sheet size and length

[oldfish]

what have you found to be best sheet size, company and length of main and halyard.
For fun, not racing. Thanks.

 

[L&VW]

Save aggravation: Don't buy line "Hecho en Mexico"!

1) One of my Sunfish came with a minimal mainsheet. Fully released, the boom was kept at 90-degrees to the hull. There are "gusty" times when you need a few more feet to "spill air"—possibly save old spars from breaking—and to sail safely home.

2) I launch from a tree-lined shoreline, so, to keep myself low in the boat while raising the mainsail, I added a clam cleat aft of the splashboard; eventually, I'll need an extra three feet of halyard, and run it through a drilled hole in the splashboard.

Lesson: "extra" line is better.

 

[minifish2]

what have you found to be best sheet size, company and length of main and halyard.
For fun, not racing. Thanks.

Eduardo has a nice write-up at this link:
http://www.starboardpassage.com/SP/How_to_rig_a_sunfish.html

He recommends 33ft of 5/16ths polypropylene with a Spectra core, which would be plenty long. He says he uses 1/4 inch Rooster ropes himself, but that width can be tough on your hands if you don't wear gloves. Personally I really like the Rooster brand mainsheets but they really are high-end lines. APS includes 32 foot 7mm (9/32) Rooster lines in their premium racing package, and that's the mainsheet I prefer.

Here are the APS line charts for their racing and recreational packages. You don't need to get the whole package to order the mainsheet or halyard from them.
http://www.apsltd.com/c-2396-sunfish-linepackages.aspx

At the budget end there is the $15 Intensity recreational mainsheet. It is shorter at 25 ft, but it will be ok for most and you won't have so much line in the cockpit. Like Light and Variable though I prefer longer for those few times you really want go well past 90 degrees.
http://www.intensitysails.com/nero7mmbzlim1.html

Intensity also has a longer and higher quality discount priced mainsheet he bills as a Rooster substitute, which it isn't in my book, but it still is a very good line and easier on the hands than most. Especially if you don't wear gloves this is a realy nice line, probably by New England ropes as I recall. You have to ask for it. As I recall it is pre-cut longer, probably for Lasers, so you can just cut it down to the length you prefer.

As for halyards, most people will find that the $13 Intensity halyard will do the trick:
http://www.intensitysails.com/24of5mmnerof.html

It is 24 feet, 5mm, which is also the diameter that APS uses in the 25 ft halyards in their packages.

 

[signal charlie]

Halyard 3/16, main 3/8", both 25 feet long. We have bought a lot of New England Rope Sta-Set. You can go up or down 1/16 inch to suit your tastes. We like a thicker main if it is easier to grip but still runs through blocks okay, some older blocks are a little smaller.
Yankee Boating Center sells a recreational line kit for $55, and if you call they will try to send lines that match your boat/sail.
http://www.sunfishsailboats.com/mast.php

Don't forget line for a bow line and rope bride if you like, we use the same size as the halyard. And 1/8 inch line works great for outhauls, lacing sails and daggerboard retainer.

K