTERED WITH DEAD SOLDIERS... SOME DIE VALIANTLY, OTHERS NOT SO MUCH, LOL. ;)
 
Lafayette Mike

The first roll tack you do with the new board and the boat does not side slip after the tack, like it does with the wood board you will be sold.
 
Just bought one....thanks.....Can't wait to be "tearing along at phenomenal speed as you try to keep her flat… all the while knowing that if ya make one error in judgement, the dreaded death roll will be upon ya in Guinness World Record time.........rocking slightly from side to side while streaking across the surface, ......trying to dodge the worst of the whitecaps" :D:D:D:D
 
The rocking (and death rolling) that Ghost Rider so eloquently describes is more typical of a Laser than a Sunfish.
Not that you don't need to pay attention going downwind in big breeze...
 
The rocking (and death rolling) that Ghost Rider so eloquently describes is more typical of a Laser than a Sunfish.
Not that you don't need to pay attention going downwind in big breeze...
I own a Laser (clone) as well, so I assumed he was being a little "over descriptive". :):):) When the wind is really blowing, the Laser stays on shore, and we go Sunfish sailing! I prefer the Sunfish to the Laser in almost every condition.........

Mike
 
Er... guilty as charged. I owned a Laser for decades, a Minifish for several years, so when Mixmkr's post brought back memories, naturally they were associated with Laser #2069. :cool:

As for being "over descriptive"---MOI??? Well, I never, LOL. ;)
 
When you have a 30 kt gust at your back...Im doing all I can not to spill my rootbeer. :). On Ky Lake...the wave patterns get a tad squirrelly too, when the wind pivots ...
and they get tightly bunched too
 
I own a Laser (clone) as well, so I assumed he was being a little "over descriptive". :):):) When the wind is really blowing, the Laser stays on shore, and we go Sunfish sailing! I prefer the Sunfish to the Laser in almost every condition.........

Mike


Meh, maybe I should add that when the wind is howling off Point Loma and an ebb tide is kicking up wicked surface chop, a true Laser will ALWAYS outsail a Fish... there's no contest. :confused:

Of course, that surface chop has a lot to do with it, that chop gets pretty nasty off the Point, and I'm not even factoring in drastic wind shifts... when all that goes on simultaneously, that area near Ralph's & Little Waimea gets downright dangerous. :eek:

No matter which craft you sail, you'll never get soaked faster than you will under those conditions. Having said that, my Minifish performed beautifully while reaching on the Salton Sea with the wind gusting well over 20 knots. :D

Surface chop on the Salton is quite nasty too, since the lake lies in a shallow desert pan and the greatest depth is only around 8 or 9 fathoms. The peaks & caps on Salton surface chop are some of the steepest & nastiest I've ever seen, gotta steer clear of the worst... :rolleyes:

Now that I think of it, whenever my Laser was slogging through some heller chop off the Point, I never saw any Sunfish out there... owners were probably still in the bar at the clubhouse, the boats still on their racks or trailers, LOL. ;)
 
Found a video of that same area off the Point, this was taken on a calm day with a moderate swell running:


Funny how peaceful it looks here... when the wind is howling and an opposing ebb tide (spring, not neap) is kicking up nasty chop, this area becomes an absolute maelstrom. :confused:

Better yet, let's bust out the description and call it a seething cauldron, LOL. ;) :eek: ;)
 

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