Just bought my first Sunfish

M

morpheus122

New Member
Hi guys i just bought a 1971 sunfish and i have a couple questions. I weighed the boat and it weighs 140lbs. I opened the inspection ports, there is one in the rear and front and they both have a tire tube in them half filled with air. Is this normal? I havent checked the foam blocks yet but the whole deck is pretty stiff except for the part about 6 inches from the splash guard in the front. Other than a few nicks it is in pretty decent shape.

Does anyone have any good ways to cartop that would really help me. I got an 04 jetta with 160lbs roof capacity just need a way to get it up there. Do i need to put on a roof rack or will that just make it more prone to fly off?
 
I have a tire tube in them half filled with air.

? Someone's idea of additional safety buoyancy. Maybe the delusion that air trapped in a contained space adds to the boat's buoyancy. :( Storage for the trailer spares. :rolleyes:


the whole deck is pretty stiff except for the part about 6 inches from the splash guard in the front

It's the bottom that needs to be stiff. The deck isn't so important. Juat give that spot a look from the port to see if the block has come loose.


Does anyone have any good ways to cartop

Roof rack for sure. A friend to help load and unload is nearly a must. If the car has gutters look at Quick-n-Easy racks. They carry many times what the kayak/bike racks can. The choice of rafting outfitters for many decades before the others appeared. Otherwise you'll have to go with the higher priced Yakama or Tule just choose your towers and bars wisely for the load. Beyond that you're going to be padding with noodles and home crafted cradle supports depending on upright or inverted carry. Just remember to tie the boat fore and aft to the car itself.

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I will take more pictures of the boat tomorrow but with further inspection i notcied the foam blocks appear not to be there anymore. It is mostly just three tire tubes in there with air in two of them.

i pushed on the bottom of the boat and it appears to flex more than what i like in the front where there could be more foam blocks. Around the cockpit was pretty hard.

I'm trying to decide if it will be worth it to try and totally refinish it. I guess i need to go get it out on the water.
 
Turns out i am missing a bunch of foam blocks from the front of the boat and in the rear. In place of them the person put tire tubes in there.

Whats the best way to get something new in there to support the boat????

Should i use something inflatable to stiffen it up??? New tire tubes with air?????or should i try to put in some new expanding foam????
 
Does anyone know of a way to replacement the missing foam blocks inside my boat?

would inflating a tire inside it work????
 
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