Heavy Sunfish

Garrett12

Garrett12

Member
When people talk about a boat being heavy or not, what does this mean? What is and isn't considered heavy? I have a 1971 Sunfish what should it weigh?

Also, If it is heavy does it mean the boat is junk or how does this effect the boat?

Thanks.
 
Heavy only matters if you are racing it and if you are carrying it! New boats weigh in the 122-130 lb range. They get heavy due to water leaking in and being absorbed by the foam.
 
Garrett12 said:
When people talk about a boat being heavy or not, what does this mean? What is and isn't considered heavy? I have a 1971 Sunfish what should it weigh?

Also, If it is heavy does it mean the boat is junk or how does this effect the boat?

Thanks.
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We see different weight thresholds kicked around, but anything over 145 or 150 pounds is pushing it, for sure. I'd want a hull to be under 130 if possible. More than that and it's got water in it or more likely the foam is waterlogged. If you don't put it on a scale you can tell when you try to lift it onto your roof racks or an upper boat rack -- if you and your partner start to stagger, it's probably heavy.

That can be remedied by putting a couple of ports in it and letting it dry out over the winter til next season.

First order of business is to drain the boat if it does have water and see if you can find any leaks. If so, you will want to repair those of course.

With a 1971 you probably still have the old style rudder brackets, so either you have the old brackets or a port near the transom. In any event, you can put a port there (also helpful if you eventually update your rudder) plus another port ideally between the centerboard trunk and the splash guard -- unless repair requirements favor a different location, for example if the bow is damaged or something. You can use the boat meantime, of course, but you will otherwise want to store it hull-side-up with the ports open. I put mine on an upper rack at the club, which is near the water and gets lots of breeze. I also fashion a scoop or two of sorts (in opposite directions) out of cardboard and duct tape to encourage air flow, and let it air out when not in use, plus over the winter.

With some flow through for a year or so, even the worst offenders seem to lighten up some -- often a lot -- but it takes time.
 
Dont the older boats weigh more than the newer boats to begin with? also, when I looked inside the boat, i didnt see much of any foam?
 
Garrett12 said:
Dont the older boats weigh more to begin with? Also, I looked inside my boat and didnt see too much foam...?
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It has varied up and down some, but for example, you can find 60's boats as light as anything currently made. Some late '70's boats were built like tanks, with lots of resin. Pearson-built Sunfish seemed to have a lot of variation. But older doesn't mean heavier.

You've looked inside, so you have ports already?
 
There is 1 "hole" just to the right of the centerboard trunk. The previous owner of the boat put it there and never finished up the project. I have ordered the parts to finish it up.
 
Garrett12 said:
There is 1 "hole" just to the right of the centerboard trunk. The previous owner of the boat put it there and never finished up the project. I have ordered the parts to finish it up.
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If you can, you might weigh the hull and see where you stand. I do that by balancing the edge of the hull on one of those oversized bathroom scales, on the driveway or somewhere with a firm surface. Or if you know someone else with a Sunfish, lift them both and compare. If you do conclude that it might use some better airing out, just put a port near the stern (again, I'm assuming that sooner or later you might want to update the rudder) and you will be able to get some decent airflow. If you determine that the boat is not overweight, just leave that one deckport you already have open when storing and you should be fine.
 
Stick a digital camera down in the hole and take a snapshot towards the bow of the boat. This is what the foam blocks should look like.
 

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Ok so it does have the foam and I will air it out this winter cause it is very heavy. Probably closer to 200+lbs.

Side note: The foam closer the the front left looks like it is coming off. Is there an easy repair or is it essential to repair?
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That is just spray in foam that they put in there to hold the styofoam blocks in place that that got pushed out they put the hull and deck together. As long as the foam blocks are not loose and floating around in the hull or disintigrating I would not worry about that.

If you store it with the deck plate off in your garage be sure to tape a piece of porch screen or something like that over the hole so no mice will get in there. I had some mice decide to make their home inside an old jon boat I had stored in a barn and and they completely devoured the styrofoam floatation inside the hollow seats.
 
We have a nifty little luggage scale. We have to swap ends and lift twice to weigh the boat. Last week we had 82 at tte back and 70 at the front.
today we are down to 75 and 65
 

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Our fan is a 6” duct fan we bought thirty years ago. The two angled flaps are floating on the breeze snd close when it is unplugged.
Ten pounds in a week and tge boat has been sitting indoors.
Today I am moving it out into the hot sun. Maybe we can accomplish some serious drying over the next couple days as the weatherman is predicting triple digits.
Foam does NOT dry rapidly no matter what you do
 

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