New find

Beekeeper

Active Member
Just picked up what I believe is a 1966 Sunfish from a young lad in the Western Ma Hilltown's. The boat appears to be in excellent condition, the hull has a coat of white paint on it, but the deck appears to be original but faded. I'm guessing it was red but now is sort of plum color. No stress cracks on the deck anywhere, hardware is in great shape, spars pristine, sail is okay. The weight feels to be in the ballpark, it's in way better shape than my "75" hull. Same price as I paid for my Catfish. Hull # didn't show but it's 35014.
 

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Holy Moly, great find. Definitely a 1966. That red may come back a bit with a light wet sand and some wax, or enjoy the plum color. Should weigh around 139.
 
I buffed her a bit last night with a medium compound and it came back a little, but I don't mind the color. I'll try to get her on a scale later. Wondering about an inspection port behind the splash rail but if the weight is close after all these years, I might leave things the way they are, even the bow handle, cleat and halyard block still shine.
 
I had a 71 maroon Sunfish whose original color was fading--but NOT like that! :oops:

Judging by the area around the s/n plate, yours may also have originated with maroon. I'd settle for plum and enjoy a unique--but still original--finish. ;)
 
1966 is marked as the first year that the integrated halyard fairlead mast cap showed up, replacing the block at the top of the mast.
 
Here in Western Mass the temps supposed to be mid 60's with a south wind 5-10, I'm going to try and sail this new fish on the Conn. River this afternoon and see how she swims. Looking at the spars this morning it's clear the mast is almost new, not a mark on it, guessing the others are newer too. I can't get over how solid the deck is, no flexing anywhere I push.
 
What a find. It looks like you've got all the original brass rudder mounting bits too. That bridle is interesting. It looks custom, with a carabiner-sort of clip integrated in the middle instead of a basic wire loop. Interesting.
 
There wouldn't be a hull identification number (HIN) until late 1971.

That carabiner is the lock-on variety--clever.application, but I prefer a simple bowline knot on a "slippery" bridle.

Holy Moly, great find. Definitely a 1966. That red may come back a bit with a light wet sand and some wax, or enjoy the plum color. Should weigh around 139.
Yes, but as I've opined elsewhere here, the "red" of the 60s and 70s won't stay red for very long. It's a maintenence item.

Celebrate "plum". :cool:

Encourage "plum"! ;)
 
Yesterday's outing on the river was great, 68degrees and winds 5-10. The bridle crimp in the center for the loop is loose so the kid I got the boat from put the carabiner on to keep it from sliding off and clips the main sheet to it, gotta change that out. It was my first time using the old-style rudder and tiller set up, definitely like the newer setup better, have to make some kind of adjustments to keep the tiller off the deck. I race my current fish in our club's race series sometimes, would the older rudder setup affect performance much?
 
Looking around a bit and it looks like I need the plastic tube that goes on the bolt in the cove on the transom for the rudder, and the right size pin because it was pretty sloppy yesterday. I have to read up on this assembly here on the forum, luckily it looks like there's plenty of info.
 
Great that you got out for a sail!

Most folks went to a two loop bridle and tie a simple bowline on the end of the sheet. For years ALCORT made a nice sheet that had a snap shackle spliced on to the end, I guess because folks couldn't figure out how to tie bowlines. Because we like gadgets and don't like rusty bridles we use a line bridle with a small block on it and snap shackle the sheet to the block, not Class Legal, but we have not explored Class racing yet.

Digression: The only Sunfish we have that might meet Class rules is our 1953 wooden ALCORT ZIP :)

To keep tiller off the deck we have added rubber bumpers between the rudder head and tail of the tiller.

If you prefer to race a classic unmolested ALCORT and winning is not your primary goal, stick with the original style rudder releasing mechanism. If you are an aggressive racer then you'll have to cut holes or split a seam to change to the newer rudder system.

Information on the patented rudder releasing mechanism on our blog: Alcort Rudder Releasing Mechanism

We have a proper size tube and also OEM rudder pins. PM us if interested.
 
Thanks Clark, I'm thinking to keep her as she sits. I was able to weigh her today and between my wife and me wobbling the hull on the scale we had weights between 138-142lbs so all good, we did drain about a pint of water from the side drain plug, not sure if it was from yesterday or was in there for a while. I'll try to do a leak test and see what bubbles up.
 
Did a leak test with the soapy water, no bubbles escaping anywhere on the hull. The vent hole in the middle of the Alcort ID plate was a perfect fit for a needle to inflate a soccer ball. With a fair amount of urging from my wife, I've decided to paint the boat, the hull already had white paint on it from a previous owner, paint is ordered from Jamestown Dist. That will be a spring project.
 
So, before I covered my red hulled 1966 Sunfish, I picked up almost a year ago I thought I'd take a couple pictures of her.
 

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