Sailfish Identification and Inspection

Sidlicious

New Member
Hi,

This is my first post to sailingforums. I acquired a AMF Alcort Sailfish from a co-worker for $100. It was stored behind a shed (they don't know how long). Sails and rudders were kept indoors. Here are a few pictures of before and after cleaning it up.
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Here is a picture of the hull.
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When I flipped the boat I weighed it (based off forum posts about water logging and due to the fact when I got the boat I had to drain it for +10 minutes) and it came to 140 lbs. Also, when I brought the boat up in the air some things seemed to move around inside (I would say the size of a baseball maybe?).

My questions are as follows.
1.) What year is this boat? (after research I think it is a 1969-1071 but some of you probably know much better than me)
2.) If I am hearing things move around inside does that mean the foam (which I'm not sure of sailfish have them because I have only seen sunfish rebuild posts) that holds the high density foam in place is broken off? (again if a sailfish has this foam). What else could it be?
3.) Is 140 lbs reasonable for this boat? (on google the Super Sailfish (which is fiberglass) MK-II is supposed to weigh 98 lbs. I'm not sure if that is correct.)

Here is a link to all the images: Sailfish clean up and inspection

Thank you all for you time and comments. I'm hoping to learn to sail on this pretty lady.

-Sid
 
The sound could be the wood block that the rudder parts attach to.

Do your screws for the rudder brackets still bit into a block?
I'm not sure I understand. Are you saying that the beneath the surface of the fiber class there is a wood block that the rudder bracket screws go into (to support it)? If so, I just unscrewed the brackets for cleaning. I don't remember hearing any thud. Do all sailfish have this?
 
No need to remove the deck. If the blocks have fallen away you can install inspection ports to provide access to the inside of the hull. Given the boat is 40 lbs overweight, those ports will be good for providing airflow to dry the foam out inside. There are lots of posts on the forum as to how to do that. But first be sure the blocks have fallen away. Hopefully if there are blocks backing up the wood rails those didn't fall away too.
 
No need to remove the deck. If the blocks have fallen away you can install inspection ports to provide access to the inside of the hull. Given the boat is 40 lbs overweight, those ports will be good for providing airflow to dry the foam out inside. There are lots of posts on the forum as to how to do that. But first be sure the blocks have fallen away. Hopefully if there are blocks backing up the wood rails those didn't fall away too.
Hi Beldar,

I just took my flashlight and looked at the holes for the wood rails. For sure one block is missing. I'm guessing there is 4 blocks per side (for the 4 bolts holding the rails). Im going to need to wait to flip the boat to confirm the others. I'm also guessing that for any bolt/screw in the boat there needs to be a block (for support of course). I'm ordering a 6" access port today and found the thread on where to put it (between the mast hole and the grippy paint). I know taking the cover off the boat can lead to forfeiture but seemingly I need to replace some blocks for sure. Like I said I'm only $100 bucks in (and time) so if I learn a thing or two and whiling bringing the boat to a point of no return at least I'm taking something away from it. Thank you for the response. I'll keep updating the forum along the way.
 
No need to remove the deck. If the blocks have fallen away you can install inspection ports to provide access to the inside of the hull. Given the boat is 40 lbs overweight, those ports will be good for providing airflow to dry the foam out inside. There are lots of posts on the forum as to how to do that. But first be sure the blocks have fallen away. Hopefully if there are blocks backing up the wood rails those didn't fall away too.

Beldar,

After waiting for temperatures to return to a workable state I made a inspection port in the center of the boat near the dagger today. No issues there, did find moisture in the interior of boat but the foam and everything looks great. Here is the problem though. You cannot access the rails from the center of the boat due to foam blocks being in the way (the high density support blocks). Seemingly they run parallel with the boat maybe 4 inches from the edges along the rails and all the way from the front to the rear. In any case, if you cannot use install new backing blocks for the rails could I get away with something like a drywall heavy anchor (stainless steel of course)?

Thanks again for your help, sorry about the delay in response. Also, if needed I can post pictures.

-Sid
 
Hi Sid...did you ever find anything to help with replacing the rail blocks? I'm just about to get started on restoring a wooden Super Sailfish, and it doesn't look like it ever had rails, but I'd like to add them.

Thanks
 
Hi Sid...did you ever find anything to help with replacing the rail blocks? I'm just about to get started on restoring a wooden Super Sailfish, and it doesn't look like it ever had rails, but I'd like to add them.

Thanks

Dave,

Do you see any holes along the sides of the boat (near the dark grippy area)? Someone might have filled them on your boat. As for rails there is a guy who sells them for $35 a piece but I'm going to make my own. If you look up in my previous posts I have a link to "small boat repair" I believe he is the one who sells the rails. This is my first time doing this so I'm not anything close to experienced but in my situation the wooden backing blocks have fallen down so I'm going to use something like drywall anchors to secure the railings to the top of the boat. Hope this helps.

-Sid
 
Thanks Kent. Once I get the existing paint sanded down, I'll keep my eye out for the possibility of filled holes. I don't have a Yahoo account, and therefore can't access the link you provided. Might you have a copy of the kit instructions, or can you point me to another source to get them? It would be helpful to know what the interior design is for when I go to put in an inspection port.

Thanks, Dave
 
Hi Dave, setting up a Yahoo account is free. There's a ton of good information on the Yahoo Sunfish site.
 

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