New Fish in the Fleet

Breeze Bender

Breeze Bender
Well, new to me. This Sunfish has been around since 1965, by my estimation. It was the first year the forward deck stripe was offered as an option. It has the halyard block, replaced by the plastic fairlead in ‘66. It’s a beach banger, for sure, but it was sitting high and dry in the water and for $50 I sailed it home, smiling all the way, even though it may have been my last sail of the season. The old style rudder proved to be no problem at all. It has a fun black pirate sail. The blue deck is very chalky but should polish up nicely. There are a couple of ugly (though watertight) repairs. I’m curious to see what’s under all the goop covering the cockpit bailer!
It’s a working weekend so no time to play with boats, but I hope to get this one cleaned up before the snow flies... sigh...
 

Attachments

  • 6A3BF948-DC33-40F0-8F05-3AB85AF49268.jpeg
    6A3BF948-DC33-40F0-8F05-3AB85AF49268.jpeg
    633.1 KB · Views: 52
  • 1D70E44B-0855-4F0E-9E0E-D02EE0E43C1E.jpeg
    1D70E44B-0855-4F0E-9E0E-D02EE0E43C1E.jpeg
    673.9 KB · Views: 52
  • 108D9788-12C1-42A5-B558-39332DAC4140.jpeg
    108D9788-12C1-42A5-B558-39332DAC4140.jpeg
    1 MB · Views: 55
  • FB69023A-FC59-4623-9769-32403384FF3A.jpeg
    FB69023A-FC59-4623-9769-32403384FF3A.jpeg
    715.3 KB · Views: 74
  • C68E7FB4-F1FB-4321-9B5A-90BA80C162EF.jpeg
    C68E7FB4-F1FB-4321-9B5A-90BA80C162EF.jpeg
    707.9 KB · Views: 61
Nice find! That’s most likely a ‘69 or ‘70. The halyard block referred to In the Sunfish timeline is the one at the top of the mast. The deck block remained into the early ‘70s. Those stripes didn’t come about until sometime in late ‘68 (think I read you could get a white boat with one red and one blue stripe prior to that).
 
Thanks, Beldar! Yes, it has the halyard block at the top of the mast, which the timeline says was replaced in ‘66, but it could be an older mast on a ‘newer’ boat. The aluminum plate is missing from the deck. Exact year doesn’t really matter to me, but I do think these older Sunfish were well built, as this one has been around and in use for at least 50 years and it’s still got plenty of life in it!
 
I got my neighbor's Sunfish for free! (Na-na-nana). ;)

'Course, I'm still working on it; :confused: whereas, you'll only need an afternoon to put it in selling order!

Nice boat and DEAL!

What's the deal with that white bow-bumper? Is it made for Sunfish?

After removing the goop that's covering the bailer, you may have a working De Persia bailer. The aluminum part can be made to look new again using a mounted coarse wire brush--then sand to a polish.

Nice!
 
That bow bumper is great, and yes, made for the Sunfish. I’ve only seen it for sale at West Coast Sailing and it’s not cheap- $45!
Hoping to dig into that bailer in the morning to see what’s underneath.
 
The bumpers were made by a company in Bristol, RI. They made them for all kinds of sailboats used in club settings like the 420, Laser, etc. I have three of the bow bumpers and one deck edge bumper. If anyone is interested let me know. I'll sell the two piece set for $30 plus shipping and the hull bow guard piece for $20 plus shipping. Contact me at cjo1023 at yahoo dot com.
 
Well, L&VW, The “bailer surprise” turned out to be an easily removed sealant covering a well-fitted threaded brass plug. Amazingly, I was able to unscrew it with just a wrench (not days of soaking and cranking)
I know it’s not original, but it’s kinda cool, it fits in the De Persia base and it may just need a new rubber gasket.
 

Attachments

  • E8424A87-E224-416E-94CB-9AC679B69C48.jpeg
    E8424A87-E224-416E-94CB-9AC679B69C48.jpeg
    630 KB · Views: 43
  • 64657C2C-D751-49D5-B2C4-7031F4628F17.jpeg
    64657C2C-D751-49D5-B2C4-7031F4628F17.jpeg
    810.5 KB · Views: 37
Last edited:

Back
Top