New Member...Water inside the Hull

Father_Jack

New Member
Greetings to all,

I am trying to restore a 1970's Sunfish, and there appears to be water inside of the hull. (The bow is heavy when I lift it, but then become light as the water moves to the stern.) I cannot see where it entered, and worse, can't figure a way to get it out without putting a hole in the hull.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Many thanks,

Jack
 
FJ,

You can try opening the drian plug at the end of the splash rail and leaving the SF on its side (make sure the vent hole in the front wall of the cockpit is open), but this is slow and does not always remove all the water. Quickest way to remove the water is to install an inspection port (or 2). Yes it is making a hole in the boat, but has advantages. First location is behind the splash rail (6" port), second location is in front of the rudder (5" port). Check Wind Line Sails (http://www.windline.net/index.html) or Mike Kilpatricks page (http://mikekilpatrick.homestead.com/dollies.html) for instructions on how to install the ports. From the forward location, you can reach the dagger board well, mast step and resecure any of the foam blocks that may be loose. From the aft location, you can install the rudder upgrade if your boat does not already have it and provide "cross/thru" ventallation to speed drying out the inside. I would do the front one first (aft one later if needed) and start getting the hull dry (and lighter), do a leak test to find out where the water is getting in and make your repairs after the hull is dry. Wind Line, Mike Killpatrick, Yahoo Sunfish Sailor, the Sunfish Class site all have repair tips and methods and lots more. Do a search here in the SF Forum (water in hull, leak, repairs, etc.) and many results will show up with "how to" answers. Good Luck
 
Just follow Supercub's suggestions, it is quite easy to do.

It dit one last summer on my 1969 'fish. Hope it will dry out over next couple of years.
 

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