Has Anyone Ever Seen A Sunfish In The United Kingdom?

Matt B

Member
just been googlin about after seeing the tab at the top that says the sunfish forum ive probibily sailed-seen most boats but never a sunfish have they never sold them here or are they just crap so nobody buys them.
 
laser performance probibily one of the most hated companys amoung marine companys and a lot of coustomers and they only have two places that are miles away from anywhere to buy boats from because chandelrys are no longer dealers only parts stockists since the US takeover ruined the company and so i wont buy a new one now even if i wanted to i would buy a second hand one from before the takover from a private seller. or import one from australia then i could pick it up from liverpool docks much closer than driving to northamptonshire or dorset there better built anyway much stiffer and less prone to problems and they even gelcoat inside the daggerboard slot.
 
Not well informed, I am sorry to say. Most Forum members would agree that LaserPerformance took over the US company Vanguard. Vanguard manufactured both Lasers and Sunfish and some other boats for the American markets. I believe that the great majority of Forum members would agree that the availability of parts and the like has gotten worse on both sides of the Atlantic since the takeover :(
There are several threads on this Forum regarding the problems.
 
just been googlin about after seeing the tab at the top that says the sunfish forum ive probibily sailed-seen most boats but never a sunfish have they never sold them here or are they just crap so nobody buys them.
To get back to your original question, yes there are a few Sunfish in the UK. The Sunfish was the original board boat and sold very well in the US. So well that several other companies got involved. One was in The Netherlands and the other one in Italy. But Sunfish production in Europe didn't last long. However, there still is a substantial Sunfish class in Italy.

After the takeover of Vanguard by LP, the latter company decided to market the Sunfish once again in Europe. But I don't think that many Sunfish were sold as a result of this effort. Not sure whether there's any current effort by LP to market the Sunfish in Europe. Especially in the UK there are so many other dinghies with substantial fleets.
 
sorry for missinterpritation what i ment was when laser performance took over laser vangaurd (laser US) they needed more money and so took money from the rest of the performance sailcraft group to prop it up and financialy ruined the company for everyone and as you say laser is now bad boath in the UK and the US anyway we could talk about that almost infinatley but back to the sunfish.
i cant say i have ever seen it marketed here not even as much as an advert thats the only problem with dhingy racing in the uk everybody buys the same boats to the point where at a passing glance you may only think that there are twenty different types of dhingy and so i dont think that dhingy companys bother about marketing them too much the only way to get a new class started now would be to give away about 18 boats literaly give them to 6 good sailors at 3 different clubs in close proximity to get people interested but even this may not work such a shame this is probibily the same story for many other boats.
 
I haven't watched a sunfish yet in my life ever. Just wanna have a look on it , how it looks,

Here is one, flying off a wave (2011 Sunfish Worlds in Curacao):

Sunfish Worlds 2011.jpg
 
just been googlin about after seeing the tab at the top that says the sunfish forum ive probibily sailed-seen most boats but never a sunfish have they never sold them here or are they just crap so nobody buys them.
I believe I now own the only Sunfish in Malta. I saw the hull at a boat storage area and tried for one year to find the owner. I finally tracked him down and bought the boat.
200 euros. I did have to re-make the dolly which I converted to a road trailer and off I went sailing in the Med.
I have just had to make a new dagger board as the wooden one was left on the launch ramp and stolen.
I taught my self to sail a sunfish while working in the Bahamas many years ago and and loved it. Although the sail was a tarpalen and the mast was a PVC plumbing pipe.
I tried a Laser but that was too much work for a 70 year old.
Sunfish boats are, in my humble opinion, the best sailing dinghys available for the recreational sailor.
 

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