My yacht club started the youth program, I was helping the kids with their boats.....

shorefun

shorefun

Well-Known Member
One boat has some line issues and the sail is not tied to the booms properly. They bought a new rudder, tiller, and dagger board for the older boat. The wood was falling apart. The tiller was backordered. So I real quick borrow one from a spare club rudder from a junk fish. Since the kid was new to sailing and it was windy, 12 knots, I went to test it.

Hopped in at the dock, another guy gave me a push off. The winds are blowing and I started making power right off. The rudder falls off!!!!!!

I did not put it on, another person did that.

I got lucky and drifted right back close enough he could grab me.

Turns out the bracket was bent too wide. I would have noticed if I put it on, but there were others working on it before me.

Another family shows up with an older orange decked hull and sail, gel coat mind you. The girl did her lessons with the boat. I was helping get it back on the dolly. That when I saw the clew and head were held on with new nylon zip ties. The tack was held on with the thicker cheap yellow nylong rope in a square knot.

We took care of the problems. We were lucky nothing came undone while she was out there.

A lot of interesting variations of rigging fish with whatever parts people have on hand. I have been picking up parts from stuff laying around and putting proper parts on the kids boats when I can.
 
I carry a small number of repair items with me. When a block holding the upper spar to the mast failed, a zip-tie got me home. :cool:

Among all sailboat rudders, the revised Sunfish rudder system from about 1971 is beautifully engineered ! IMHO...Watch that bracket, though, and take care when manipulating the tiller. That hinge can do guillotine-like injury! :eek:
 
I feel your pain, I am a Skipper of a Sea Scout Ship. We have many times that we go sailing and come back with something else is broken.... Eventually it ends. Maybe schedule a time to rig the boats up in a dry situation and go over them to inventory what is needed to be replaced?
 
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