You can expect some damage to the front and rear edges of the daggerboard, but among my five+ (Well, lifetime ownership of 9 or 10) Sunfish, have never seen any rotten areas. But they've all been mahogany—substitute wood species may have rot issues.
small tears can be repaired with adhesive backed sailcloth from Sailrite.
While you can sail with that even in its current condition, it isn't the best board. Sunfish have some with a few different boards over the years, and that is the smallest. The boat doesn't point well with it and you will have more leeway than you want. If you can pick up a used "Barrington" or "Old Style" (that has a rounded bottom) board your boat will sail better. By far the best of all are the new composite ones with a foil shape to them. They have been around since the early 90s, but cost more than the wood Barrington or Old Styles.I think you are right on the daggerboard. After cleaning (it was so gross!), it seems there wasn't rot after all. There is some damage around the edges though.
By far the best of all are the new composite ones with a foil shape to them. =
While in theory that would be a good idea, it unfortunately would not turn out to be the best of all worlds. The wood boards are strong because they are wood, and the composite boards have steel reinforcement in them (the latest all-fiberglass composite boards may or may not, but I strongly suspect they do.) 3 D printed plastic would bend while being sailed, and when you flip and need to climb on the board to get the boat back upright, it would unfortunate quickly snap. I also imagine printing something of that size would be really expensive. The UPS store charges about $60 to print an iphone case, so a daggerboard would probably be well over $1,000 and would not have the required strength or durability. You could print one from stainless steel but it would cost a fortune and weigh a ton.Are folks 3D printing their own? Are their set plans out there for a 3D printed daggerboard? I haven't been able to find any. Seems like the best of all worlds?
I have never even seen a "new" Sunfish centreboard, but I assume the construction is similar to the Laser foils, as the two have shared the same (North American or English) builder for the last 30 years. If that is correct, then...the composite boards have steel reinforcement in them (the latest all-fiberglass composite boards may or may not, but I strongly suspect they do.)
That’s your free boat? Nice! I’d say you did very well!
Beautiful boat! Love the color scheme. And great PFD choices for the crew, it looks like they fit snug and are comfortable, Bravo Zulu to the parents.
What year is she, there should be a Hull Identification Number on the upper right transom, with the last 2 digits being the last two numbers of the year.
How did Sea Trials go and did she get a name?
Thank you for sharing the photos.
Nice boat! Assume you added a daggerboard and rudder before pushing off?
“Back in the day” racers would clip the sheet on as shown. It allows you to sheet harder on starboard without pulling the sail too far towards the centerline.One other point: the mainsheet clips into the little loop in the traveler at the stern of the boat.
Nice boat! One point. When you hoist the sail, hoist it all the way so the upper aluminum boom and the top oif the mast just touch. If you don't, the upper boom will flop around while under sail and could damage the boom. You can adjust how high the lower boom is by where you attach the halyard to the upper boom.
What lake do you sail on? I am a transplanted Buckeye and grew up sailing on the little state park lakes in southwest Ohio.
Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
We have the same sail colour!
One other point: the mainsheet clips into the little loop in the traveler at the stern of the boat. Your boat is a ‘73 or later. You’ve got the new-style rudder, a big plus! So sometimes there IS such a thing as a free boat! You and the kids will have a blast with it.
thanks! I was just about to post the same thing!