Restoration underway

E

eastmountain

New Member
I have an elderly Sunfish (early '70s or older I'm guessing) that has been rode hard and put up wet, if I can borrow a cowboy phrase. I've been sailing it at my father's lake for several years, and it has spent some time sunk next to the dock, totally submerged. In the past I have successfully dried it out (at least enough to get it sailing again) and carried on, but this time I am convinced that it is waterlogged beyond hope of drying. I didn't weigh it, but it had to be 250 lbs., since it was a chore for my brother and father and I to get it into my pickup truck (and we are all of us big guys). It is time to replace the foam blocks.

I've read a few of you say that separating the deck from the hull is tantamount to carving the hull up with a chainsaw. I beg to differ. I'm underway on a restoration and will take pictures to show you the process. I have separated the seam between deck and hull and have removed all the foam, both the blocks and poured foam that fastened the blocks to the hull/deck. And I did it without separating the tub or the centerboard trunk.

I lucked into some good size closed cell foam that I can cut to shape using the old blocks as a template.

By the way, the old blocks were fairly heavy, but the really heavy stuff was the poured foam. There were loaves of that stuff that seemed heavy as bricks.

So, anyway, the plan is to fit new blocks, adhere them with low-volume spray foam, epoxy the deck seam, reattach the aluminum rubrail, and put it back in the water...hopefully before the sailing season is over. Wish me luck.
 
eastmountain said:
"...So, anyway, the plan is to fit new blocks, adhere them with low-volume spray foam, epoxy the deck seam, reattach the aluminum rubrail, and put it back in the water...hopefully before the sailing season is over. Wish me luck..."
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'Nice to see a new approach to this oft-needed repair. Good luck with it—and I think we're all looking forward to the pictures.
 
P2 I think you are extrapolating your experience with lesser materials to the Sunfish. From the posts here and elsewhere it is very rare the foam needs to be gutted completely. In the majority of cases venting restores the existing closed-cell foam used in Sunfish to it's original state and leak repairs overcome the condition of neglect that lead to water logging in the first place. I think you are allowing yourself to be mislead by viewing a Help Forum where the worst cases appear to represent the entire quarter million (+) Sunfish that have been produced. The member boats here only represent less than 1% of all Sunfish made. So, I contend your statement of "oft-needed repair" is wholly inaccurate and may mislead a novice to taking much more drastic action than would be needed.
 
I agree with Dan, this type of repair (foam-ectomy and foam transplants) are less often needed. Closed cell foam will give back (expel) the moisture under the right conditions (humidity and temperature). The more popular reason to do all this surgery is to just reattach or repair broken foam blocks in their original position. The foam blocks break do to neglect of care during transportaton, an accidental dropping of the hull, other mishaps, and rarely from the sheer forces induced during a hard choppy sail. The "older" sunfish boats are pretty "iron-clad" and have maintained their "one design" that is made up of their "original parts" too.
Best regards to a healthy recovery of your fish.
 
Dan said:
P2 I think you are extrapolating your experience with lesser materials to the Sunfish. From the posts here and elsewhere it is very rare the foam needs to be gutted completely. In the majority of cases venting restores the existing closed-cell foam used in Sunfish to it's original state and leak repairs overcome the condition of neglect that lead to water logging in the first place. I think you are allowing yourself to be mislead by viewing a Help Forum where the worst cases appear to represent the entire quarter million (+) Sunfish that have been produced. The member boats here only represent less than 1% of all Sunfish made. So, I contend your statement of "oft-needed repair" is wholly inaccurate and may mislead a novice to taking much more drastic action than would be needed.
Click to expand...
Perhaps.

1) It's described as having seen worse service than most Sunfish.

2) He's already split open the hull—and a Sunfish that doesn't sink at the dock is more fun to sail.

3) The 30+ year-old original foam blocks can't be as good as their modern foam replacements, and he states that the old poured foam was worse-yet.

4) The leaks that caused the mischief in the first place can be traced more easily and fixed more thoroughly.

I applaud the effort to restore any and all Sunfish—even Sailfish!

But change my "oft-needed repair" to, "oft-needed look-see". :)
 
1) It's described as having seen worse service than most Sunfish.
Sunk and then left is probably the worst case of neglect ever posted here


2) He's already split open the hull—and a Sunfish that doesn't sink at the dock is more fun to sail.
Easier to sail too


3) The 30+ year-old original foam blocks can't be as good as their modern foam replacements, and he states that the old poured foam was worse-yet.
No doubt, but "good" is a relative term here. Kept dry older foam performs as well as new. The pour foam used seems to be a lower density variety from the behavior described. But, that's a moot point given the circumstances. Any foam will eventually take on water when submerged for long periods.


4) The leaks that caused the mischief in the first place can be traced more easily and fixed more thoroughly.
I disagree. Leaks at attachment points like dagger board and mast tube will be too small to see and can only be found once the hull is reassembled and air tested.
 
Im interested in hearing more about this adventure. I always wondered why people strey from seperating the deck from the hull? As far as i know it could be some simple reason. But im new at the sailing game. Looking to learn from others mistakes.

Jonathon
 
I always wondered why people strey from seperating the deck from the hull?
Simple - it's a pain in the rear when easier methods exist that will get you sailing quicker in the majority of cases. Just as an example - the two halves aren't just buttoned together by that aluminum strip they are fused with resin into one solid piece. It's a steep learning curve for a one time job and in the majority of instances it's (pardon me) going overboard.

No question this particular boat is most likely the exception.

Have a look at the guide if you want to see what's involved.
 
The success of this project is yet to be seen: putting the boat back together right is the true test. Taking something apart and destroying the original structure (deck/hull integrity) is the easy part! I hope we hear about the final result.

Fred
 
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