New Sailfish

JerryP

New Member
Does anyone have a link to proper sailing techniques for a not so new, but like newish 71 Alcort Sailfish.
I am not really familiar with the Sailfish system.
I am sure it is easy to figure out, but what I figure out may not be as good as how it is best done
Picked up one today for 250, that is in excellent shape. I have never seen one in such good shape, and the deal was good, as junk one sell for more than that around here. Iwill do some buffing, and a small chip repair, but is it is ready to go, all the original brass hardware, nice rudder, and Dagger board. should fit my needs perfect, small lakes while camping, a paddle board that can really sail.
Was going to heavily modify one, but this one is in far too nice a shape to do that. Original finish still looks good. Sail is old, but easily serviceable until I can make a new one.
 
You'll find yourself laying flat a bit, angled across the board sometimes. Use the handrails more as footrails. Skipper found that during tacks it was easier to lean back vs forward. You'll also want to rig the sail high, gooseneck about 22 inches back with halyard around 60 inches down, tied so that the boom is basically parallel to the deck.


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And you're right, they make great SUPs. Heavy but very stable, crew capacity 300 pounds and they track well. Skipper took all the sail rig with her, raised it, sailed around a bit, then lowered it and paddled back in.

Audrey Sweetness SUP mast up.jpg
 
Thanks for the vids and pictures. I can see the rigging perfect.
This is our main campsite. As you can see, I had an inflatable, but tired of patching leaks, acquired a used pedal boat for the wife, and dogs, but wanted a stable paddle board, kayak, sailboat for me , and maybe one dane, and the little dog.
Never another inflatable, as much as I liked and appreciated it, I prefer a more maintenance free boat.
I can rack a Sailfish under the Campers, or on an extension on the back, where the pedal boat will go, or even inside with my PPG.
 

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That looks perfect. Love the dogs. They'll like the Sailfish too. These dogs were real friendly while I was looking at this wooden Super Sailfish, but they barked at me all the way down the driveway when I left with her. I took their sleeping spot!

image.jpg
 
I just bought an old Sailfish for $50, came with two sails (one nice, the other usable but tired looking), two sets of masts & spars. It hadn't been used in over ten years, I brought her home and cleaned her up and will be taking her out soon.
DSCN8632.JPG
 
That boat looks great! You may want to do a leak test to be sure, esp as there is the big bend in the port trim - could be damage underneath. Have fun!

That bend is very slight, it must've been leaning on its side or something. The bottom is otherwise clean with no crack or weakness.
 
That bend is very slight, it must've been leaning on its side or something.

Others can weigh in, but looking at the picture that does not look like something that would happen from the boat resting on its side. Fiberglass is pretty sturdy and it looks It looks like it was dropped or in a pretty good collision. If it leaks when you sail it, you will know it when you drain it thru the deck drain. BB
 
That bend is very slight, it must've been leaning on its side or something. The bottom is otherwise clean with no crack or weakness.

Slight hull deformation, perhaps, it can happen over time... especially if the hull is stored in the sun without a cover of any kind.
 
Fiberglass does not deform in heat. Boats in the Carribbean would melt all the time.

Actually, it DOES, particularly if the boat is stored incorrectly under a blazing sun, or on inappropriate trailer bunks, rollers, etc... but WHATEVER, I forgot ya know it all, LOL. :confused:
 
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I forgot ya know it all, LOL. :confused:

Thanks for acknowledging that. Appreciated. :)

Based on the heat deflection temps of polyester resin, I could believe a heavy powerboat or sailboat could have issues under certain conditions. But for the sailfish to start melting, means the blue deck would need to approach 200 degrees and transmit heat to the white flange of fiberglass the deck joins to , and the portion of the boat's 100 lb weight that is resting on it would need to be sufficient to bend the deck and aluminum edging. The other possibility is that a very heavy weight was positioned on the flange while the boat rested on the starboard edge, then the boat heated up to 200 degrees or so, and then the polyester resin started melting and the weight was so great that it bend the aluminum too.

I am not buying it.
 
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You youngsters are a bunch of lightweights! Back in my day, boats were wood. When they got too hot in the sun, they caught fire! I lost my first wood Sailfish to a sun-induced fire, and the sun burned the stern off my second wood Sunfish. I rebuilt her and named her “Don’t Burn My Stern”. A little melted fiberglass is nothing compared to a plywood inferno!!
 
Thanks for acknowledging that. Appreciated. :)

Based on the heat deflection temps of polyester resin, I could believe a heavy powerboat or sailboat could have issues under certain conditions. But for the sailfish to start melting, means the blue deck would need to approach 200 degrees and transmit heat to the white flange of fiberglass the deck joins to , and the portion of the boat's 100 lb weight that is resting on it would need to be sufficient to bend the deck and aluminum edging. The other possibility is that a very heavy weight was positioned on the flange while the boat rested on the starboard edge, then the boat heated up to 200 degrees or so, and then the polyester resin started melting and the weight was so great that it bend the aluminum too.

I am not buying it.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! You missed your calling, ya should've been a comedian, you would've been quite successful. Temps for boats sitting on asphalt under a blazing sun can be quite high, especially if the boat is under the wrong kind of tarp. Ever hear the saying, "Hotter than Georgia asphalt?" It usually referred to somebody's temper (or loss of it), but it applies in this case. Temps for boats in the water are irrelevant, as they are much cooler and the hulls have greater support according to their design. Anyway, when I worked the Sail Hut at SDNSC, I saw plenty of deformed hulls sitting on inappropriate trailers or whatnot, hull deformation is a fact of life in the nautical world, and that includes the club parking lot, LOL. I should add that it's usually a slow process over time, not something that happens overnight. Meh, go on believing it never happens, and be sure to post some sailing pics or Hero Cam videos of yourself bending on the knots... lesser mortals may benefit from such material, don'tcha know??? And when I say "bending on the knots" I am NOT referring to the boat speed of that La-Z-Boy recliner, aye??? :confused:

P.S. To the hand who called us "youngsters": Thank you for the compliment, but the fact remains that I've been around since dinosaurs roamed the earth... tough BBQ fare, those dinosaurs, damned things were tougher than dollar steaks, LOL. :eek:
 
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