Need Advice

[danpal]

I'm finally going to start on my Sunfish restore. I got this hull from someone who was planning to restore it but it was never finished. There are a number of patches that seems fairly strong but I'd like some advice on how to begin and what steps to take.

Here are some pictures:

I weighed the hull and it weighs in at 140 lbs so I'm not too concerned about the weight. I know I'll need to eventually add some inspection ports but would like to hold off on this for a while.

What I'm planning to do is sand down the bottom and get the patches smooth and faired. I've never worked with fiberglass before so any advice would be appreciated. I'm not sure about how to refinish both the deck and bottom. Should I use gelcoat? Should I use a one or two part epoxy paint. I'd like to have the boat look as good as possible without paying an arm and a leg.

 

[Wayne]

I'm finally going to start on my Sunfish restore. I got this hull from someone who was planning to restore it but it was never finished. There are a number of patches that seems fairly strong but I'd like some advice on how to begin and what steps to take.

​

I think a bath is in order for starters...

The next thing I'd do is a Leak Test. This will help to tell you if there are any further repairs needed before refinishing.

Leak Test Instructions:

• Sunfish KB & FAQ (on the menu bar across the top of this page)
  • Repairs and Upgrades
    • Air Leak Test

You are missing some parts and hardware..., bailer, rudder gudgeon bracket, splash deflector, protective trim for the deck/hull joint, plug for the owner added transom drain, ... what else?

What I'm planning to do is sand down the bottom and get the patches smooth and faired.

Getting patches cleaned up and possibly re-done along with re-fitting parts & hardware should come before this step.

I've never worked with fiberglass before so any advice would be appreciated.

Pick up a book on fiberglass repair and study up on the basics so you can tell if those patches have been done correctly. Judging by your photos, they appear to have been poorly applied.

Fiberglass Repair and Construction Handbook by Jack Wiley

Fiberglass Repair: Polyester or Epoxy by David Aiken

I'm not sure about how to refinish both the deck and bottom. Should I use gelcoat? Should I use a one or two part epoxy paint. I'd like to have the boat look as good as possible without paying an arm and a leg.

It strikes me this should wait until phase II.

.

 

[danpal]

Thanks Wayne and you're right, it definitely needs a bath.

I do have some of the parts such as the trim and coaming and I was planning to buy the gudgeon bracket as soon as I could find a used rudder. I have contacted the members on this list who deal in used parts and at the moment a post '72 rudder is not available.

My next step will be to do the leak test. The patches that were previously done, although not pretty, seem very sound but I'll take a look at the two books you recommended and see what they say.