A question. I'm restoring my 1980 Sunfish and have added two inspection ports as people have suggested I do. The hull, internally, appears to be in very good shape. However, a 3" hole in the deck, left of the cockpit, needs to be repaired. I was planning to place a third inspection port in the forward left wall of the cockpit to aid in making the repair.
I would appreciate any thoughts on cutting a 4" hole in that area. Again the area I'm referring to is to the left if the "AMF Alcort decal" on the forward wall of the cockpit. This would give me access to the underside, internal, of the deck and repair to be made.
Thank you in advance for any advice.
I can't tell without a pic, but it's unlikely you need a port to fix the hole. You should be able to grind away around the hole to feather the edge of the hole, push a piece of cardboard with a coat hanger poked thru it into the hull, and pull the cardboard up tight against the underside of the deck. Then lay on fiberglass cloth soaked in West epoxy. When hard, sand smooth and paint.
So far in the 2 inspection ports I"ve cut, this photo held true for my '69 sunfish. It may give you an idea on what is on the other side of any fiberglass you may want to cut.
See picture at top of the link below? Click on the photo to see more pics. Massapoag Sunfish Fleet News: Birth of a Sunfish