Another "MC" Sunfish. Great to see another Michigander on a Sunfish. What lakes do you sail?
Funny/crazy story about Muskegon Lake… I sailed that lake one Father’s Day a few years ago. After I finished sailing and was driving back to our campsite, I called my father to tell him “happy Father’s Day” - and that’s when he told me about the time when he was growing up (1950’s or so) and his dad, my grandpa, would go fishing in the early spring. They lived near Scottville and Ludington, but that early spring day my grandpa drove down to fish on Muskegon Lake.
So as my grandpa paddled his boat along and was fishing, he found a dead body floating in the lake. I think my dad said grandpa towed/dragged it to shore and then drove into town to get the police to come investigate. They figured it was likely an ice fisherman that fell through the ice and drowned.
I haven’t sailed there since!
….. She's sitting upside down now on some supports, wrapped in black landscaping fabric, to try to get some water out….
If there are not any inspection ports, this isn’t going to help much. Not much airflow thru the little drain holes.
Yikes. Two bodies!!One of my dad's co-workers found a body while fishing in Muskegon Lake...
And another Cranberry Lake in White Lake Township. (42.6560300, -83.4809120). Your Cranberry Lake is about a mile long. With the prevailing westerlies in Michigan, you should have perfect wind for long N/S reaches most of the time.I wouldn't go so far as to call what I do "sailing"...
Grew up in Muskegon (well, Norton Shores) and sailed occasionally on Muskegon Lake 30+ years ago.
Picked up this Sunfish after 30+ years of no sailing to use at our cottage on Cranberry Lake in Harrison (Clare County).
That would be the Cranberry Lake next to Budd Lake (44.058271756008885, -84.74328956387117)
...as opposed to the Cranberry Lake near the Clam River (44.16336395779166, -84.97815094049899), or the Cranberry Lake off 10 by the Mystic River YMCA camp (43.883024135475914, -85.03902852047928).
Yes... there really are THREE Cranberry Lakes in Clare County.
Yikes. Two bodies!!
My wife and I sailed our 71 Sunfish (Ruby) on Muskegon Lake four years ago late September and discovered the ferry boat that goes between Muskegon and Chicago. It creates a massive wake. The two of us were sailing and all the sudden her face turned white as she’s looking aft at the big wake coming at us. Fortunately that gave me time to adjust our direction so as not to be capsized by that massive wake. Otherwise, we had a great time sailing Muskegon Lake. No bodies discovered.
And another Cranberry Lake in White Lake Township. (42.6560300, -83.4809120). Your Cranberry Lake is about a mile long. With the prevailing westerlies in Michigan, you should have perfect wind for long N/S reaches most of the time.
This is the factory-produced foam?
The old bronze halyard block has scant friction, making it easier to raise the sail.
Bullseye fairleads, under the stress of raising the sail, offer increasing friction. The only benefit was reducing the cost-per-boat to the manufacturer.
For no noticeable gain, I replaced the standard bullseye fairlead with one lined with stainless steel.
We're not discussing a lot of metal, but any metal inside fiberglass or plastic containers will condense moisture from humid air. (Usually overnight).
Yes. I'm so convinced, I have a toolbox loaded with double-sheave blocks, and use one daily to pull my Sunfish up a ramp. I haven't priced double-sheave blocks lately, though!It's an issue running a line through it twice - so you'd argue for a double block over a bullseye fairlead?
Yes. I'm so convinced, I have a toolbox loaded with double-sheave blocks, and use one daily to pull my Sunfish up a ramp. I haven't priced double-sheave blocks lately, though!
Condensation is a 24-hour cycle, and wood is extremely slow to lower its core temperature. It would be an issue for me in Florida, anyway.
Bullseye fairleads should be restricted to loadings "in shear" and not near-vertical loads.
Fortunately, all my five Sunfish are aluminum-free.Do you have issues in Florida with post 1986 Sunfish because of condensation on the aluminum backing plates?
Fortunately, all my five Sunfish are aluminum-free.However, fiberglass--all by itself--"sweats" on the interior and exterior.
Backing plates can be made of sections cut from one polypropylene cutting board--$1 at Dollar Tree stores ($1 for now).
-For the coaming, rivets are easier or get some new non stock plastic anchors and use a marine grade stainless wood screw. If they work, they work. BTW machine screws into plastic anchors is not stock.
-For rivets, you'll have to hope that the remnant fastener holes are a good size match for new rivets. Otherwise you're doing fiberglass repairs IOT redrill new fastener holes.
-Rivnuts may have been stock on your boat, I don't know the exact year they switched to rivets. For new rivnuts you need the special rivnut gun and the correct diameter/depth closed end rivnuts.
-No backing plate needed if you go with rivets or rivnuts.
-Most likely clunking by the cockpit is the remnants of any one of the missing backers blocks, with our top guess being the eyestrap block.
Here, we have hopeless-case Sunfish being sent to landfills.It is ~4" long, and probably 1" wide of trashed fiberglass... with an open gap of ~1/8" in the center. Getting at the back side to get a backing support in will be real difficult, so it may have to be an almost completely front sided repair. Suggestion are welcome!
Here, we have hopeless-case Sunfish being sent to landfills.
However, you may request a larger section cut out of a "donor" boat and epoxy it to the back side. It can act as a strengthener-backing, and then fill the remainder with layers of cloth and epoxy, sand, and fair it. (A sanding disk might be best here).
I'd go to all this trouble, because the cockpit's footwell can take a beating, and you'll likely not want to do another repair in the same place.
Member Alan Glos may be able to help.