Help for brand-new sunfish sailor?

aralc

New Member
We just bought a used sunfish (1970's?) for our family and I have a question about the bridle. We took it out for the first time today. I apologize if the question has been answered before (couldn't find it on the forum) and also for my inexperience.

1) The sunfish has a 3 loop bridle. The endloops that are attached to the eyestraps do not seem to be secure... the wire comes out of the fitting and the loop comes undone. does that mean that we need a new bridle? Looking at it more closely, I think it might be a "homemade" bridle - as far as I can tell, the middle loop is made from electrical tape; electrical tape is also used to secure the wire at the two end loops.

thanks in advance!
 
I would be surprised if it is just electrical tape........tape would snap under load. The tape might be covering wire however. Any way you can post a picture? taht would really help.
 
photo-5.JPG


Thanks for the reply. Here's a picture...

The loop is at the top of the picture - you can't see the loop in the wire, but you can see the shadow. There is a silver-colored wire fitting (does it have a special name?), through which two lengths of wire pass through, forming the loop. The wire moves freely through the fitting, so if that is what is supposed to hold the bridle together, it's not working. The end of the wire was taped, presumably to protect fingers from frayed wire... but I can't figure out what is keeping the wire from passing through the fitting besides the tape.

I must be missing something... of course I didn't realize this until after the bridle popped out while on the water. Oh well.
 
I had a wire bridle that was worn when i bought my older Sunfish. I cut it off and simply replaced it with a prestretch, 1/8" rope. Did not put a third loop but went with two loop. Has worked fine for me.
 
Thanks for answering my most pressing question. I will go ahead and purchase a new bridle. (Or is it traveler?)

Another question that came up yesterday is how best to store the boat over the summer? In the winter we will store the boat in the garage on top of the trailer that came with the boat.

During the summer, we couldn't agree on the best way to store the boat. We are fortunate to live on a lake, and one option is to store the boat in the garage. The disadvantage of this is that it will be harder to get the boat on and off the water. The path from the garage to the water over a small grassy slope. Not impossible but not easy.

I noticed on the intensity website that there are mast up covers, so I assume that at least some people must store their sunfish outdoors for at least some of the time. I gather that storing in the water is not preferred. What about storage on the beach? On the trailer or off the trailer? Is theft a concern, and are there anti theft measures to take?
 
Theft concerns might depend on where you live. You might be able to find out from neighbors if they have had any problems. That being said, it is not a dumb idea to be careful and lock the boat. It may not deter the master thief but deter the part time thief. You could buy a long length of chain from Lowe's or Home Depot and run the chain thru the daggerboard trunk to a tree. But the plastic coated chain to prevent scratching the boat or plain chain placed inside and old bike tire tube.

Storing the boat outside in the summer is not bad. If in a rainy area you might want to store it upside down so you don't have to keep bailing the cockpit out or having to make sure the boat is leveled just right to drain thru the cockpit drain.
 
Would a mast up cover keep the rain out sufficiently?

What are the pros and cons of leaving the fish on the trailer vs sitting directly on the beach?
 
I decided to store the boat on the beach with a mastup cover on top of an inexpensive dolly. I will lock the boat up as suggested.

I hope this will provide a balance between ease of launch/retrieval vs. security vs. protecting boat from elements.

Now I have to decide on rules for the kids! What kind of rules would you suggest?
 
You can use a piece of line for a traveler with a small block on it, that said a class legal bridle will probably be cheaper than that setup
http://www.sunfishsailboats.com/
http://www.apsltd.com/c-2350-sunfish.aspx

Drawbacks to beach storage. While you're buying bridle, check out how much new spars mast gooseneck sail rudder daggerboard are.....while I love the idyllic idea of leaving our boats on our beach, we dolly the hulls 100 feet up closer to the house and store the spars mast rudder etc in the garage. Someone stole a 15 hp motor off of our jon boat on a jetski lift right after we moved in. Silly me when i noticed it missing I was standing on the dock looking into the water because I was sure if fell off :) we live on a bay off of the beaten path, your lake setup might bemore secure. Another con is I have been talking to a gent in Alabama who was looking for a newer boat because his 1982 boat has taken on water and the 2 year old sail is weather worn, all stored on the beach. Pop up storms and tide on the Bay are an issue here in Florida and I don't want to be pulling stuff in at O Dark Thirty. Keep on the lookout for a Seitech dolly, they are worth every penny. Easy to roll boat from storage all the way into the water. No lifting!

