My Latest Bargain

Breeze Bender

Breeze Bender
This was advertised locally as a Sunfish and I bought it last night. I knew from the pic that it was actually a Minifish, but when I checked it out I saw that the hull is- or once was- a fairly rare Minifish 2. The boat has been painted over, including the cockpit sticker, but the II can be faintly seen. The hardware for the cunningham/ outhaul is gone. The rig, unfortunately, is a Sunfish rig, not the Minifish 2 rig. So the hull is identical to the standard Minifish hull, save the holes I'll need to fill from the missing hardware. I grabbed it for $175 and it came with 2 ( new style) rudders! One will need refinishing, always a fun winter project.
 

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I'm trying to tell people—the deals are out there! :) I'm even feeling the itch for sailing a MiniFish, but that would mean increasing my stable to six Sunfish. :confused:

As a sailboat, a Sunfish is hard to beat—fixed up—and selling under $1000. Getting new sailors out on the water —even if they feel the need to "move up"—is a rewarding and wholesome goal. ;)

(Excepting our use of resins, we're lowering our "carbon footprint"—plus—gotta keep those kids outta Jet-Skis!) :rolleyes:

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I agree- sailing a Sunfish is just good clean fun. I love restoring and selling them, too. Yes, the bargains are out there, I've just got to stop looking for them!
That said, L&VW, If you come across a deal on a Minifish I'd recommend it- what's one more? :)
 

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Those Trailex aluminum trailers retail for about $1200 new. I just sold one awhile back for around $500. More than paid for the Puffer that was on it
Good find!
 
Those Trailex aluminum trailers retail for about $1200 new. I just sold one awhile back for around $500. More than paid for the Puffer that was on it
Good find!
The trailer didn't come with the Minifish. I bought the trailer last spring with an old Grumman rowboat on it and it has been great. I usually sell them with boats but plan to keep this Trailex because it's so light and it cradles the boats well. The only thing it lacks are good anchoring points for the tie-downs. As I strapped the Mini down after purchase ( it was dark, it was raining, seller was helping) a bungee cord got away from me and snapped back hard right in my upper lip. It could have been much worse, I could have lost an eye or a front tooth, but I do look like I've been in a bar fight. The seller couldn't have been kinder and ran for bandages and ice packs.
Lesson learned: Don't rush and be careful with your bungees, or stick to ratchets in the future!
 

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Those unruly bungees can be vicious... good thing ya didn't lose an eye, BB, though a piratical eye patch would look cool on the water, LOL. :eek:
 
The trailer didn't come with the Minifish. I bought the trailer last spring with an old Grumman rowboat on it and it has been great. I usually sell them with boats but plan to keep this Trailex because it's so light and it cradles the boats well. The only thing it lacks are good anchoring points for the tie-downs. As I strapped the Mini down after purchase ( it was dark, it was raining, seller was helping) a bungee cord got away from me and snapped back hard right in my upper lip. It could have been much worse, I could have lost an eye or a front tooth, but I do look like I've been in a bar fight. The seller couldn't have been kinder and ran for bandages and ice packs.
Lesson learned: Don't rush and be careful with your bungees, or stick to ratchets in the future!
Reminds me of the Sears tool salesman confronted by a Mom who wanted to buy a present for her son. Somewhat sheepishly, she asked the salesman for "Rat-Sh*t"…! :p

Having just had cataract surgery, I've decided to continue to wear eyeglasses. :cool: I can't count the number of times that metallic "items" (including loose wire strands from wire wheels) have bounced off those lenses! :eek:

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I agree- sailing a Sunfish is just good clean fun. I love restoring and selling them, too. Yes, the bargains are out there, I've just got to stop looking for them!
That said, L&VW, If you come across a deal on a Minifish I'd recommend it- what's one more? :)
A Navy buddy—who couldn't help himself—just bought three!

They're missing some parts, but he's got spares. :) The trailer is his. Not bad at $600 for the three Sunfish. :cool: As the owner of a fleet of five Sunfish, I don't understand reducing one's Sunfish fleet, but he plans to replace his (one) original Sunfish with one of these later models:

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This was advertised locally as a Sunfish and I bought it last night. I knew from the pic that it was actually a Minifish, but when I checked it out I saw that the hull is- or once was- a fairly rare Minifish 2. The boat has been painted over, including the cockpit sticker, but the II can be faintly seen. The hardware for the cunningham/ outhaul is gone. The rig, unfortunately, is a Sunfish rig, not the Minifish 2 rig. So the hull is identical to the standard Minifish hull, save the holes I'll need to fill from the missing hardware. I grabbed it for $175 and it came with 2 ( new style) rudders! One will need refinishing, always a fun winter project.
I love my Minifish! But a Minifish would be quite a handful with a Sunfish rig on a even a moderately windy day! BTW, I personally think that the minifish is more fun than a Sunfish when single handed. It is a lot lighter, and more responsive in light wind conditions. If the wind kicks up, though, either you maintain focus or you quickly find yourself going for an unexpected swim!
 
When I transitioned from Laser to Minifish, I took several of those unexpected swims, LOL. The Minifish can be quite nimble in maneuvering... the Laser as well, but the two have different characteristics. My favorite Minifish swimming memory involved a sharp tack under Point Loma, with the wind howling down those canyons in gusts. Seeing a rough area ahead, I tacked away a bit too sharply... the boat performed flawlessly as she came about, while I maintained my original course and slid over the side as if shot out of a cannon, LOL. Happened so fast I couldn't do a thing about it, and I generally have quick reflexes... had to swim a bit that day to recover my boat, fortunately there were no other sailors nearby to witness the comical spectacle, though a few tourists at Cabrillo National Monument might have had a long-range overview of the fiasco:

"Look, Dad, that boat went one way and the guy went the other!!!" :confused:

Meh, exercise is good for you, and a little humble pie never hurt either, helps one to keep perspective. On a separate note, it's really cool to see so many folks here at this website restoring small craft... for me, restoration was always a Zen thing, each project was unique and required special planning. To bring a small sailboat back to life for the purpose of utilizing free power, abundant clean energy with no harmful emissions or other bull$h!t, well, that's a noble pursuit in this day & age. Don't get me wrong, I still like twisting throttles & mashing accelerators, but nothing beats that free power from Mother Earth herself... okay, maybe it's not entirely free, ya gotta pay the stupid registration fees (should be free for all sail craft), but ya know what I mean. And that feeling one gets from successfully completing a project and bringing a boat back to life even better than before... it's a good feeling. :rolleyes:
 

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