I have a 2000 Sunfish; it was dry for 6 years; but last weekend it took on water. I want to put inspection ports in (near the centerboard trunk and one just aft of the cockpit), but I don't know want to cut into anything that I shouldn't. Where exactly should I cut the holes?
Check over at Yahoo Sunfish Sailor, in the Files, Sunfish, Drying out a Sunfish. There will be info on installing ports, checking and locating leaks. Other info can be found in there for repairing any leaks. On my '86 SF the forward 6" port is centered between the splash rail and dagger board slot, the rear 5" port is 6.5" forward of the stern edge. I did encounter about an inch of styrofoam, but removing a ittle foam is not a problem. Some rear decks have about an inch thick layer of bedding foam across the whole area, again no prblem. The photos show the section removed from the rear deck.
I installed a six-inch port (two, really), because they were what I had "at hand".
Yesterday, a garage sale purchase included a 50-cent used Sevylor inflatable-boat paddle. It slides right into those "larger" ports. (The lake sailing that I do includes the need to paddle back home sometimes).
The Sevylor paddle is fat, air-filled, watertight, and floats (!), so I've actually added flotation material to make up for what little has been lost to the port installation. Now all I need is to wrap a bungee cord around it for tiller stabilization, and I'm Home-Free!
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