Oops. Minifish inspection port?

tag

my2fish
Well crap. I picked up a very nice Minifish last Thanksgiving as a gift for my boys and have somehow kept it hidden from them all year.

I got it out today to prep it for them, and was going to install a mainsheet block and remove the hook.

I thought I would cut in an inspection port. image.jpg

Didn't realize the Mini was solid foam. So, what is my best course of action?

I'm thinking I can get a port with a solid cover and that'd be the simple fix. But the port would be fairly useless.

Or I can keep the little circle I cut out, and attempt to patch it back in place. Fiberglass and epoxy it back, maybe try to re-gelcoat the repair?

Thoughts?
 
Tag,

I don't think its solid foam all the way to the keel. Prob the foam with a stiff wire. Maybe all you need to do is cut out more foam to access the interior.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
Just chisel out that area of foam towards the area you want to access. I did this on a Sunfish to get to bridle eyestraps. You will loose minmal structural support.
 
Thanks guys, I will investigate things a little further into the foam.

This won't help now but for future reference it is not solid foam all the way across the deck behind the 'splashguard'; you happened to hit one of the two longitudinal foam blocks. At this point I would carve outa foam cylinder under hole. You will likely be close to one edge of the block. I would then cut through to the side so you can use the port as intended. Late fyi, if you tap the deck you may be able to tell where the blocks aren't.
 
If the hull is left outside I have had condensation from dew that shows exactly where the foam blocks are located. A digital laser thermometer can be used to check hull temperature differences and find the blocks.
I would put a port in as it can be used in the future and you can decide later about the foam remove. I use rivets on ports.
I have always preferred the cockpit ports in regular Sunfish but Mini Fish I am not familiar with the cockpit construction.
A picture of the whole deck would be helpful for future reference on the forum where not to put a port on a Mini Fish.

Minas man
 
I have several pictures of the Minifish - I can upload them all at some point. I'll try to dig out a little bit of foam and go ahead an install the inspection port. Thanks for all your ideas.
 
Tonight I probed the foam with a wire, and then carved out the expanding foam and sure enough it was maybe 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. There is a main flotation foam block running along the left side of the port but I should have enough room to reach inside and install the backing hardware to install a ratchet block and cleat.

I'll take some pictures tomorrow when I work on installing everything.
 
Ok, so carving out the bedding foam was a success.
minifish port.JPG
I then was able to reach into the inside of the boat, and install the backing hardware for a mainsheet ratchet block (I used the Holt Nautos 57mm one from Intensity Sails). I plan to install a H150 cam cleat on the cockpit wall, but didn't have the right screws available. I did install the inspection port, too.
minifish mainsheet block.JPG
Other upgrades: I installed a mast cleat to tie off the halyard.
minifish mast cleat.JPG
And then took off the old wooden tiller extension, and replaced it with a Ronstan Battlestick with a rubber universal joint.
minifish tiller ext.JPG
And a quick-release for the gooseneck, but I forgot to take a picture of that.

All told, she's coming along nicely!

tag
 
I did get around to installing a Harken H150 cam cleat on the wall of the Minifish cockpit. I re-used one of the holes from the old hook, so only had to drill 1 new hole.
minifish cleat.JPG
 

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