Minifish—What is this for?

Amfab

Member
I am new to the Minifish and my sunfish does not have this strap eye. What is it for?

Thank you

-Andrew

Minifish strap.jpg
 
The only Sunfish I've sailed had that one and it was for securing the sheet tail. Worked quite nicely with the brass hook. The simplicity made a very positive impact!

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I don't think my Minifish has that eyestrap, so likely didn't come that way, or the manufacturer added/deleted it at some point.

norcalsail is probably right - a place to secure your daggerboard retaining line.

I'd probably skip it and if you have a long enough bungee daggerboard line, run it out to the tack of the sail and back. this helps keep the sail out when sailing in lighter winds. my bungee line is long enough that I then wrap it 1x around the top of my daggerboard, so there is enough tension on the line to keep the daggerboard up at partial height settings, if I want to raise/lower it depending on wind, weeds, etc.
 
I've seen Sunfish with two dimples in that spot as a marker for adding an eye strap. It is a great idea as I always include a tie rope with the daggerboards I sell.
 
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Daggerboard retaining line. Ever notice the 1/4 inch hole on the daggerboard cleat, which is usually packed with dirt? The line's purpose is to keep the daggerboard from floating off after a capsize, so you don't have to swim after it.

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You can add it to your Sunfish, or use the bungee. The deck is strong enough to just put a couple of wood screws through pilot holes, if it pulls out you have bigger problems. There is no backer block for those screws. We upgraded Skipper's 1965 ALcort Sunfish WAVE.

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Signal Charlie, did you cut a port to be able to mount that fairlead/cam cleat there on the deck?
Thanks for the tip on the Daggerboard, I did have a board like this on my sunfish and I ddid see that hole on the board that came with the Minifish. I will check it out.
 
No port needed for swivel cam cleats of ratchet blocks, their fasteners go through the lip of the cockpit and the washers/nuts can be reached under the lip from the cockpit. Center over that space as best you can. Too far forward and you risk drilling into the sealed hull. Too far aft and the sheet hook nuts interfere with whatever washers and stopnuts you are trying to put on.

Swivel Cam Cleat blog

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Oh, I missed that too. There are some folks here who have done it, inspection port on the cockpit wall or deck. If your boat has the sheet hook on the cockpit wall think you might consider a ratchet block there vs swivel cam, attached with an eyestrap. Recent posts have shown that there is a backer block behind that that can be repurposed.
 
Daggerboard retaining line. Ever notice the 1/4 inch hole on the daggerboard cleat, which is usually packed with dirt? The line's purpose is to keep the daggerboard from floating off after a capsize, so you don't have to swim after it.

View attachment 39758

You can add it to your Sunfish, or use the bungee. The deck is strong enough to just put a couple of wood screws through pilot holes, if it pulls out you have bigger problems. There is no backer block for those screws. We upgraded Skipper's 1965 ALcort Sunfish WAVE.

View attachment 39759
What is the black ring on the eye? Is it rubber in order to allow some give?
 
No the black ring is a tarnished stainless ring. At one point we tried a short bungee from that ring around the daggerboard blade, but found that the line could jam down into the trunk. We also have tied on a snap shackle to the end of the retaining line, so that the line could be clipped on anf off easily and save us from tying a bowline.
 
No the black ring is a tarnished stainless ring. At one point we tried a short bungee from that ring around the daggerboard blade, but found that the line could jam down into the trunk. We also have tied on a snap shackle to the end of the retaining line, so that the line could be clipped on anf off easily and save us from tying a bowline.
Thanks!
 

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