Petrel
Member
After many unrelated distractions, and a lot of reading of this great forum and help from the members, I got me ? '73 Sunfish in the water in July. July in inland New England has been one stinking heat wave. There have been a few wonderfully breezy days, and a lot that were better for spraying the poison ivy.
I love sailing this boat. I qualify as a "senior" and although I've always loved small sailboats, and learned to sail in my 20's, I cannot claim any proficiency or experience -- just some bit of talent toward physical intuition (translation: I tend to land nicely, don't tend to capsize, don't bang the rocks, wound swimmers or bean my noggin' too often).
It took me a while to get the trailer fixed, tires, and so on. I somehow had that thought that this SF was just going to take off with a will of it's own. It didn't. Partly bc I get to the launch late
and the wind poops out after an hour or two. Anyway, it is absolutely easy and fun and my 7 year old neighbor likes going with me; while this slows the SF, his company is worth it. I hope to show him how to sail, but maybe he should learn to swim first? He wears a PFD. (Wonder if I should put a helmet on him?)
Observations:
Easy and fun.
I have been too busy and it's been too hot to install the new bailer. I'm using a cork stopper and that works fine, but I must be doing something wrong because I've yet to have to unplug it. Guess I need more wind.
I do not care for the wooden tiller extension on my SF. I prefer fully articulated ones, so will try to find a backing plate for the Ronstan 10X hiking stick I got from a recyling center swap shop.
I check for water in the intrahull, but so far, nothing. Am I supposed to leave the drain plug out while the SF is ashore? I trailer sail.
I will need to tinker with a db tether and bungee gizmo (I responded to another post).
I probably should practice capsizing. But the lake/pond that I go to is weedy and I am not in good physcial strength, so wonder if I can pollywog my way back aboard (if I even right the SF). Thanks for the videos, Wayne.
I found that when the wind is very light or near non existant, I can sit in the cockpit with my feet over the edge. No need to reef. When I want to return to the launch, I just POINT/AIM -- it doesn't matter if the sail goes from one side to another or just hangs around whereever. I just hold the sheet with my hand for this, since then I can get a better feel. Eventually, I get to the ramp or beach. If I need to, I can use the blaze orange, telescoping plastic and aluminum paddle. I always take this w me an tether it and my ditty bag, cooler to the mast or front. I take a cheap yard sale walky talky w me so that my assistant can respond -- "Do I HAVE to come in now?" "How about YOU trying it?"
I also take a bottle of water, a tilly, and other essentials.
My dog has not yet joined me in the SF.
Ratchet block: I opted for a Harken 57C (?what's that C for?) on a stand up spring. You folks were helpful with assisting me. It works fine. But, probably bc usually the wind isn't strong, I find I don't mind using the hook that came with the SF. The mainsheet is old, cottony and comfortable to hold; it grips fine with the hook. I can appreciate how something like Sta Set might not grip as well.
I'd like to find a lazy way to pop the rudder up/down without having to climb aft, reach and manually pop it up. What do you folks do? Am I missing a beat here? I launch from a mixed ramp with scattered concrete, mushy sand, and kids fishing. I float it off our bunk trailer, sometimes moving it out by hand into 3-4 ft of water before climbing aboard; at other times getting a push.
MY BUTT: I need cushioning (FFO?), so take a gardening foam pad but have to keep shifting it from one side of the boat to another. I'm thinking of velcro-ing to me cut-offs or swimsuit. A better idea might be a thing I caught on a late night TV infomercial called something like a "booty bounce" or "booty button" --- (it was late, as I've stated). It's for those (women presumably) with no butt. The booty gizmo is like a padded bra, but for the posterior. I could slip this on beneath my swim suit (oh, sure, my bikini, oh yeah) or cut offs and it should stay in place. I bet it cost more than velcro and the garden cushion.
DEAR SUNFISH, please consider making a bony butt version of a gunwale. Something akin to the softness of a baby's binky.
BOOM: I'll have to re-read the tie point info for the gaff or boom. I like the location so far, but since the boom isn't hitting me in the head, I probably have it too close to the center (which may be too top heavy if I get a stiff breeze?). Any place for videos to be attached to posts?