And we also put a hitch on the riding law mower, and move a trailer down to the beach that way sometimes. When kids are older they'll have fun driving it.

Rules?
1. Wear PFDs

All said, you're going to have a great time!

KB
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    194 KB · Views: 73
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    50.4 KB · Views: 58
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    56 KB · Views: 49
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    192.8 KB · Views: 58
Thanks for the advice and the pics!

I really want a Seitech trailer now. I am not sure I can get hubby to buy one though.

I think we will make do this summer with a cheap little dolly, but maybe I can put it on my birthday list.

I will think about the beach option some more. I thought the chain and cover would be enough to protect against theft and weather, but you are giving me second thoughts.

Really appreciate everyone's help!
 
Hi aralc,

You're welcome. Post some pics when you can

We try to dissuade the "honest thief", so a chain might be enough, maybe bike chain around spar. The other side of my story is we put restored boats For Sale out in the front yard during the day (no rudder or daggerboard, trailer latch locked) and no one has messed with them.

And as for the year of your boat, if it is 196?-1971, there might be a metal data plate just behind the splashguard. Number on there will tell us the year. 1972 and later there is a molded hull ID Number on the upper right transom. Last 2 digits are year.

My wife always buys herself what she wants for her birthday the tells me what I bought her :) she got a daggerboard for Mother's Day.

Fair winds,
Kent
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    73.7 KB · Views: 54
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    31.4 KB · Views: 54
pay attention to craigslist - every once in a while one pops up. i was able to pick up a seitech for two hundred bucks. highly recommended.


Thanks for the advice and the pics!

I really want a Seitech trailer now. I am not sure I can get hubby to buy one though.

I think we will make do this summer with a cheap little dolly, but maybe I can put it on my birthday list.

I will think about the beach option some more. I thought the chain and cover would be enough to protect against theft and weather, but you are giving me second thoughts.

Really appreciate everyone's help!
 
I wanted to give a quick update:

Bridle replaced and working well. No more popping out at inopportune moments. Sail mended with sailtape (can you use the mylar tape on a dacron sail? well, it's already done and seems to be working). Boat has been used about twice a week so far. Three times this week, I think. Yay! It has not always been a graceful experience for me (sailing in shallow water and running the daggerboard into the lake bottom; nearly capsizing gybing in heavier wind; difficulty docking; etc.), but it was fun. We will definitely use the boat this summer and hopefully my skills will get better.

In terms of storage - we are storing it on the beach for now, mast-up, with a cover. It is locked with a chain through the bow handle to dissuade the honest thief, but certainly not a determined professional. I think if we store it in the garage it will get a lot less use although I know that the relative ease of use comes at a cost.

However, it's not perfect - the main problem is that I haven't weighed the boat, but I think it is significantly more than 130 pounds. This is making launching still slightly difficult for me and my son. We are pretty dependent on the help of my husband because we have to lift the boat over the large rocks obstructing the path from the beach to the water. I think the ultimate solution will be to move all the rocks and get a more substantial dolly... the little dolly I have works for our canoe but seems to be almost useless for the sunfish. I just put an alert for Seitech dollies on Craigslist and hope to get lucky!

In terms of temporary solution, I wish I could store it in the water, moored, but that would seem to introduce more problems. I put an old carpet/rug over the rocks and that seems to help getting the boat over them.

No more pictures, sorry - will try to remember next time!

thanks again for all your help.
 
What are the pros and cons of leaving the fish on the trailer vs sitting directly on the beach?
:) How about a "hybrid" approach: leave the hull up-side down, strongly secured against a "cell"/microburst. Maybe install a screw-in anchor—like the mobile-home anchors required in storm-ravaged locales—and chain the Sunfish to it. Carry everything else down to the beach—it's only five minutes to get on the water, that way.

Over winter for a decade, I've been storing two Sunfish and a Porpoise-II lakeside on my dock. I've run loops of steel cable through the dock's stringers, which drop down out of harm's way when released from the Sunfish. During those days of not being able to sail, I cover spars and sail with an eight-foot section of discarded vinyl gutter—having already glued three long velcro straps to wrap the vinyl gutter to the spars.

Hope this helps...;)
 

Back
Top