How to weigh hull

B

bmf

New Member
Any easy way to weigh a hull? And what is ideal hull weight? I seem to remember something like 114 pounds.


I am doing hull repair, and after I'm done I want to see if hull is a reasonable weight, or if foam is soaked, and my old 1974 hull is just done.

BMF
 
Any easy way to weigh a hull?
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Tip the boat up on its side on a bathroom scale.

And what is ideal hull weight? I seem to remember something like 114 pounds.
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I think for '74 it's something like 140#. That Sunfish Sailors support group I directed you to in your other message has a list of all the hull weights off the company spec sheets from years gone by.


I am doing hull repair, and after I'm done I want to see if hull is a reasonable weight, or if foam is soaked, and my old 1974 hull is just done.
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Soaked foam will dry out fine.
 
From day one the "standard" for bare hull weight has been 130 pounds. We have measure dry from the dealer boats from a low of my 1991 Pearson at 108 pounds to a high of 148 pounds that we traced to a "subcontractor" in IIRC the late 60's when demand exceeded production facilities and they outsourced boats for a year or two to meet demand.
 
I know the actuals vary widely – just going by what I read.
 

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It's not that easy to get the weight by balancing the hull vertically on a scale. You need two people to lift the hull and place it on the scale just right. It's helpful if you use a scale that doesn't need zeroing (an old-fashioned analog one). A third person could be handy to read the scale.
You should repeat your measurement a few times to be sure you get the weight correctly.

Another method requires two scales. Balance the hull in its 'normal' position on the scales.

Maybe you have access to a commercial scale; this would make your experiment a lot easier.
 
139 lbs is that for the Hull, or the hull and the Mast, Rudder, Daggerboard, Lines...?

I know the thread specifies for the Hull, but is that what the article/directions specify?
 
The current specs for new Sunfish show hull weight at 120 lbs. It has been shown this way for at least a few years. As the owner of several new Sunfish over the past few years, I can tell you that they come out of the factory at ~129 lbs. So, I am not sure that you can take what is in the brochures as perfectly true.
 
FYI

I just weighed mine. It was manufactured in 68. As a lead in: It developped a leak a few years ago. We store it outside and the freezing water broke open the hull right under the cockpit. This has been repaired. After joining this forum I decided to install a couple of inspection ports. I completed that last night. Boat weight - an amazing 205lbs! I drained all the standing water so I must have ~ 70lbs of water stored in foam which I found hard to believe. Despite this, there is nothing wrong inside even though the foam is waterlogged. Everything is attached, no leaks now, not even any fungus present.
Interestingly, the rear port cutout had 2" of spray-on foam on its' backside. This 5" dia. of foam backed 1/8" fiberglass feels like lead and I estimate it weighs about a pound. (now I'm a believer)
Two people struggle a little to carry this boat. I can't imagine car topping it.
I raised the bow and put a 100w light bulb in the lower port for now - I may have to get more aggressive.
 
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