I'm looking forward to sailing it again and again this summer and into the fall (wetsuit?).
I love sailing this boat. I qualify as a "senior" and although I've always loved small sailboats, and learned to sail in my 20's, I cannot claim any proficiency or experience -- just some bit of talent toward physical intuition (translation: I tend to land nicely, don't tend to capsize, don't bang the rocks, wound swimmers or bean my noggin' too often).
It took me a while to get the trailer fixed, tires, and so on. I somehow had that thought that this SF was just going to take off with a will of it's own. It didn't. Partly bc I get to the launch late
and the wind poops out after an hour or two. Anyway, it is absolutely easy and fun and my 7 year old neighbor likes going with me; while this slows the SF, his company is worth it. I hope to show him how to sail, but maybe he should learn to swim first? He wears a PFD. (Wonder if I should put a helmet on him?)Observations:
Easy and fun.
I have been too busy and it's been too hot to install the new bailer. I'm using a cork stopper and that works fine, but I must be doing something wrong because I've yet to have to unplug it. Guess I need more wind.
I do not care for the wooden tiller extension on my SF. I prefer fully articulated ones, so will try to find a backing plate for the Ronstan 10X hiking stick I got from a recyling center swap shop.
I check for water in the intrahull, but so far, nothing. Am I supposed to leave the drain plug out while the SF is ashore? I trailer sail.
I will need to tinker with a db tether and bungee gizmo (I responded to another post).
I probably should practice capsizing. But the lake/pond that I go to is weedy and I am not in good physcial strength, so wonder if I can pollywog my way back aboard (if I even right the SF). Thanks for the videos, Wayne.
I found that when the wind is very light or near non existant, I can sit in the cockpit with my feet over the edge. No need to reef. When I want to return to the launch, I just POINT/AIM -- it doesn't matter if the sail goes from one side to another or just hangs around whereever. I just hold the sheet with my hand for this, since then I can get a better feel. Eventually, I get to the ramp or beach. If I need to, I can use the blaze orange, telescoping plastic and aluminum paddle. I always take this w me an tether it and my ditty bag, cooler to the mast or front. I take a cheap yard sale walky talky w me so that my assistant can respond -- "Do I HAVE to come in now?" "How about YOU trying it?"
I also take a bottle of water, a tilly, and other essentials.
My dog has not yet joined me in the SF.
Ratchet block: I opted for a Harken 57C (?what's that C for?) on a stand up spring. You folks were helpful with assisting me. It works fine. But, probably bc usually the wind isn't strong, I find I don't mind using the hook that came with the SF. The mainsheet is old, cottony and comfortable to hold; it grips fine with the hook. I can appreciate how something like Sta Set might not grip as well.
I'd like to find a lazy way to pop the rudder up/down without having to climb aft, reach and manually pop it up. What do you folks do? Am I missing a beat here? I launch from a mixed ramp with scattered concrete, mushy sand, and kids fishing. I float it off our bunk trailer, sometimes moving it out by hand into 3-4 ft of water before climbing aboard; at other times getting a push.
MY BUTT: I need cushioning (FFO?), so take a gardening foam pad but have to keep shifting it from one side of the boat to another. I'm thinking of velcro-ing to me cut-offs or swimsuit. A better idea might be a thing I caught on a late night TV infomercial called something like a "booty bounce" or "booty button" --- (it was late, as I've stated). It's for those (women presumably) with no butt. The booty gizmo is like a padded bra, but for the posterior. I could slip this on beneath my swim suit (oh, sure, my bikini, oh yeah) or cut offs and it should stay in place. I bet it cost more than velcro and the garden cushion.
DEAR SUNFISH, please consider making a bony butt version of a gunwale. Something akin to the softness of a baby's binky.
BOOM: I'll have to re-read the tie point info for the gaff or boom. I like the location so far, but since the boom isn't hitting me in the head, I probably have it too close to the center (which may be too top heavy if I get a stiff breeze?). Any place for videos to be attached to posts?
I'm looking forward to sailing it again and again this summer and into the fall (wetsuit?).
