New to forums, a few questions...
- Thread starter Nola Mike
- Start date
L&VW
Well-Known Member
The Sailfish logo is throwing me off. 
Huh, didn't even notice that. Hmm, looks like the area of the sailfish sail is the same, but i don't know about the rest of it, especially in '68. Unless someone can tell me that it's the same as a new style sunfish sail, I may pass on this one. Maybe if he can find his '90's sail? Don't want to let my impatience to get back on the water cloud my judgement
IMHO, that rig is worth about $100 (no mast) or $150 with the mast; no more!
The (Sailfish!) sail may tear due to age...
Current sails come in two flavors; 'race' (more expensive) and 'casual'. The non-legal versions of these are a lot less expensive.
The (Sailfish!) sail may tear due to age...
Current sails come in two flavors; 'race' (more expensive) and 'casual'. The non-legal versions of these are a lot less expensive.
L&VW
Well-Known Member
Don't know which Sailfish sail you got, but found this on the forum:
Attachments
I saw that info. Looks like the sail area is the same, but i don't know about the cut. The sail I ended up getting is a sunfish sail from the 90s. Pretty beat up, needs a few patches, but a brand new sail in the future is pretty easy and relatively cheap, unlike the spars. Which now that I think about it are likely sailfish as well. Don't know if they're the same. Can anyone tell me the length of the spars?
@beldar boathead , found a post of yours:
"The vast majority of Sailfish are actually Super Sailfish. They have the same length booms, but the mast is shorter as the Sailfish hull isn't as deep. But you can use it with no issues.
The sail is the same dimensions but Sailfish sails were made flatter so it will have less power than a modern Sunfish sail. But it will work fine."
Sounds like my assumptions were correct, and the spars should work fine regardless of sunfish or sailfish
"The vast majority of Sailfish are actually Super Sailfish. They have the same length booms, but the mast is shorter as the Sailfish hull isn't as deep. But you can use it with no issues.
The sail is the same dimensions but Sailfish sails were made flatter so it will have less power than a modern Sunfish sail. But it will work fine."
Sounds like my assumptions were correct, and the spars should work fine regardless of sunfish or sailfish
Picked up everything today. Ended up with the spars, gooseneck, halyard and sheet lines, and sail clips. He had 3 sails with him, the sailfish and 2 sunfish. Both the sunfish sails were fairly rough. I ended up with the one below. It has several repairs already, which were double sided tape/sewn. The one active issue is that it's missing the edging/grommet on the foot of the sail. What's the best way to repair this? We'll see if this gets me a few years. If not, I'll buy something new aftermarket.
L&VW
Well-Known Member
From what I can see from enlarged photos, the existing grommets look OK.
You'd be surprised at the strength of Dacron repair tape: with another's help, you can apply repair tape to both sides, and install (by hammer) replacement grommets from a kit. The grommets from a hardware store kit will likely be steel—and will rust—but will "buy" you a few years. (Even more years, if you paint them).
With my "cell-torn" racing sail, I used a home sewing machine to put a zig-zag pattern of stitches through the (very long) repair. The sewing machine tended to bind while sewing through the two layers of adhesive, but I sprayed some WD-40™ on the patches and continued sewing with no issues.
'Bet that use of WD-40™ didn't make the Internet!
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The spars are the same for the Super Sailfish and Sunfish, as long as someone hasn't damaged and cut them along the way. The sails are the same square footage as well, but the cut of the newer sails is different to put a little more draft on the foot and a bit in the luff. By newer I mean sails that came out in the mid to late 70s or later, the Super Sailfish sail in the picture was made before then. So if you lay the old sail over the new sail you will see a significant difference in the foot and luff of the new sail. It will also appear to puddle when at rest, but once under sail it takes on a beautiful shape with a nice camber.
Check out new prices on spars, they went up from just under $500 to $603, IF you can find them. I know a few folks live around big warehouses full of pristine old Sunfish parts, but most of us don't. Availability drives the price. I think you got a good deal and would be interested in the Sailfish sail. One of the ways to tell the "old" sails is that it has 5 panels vs 6. I usually find them to be of high quality but the stitching can be loose in places, usually at the corners.
One way to tell the difference between the Sunfish sail and the Sailfish sail is that the Sunfish sail has a Sunfish logo on it and the Sailfish sail has a Sailfish logo on it
Material: 6061-T6 Aluminum Alloy
Mast -
Style: Round Tube
Finish: Clear Anodized
Length: 10' (3.05 m)
OD: 2-1/4" (57.15 mm)
Wall Thickness: .083" (2.11 mm)
Spars -
Style: Round Tube
Finish: Clear Anodized
Length: 13' 8" (4.17 m)
OD 1-1/2" (38.1 mm)
Wall Thickness: .065" (1.65 mm)
Check out new prices on spars, they went up from just under $500 to $603, IF you can find them. I know a few folks live around big warehouses full of pristine old Sunfish parts, but most of us don't. Availability drives the price. I think you got a good deal and would be interested in the Sailfish sail. One of the ways to tell the "old" sails is that it has 5 panels vs 6. I usually find them to be of high quality but the stitching can be loose in places, usually at the corners.
One way to tell the difference between the Sunfish sail and the Sailfish sail is that the Sunfish sail has a Sunfish logo on it and the Sailfish sail has a Sailfish logo on it
Material: 6061-T6 Aluminum Alloy
Mast -
Style: Round Tube
Finish: Clear Anodized
Length: 10' (3.05 m)
OD: 2-1/4" (57.15 mm)
Wall Thickness: .083" (2.11 mm)
Spars -
Style: Round Tube
Finish: Clear Anodized
Length: 13' 8" (4.17 m)
OD 1-1/2" (38.1 mm)
Wall Thickness: .065" (1.65 mm)
The price of everything isn't SUPER important, except that at some point I'm better off with a whole new rig ($400-700 seems to be the going rate around here, if you can find one--usually at the upper end of that range). I'm bummed that my last sail was in such good shape compared to this one (and it had a window). Anyways, almost ready to get back on the water. So for the repair, do I need this to be multi-part? Looks like I need to tape the rip in the sail first, then put another piece on the edge, going around the first to reinforce the foot and grommet, and then sew everything on?
Ha, you've got to be kidding me. Walking the shore today for the thousandth time since the sail was lost, and I came upon the spars, with a slight bend but otherwise ok, and the sail, which was tangled all to hell in some rip rap. Took about 10 minutes to free it, but came out dirty but otherwise unharmed! So i guess I'll sell the new spars and sail in the spring; the old one is in much nicer shape and it has a window. We're getting there! 
Another way to dry out a wet Sunfish is to use a household dehumidifier. I used two inspection ports, one near the front and one near the back, and connected flexible plastic drain tubing, which fit nicely into the opening of the inspection ports, to the dehumidifier. I used cardboard and duck tape to make ductwork over the intake and exhaust of the dehumidifier. I duct taped all the joints to seal out outside air and ran the dehumidifier for about a week. I emptied the water that was removed from inside the boat as needed. I was able to take the weight down to 130 pounds. I removed several gallons from inside the boat.
mixmkr
Well-Known Member
Great idea