Help! - Pro vs Standard

MichFish

Member
Well, I'm about ready to place my order for a new 2008 Sunfish, but........

A little personal history may be in order. I grew up on the water in the late
60s sleeping on the sail bags of my grandfathers Lighting. Early 70s a new Sunfish was added to my grandfathers fleet, and every weekend for years a bunch of us chased each other around the lake on Sunfish and Sailfish.

Fast forward 30 years. I started sailing again a couple of years ago with a local sailing club. The club has a small fleet of Sunfish, Lasers, JY15s, and a couple of Rebels, but it's time for me to park a new boat in my own garage.

My deliema, I'm leaning toward a Sunfish Pro vs a standard, but I'm just not sure. 99% of the boats use will be just zooming around as the closest racing fleet is over an hours drive away. I really like the idea of the added challenge / adjustability of the Pro over the standard, but is it worth the additional money?

Your thoughts, pros & cons would be appreciated.:)
 
It is really up to you. If you are recreationally sailing, I don't think the controls are interesting enough to pay for, but that is just my opinion, for you it may be different. If you ever think you will race, you should get the pro, esp since you will get the racing sail.
 
Thanks for your insight boathead. You raise another question.

Race sail vs Recreation sail? It's my understanding that the Race sail is made from a lighter weight sail cloth. Is the cloth actually lighter, but stronger than the standard sail? Does one sail seem to outlast the other? I realize thats a tough question, but does the race sail give up longevity for performance?
 
If you are going to race in the future go for the Pro. But if your not gong to be racing right away I'd drop another $130 on a knock off rec sail to save the race sail for when needed. If you do a search on this site you can find the suppliers.
 
I don't think the race sail material is an lighter than the std. sail. The race sail is just a little bigger, has more draft (depth/belly) to it for more power, and comes with a window. The downside is it is more expensive and only comes in white.
 
I had the same dilemma; mine was solved when the local dealer got a World's boat, which usually sell (used 1 week) for the same as the recreational boat.
You get all the nice stuff, plus the warrantee.
You really do want the glass rudder and you will be surprised to be using the outhaul and cunningham when the wind gets brisk and you want to flatten things out.
I agree with the others though, get a cheap Thai or other rec sail and save the pro sail for future, or just sell it.
Plus, IMHO, you WILL race, even if only 1 or 2x a year; you don't think so, but you fit the demographic for returning sailors who CANNOT STAY AWAY.
 
Thanks for your insight boathead. You raise another question.

Race sail vs Recreation sail? It's my understanding that the Race sail is made from a lighter weight sail cloth. Is the cloth actually lighter, but stronger than the standard sail? Does one sail seem to outlast the other? I realize thats a tough question, but does the race sail give up longevity for performance?


I don't remember the details, but the racing sail has more stitching and is stronger in certain areas (cunningham) compared to the recreational sail. It has also been stated that the panels in colored sails shrink to a different extent, leading to some distortion of the sail in the long run. Personally, I don't think this is a problem until after several years.

Whereas the racing sail is more expensive, it does have a window, a very desirable feature for safety's sake.
 
If I were you I would get the pro model. Even if you are not racing right away, the window is a really nice thing to have, even though I think, I'm not sure, you can get it in a rec sail, but I don't believe that the rec model comes with a hiking strap, which is a really useful thing in the heavier air when it gets fun. Also if you ever might race, you will be ready for it.
 
I don't believe that the rec model comes with a hiking strap, which is a really useful thing in the heavier air when it gets fun. Also if you ever might race, you will be ready for it.
All the boats, regular or pro, do have a hiking strap installed at the factory. BB:eek:
 
Thanks everyone for your sharing your thoughts and opinions. I'm placing an order for a new Pro within the next week or so, blue strip.

Now, can anyone send a little warm weather my way? It's mid-day as I write this, temps are just above zero, wind chill around -20, snow still falling, and you can walk (and drive) on the water. Hmmmmm, maybe a fews weeks until
we have sailing weather.
 

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