Oldest sailfish gooseneck?

[sail dinghy]

Thread starter #1
I have a very old standard sailfish, probably kit built, and have not seen a gooseneck like this anywhere. It is fixed in place with 2 screws. Any ideas, info?

 

[signal charlie]

Well it looks better than the leather strap the first production Sunfish had. Maybe that is the Gen 2 gooseneck? First picture we've seen of that.

Our boom had a hole through it where the bolt for a strap might have been. We upgraded it to a later gooseneck.

Got more pictures of the boat?

Cheers
Kent and Skipper

 

[sail dinghy]

I bought it several years ago from someone who said his friend's father built it from a kit. No major repairs, except the broken brass connector assembly was replaced with eye-bolts. Still have the original brass piece and original homemade sail. Any additional info you can share is appreciated.

 

[signal charlie]

LIFE Magazine put Alcort Sailboats on the map August 1949 when they published a photo article about the Standard Sailfish. At the time Alcort had sold just over 100 boats, sales took off and they built thousands of wooden and fiberglass sailboats into the 1980s. The Sailfish was phased out in the 1970s. Click here for the LIFE article.

In 1949 the cost of a kit was $189. The kit came with a sail, and Alcort sold solid red, solid whit and solid blue sails back then, so maybe your sail came with the kit?

Length 11' 6 1/2"
Beam 31 1/2"
Hull weight 82 pounds
Hull material Philippine mahogany and marine plywood
Sail 65 sf
Crew Capacity 300 pounds

The mast should be 9 feet long and the spars about 11 1/2', just like the Minifish rig. Some of the very early masts were solid wood, tapered at the top with a sheave. In the late 50s they switched to the hybrid aluminum/wood mast and most boats in the 1960s came with the aluminum rig.

Here is the link to our Standard Sailfish WINNIE and our 1953 wooden Sunfish ZIP, number 13 of 20 Pre-production boats.

Beautiful boat, what are your plans for it?

Cheers
Kent and Skipper

 

[sail dinghy]

Thank you for the info. My sailfish has the same bronze spar connector, here are the pics. The connector did not break, just separated when the spot weld failed. New weld would make it usable again. I have someone stopping by today to look at it. If I still own it tomorrow I'll let you know.

 

[sail dinghy]

LIFE Magazine put Alcort Sailboats on the map August 1949 when they published a photo article about the Standard Sailfish. At the time Alcort had sold just over 100 boats, sales took off and they built thousands of wooden and fiberglass sailboats into the 1980s. The Sailfish was phased out in the 1970s. Click here for the LIFE article.
View attachment 27126



In 1949 the cost of a kit was $189. The kit came with a sail, and Alcort sold solid red, solid whit and solid blue sails back then, so maybe your sail came with the kit?

Length 11' 6 1/2"
Beam 31 1/2"
Hull weight 82 pounds
Hull material Philippine mahogany and marine plywood
Sail 65 sf
Crew Capacity 300 pounds

View attachment 27127

The mast should be 9 feet long and the spars about 11 1/2', just like the Minifish rig. Some of the very early masts were solid wood, tapered at the top with a sheave. In the late 50s they switched to the hybrid aluminum/wood mast and most boats in the 1960s came with the aluminum rig.

Here is the link to our Standard Sailfish WINNIE and our 1953 wooden Sunfish ZIP, number 13 of 20 Pre-production boats.

Beautiful boat, what are your plans for it?

Cheers
Kent and Skipper

The fellow never called to confirm a time to view the boat, so keeping it for now.

 

[signal charlie]

Yes, those connectors are fragile, the one of the Sunfish was busted and we got a new one made. The one on the Standard Sailfish is holding up.

I think I saw your boat on Craigslist, please keep us updated on the status