New member, old boat, a few questions...

[Sunphisher]

Hi, all:

Boy, there's a forum for everything! I'm glad this one is here, since I've got serveral questions...

I've had my older Alcort Sunfish for several years and have been casually sailing for most of my life. But, I'm not familiar with all of the names of the parts associated with my Fish (except for the main, basic parts). That's where your help comes in...

I bought my Fish very inexpensively b/c certain parts are in tough shape. I've been limping along with these parts for several seasons, but am now ready to tackle some upgrades. Here's my attempt at describing the parts needed:

-A new Sail - my current one is a red/white/blue one and it has tons of holes in it. Any recommendations?

-Several of those plastic white clips that hold the sail to the boom, etc.. are broken or missing. What are these called and where should I get some?? Would the come with a new sail, automatically?

-My centerboard is wooden and on it's last legs. It's cracked and splitting in several places. Should I simply get a new plastic one? Are there other parts I need to get to ensure the plastic board fits my older boat? Or is it "plug and play" (fairly good pun, huh?)?

Thanks, in advance, for your feedback/help.

 

[Wavedancer]

Hi, all:

Boy, there's a forum for everything! I'm glad this one is here, since I've got serveral questions...

I've had my older Alcort Sunfish for several years and have been casually sailing for most of my life. But, I'm not familiar with all of the names of the parts associated with my Fish (except for the main, basic parts). That's where your help comes in...

I bought my Fish very inexpensively b/c certain parts are in tough shape. I've been limping along with these parts for several seasons, but am now ready to tackle some upgrades. Here's my attempt at describing the parts needed:

-A new Sail - my current one is a red/white/blue one and it has tons of holes in it. Any recommendations?

-Several of those plastic white clips that hold the sail to the boom, etc.. are broken or missing. What are these called and where should I get some?? Would the come with a new sail, automatically?

-My centerboard is wooden and on it's last legs. It's cracked and splitting in several places. Should I simply get a new plastic one? Are there other parts I need to get to ensure the plastic board fits my older boat? Or is it "plug and play" (fairly good pun, huh?)?

Thanks, in advance, for your feedback/help.

Sail: you can buy a 'class legal' sail, or an 'internet' (non-legal) sail. Class legal sails (made by North) come in two varieties, the colored ones ($282, or $340 with a window) and the white 'racing' sail (with window; $406). If you think about racing (now or in the future), definitely get the white one. Prices are from the 2006 APS catalog. If you buy from APS (www.APSLTD.com), you can get the sail rings (aka clips) for free; most other Vanguard dealers will do the same.
Internet sails (www.fxsails.com) are listed at $150 (no window). There are other sources; check E-bay; the Vanguard outlet store had a (brand new) 50-year anniversary sail (no window) on there; it may still be available.
Regarding your old sail, you can use sail tape to fix small holes and tears. You can even get colored tape to (approximately) match the one you have.

Board: wooden ones can be fixed, but I would recommend a new plastic one. It should fit the daggerboard slot just fine, but you may want to put some tape (or strip of carpet) into the slot to protect the new board.