"Singles Cruise" - My sunfish repair/restoration project.

JW123

New Member
Hey all! I am fairly new to everything sailing, but I figured I would share my project sunfish. I am learning as I go, so all suggestions, critique, and advice is welcome!

Two summers ago I tool a summer sailing class at a local county community lake and had a blast. Then a few months later when someone offered me a sunfish for $125, I jumped on it!
Here are some photos of the little work I have done so far. My goal is to get it looking nice and get it on the water this summer (by late june-ish).

Here is the boat right before some disassembly. (I did figure out the date with the serial number, but have since forgotten the year. The year coming to mind is 74ish, but I could be misremembering that.)
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I took nearly much all the hardware off and gave it all a bath with some normal dish soap. It did clean up a fair amount. There is a little damage to the bow that I would like to repair.

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First larger task was to refinish the dagger board, tiller, and rudder. Then also clean up all the hardware and replace what needed to be replaced.

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The dagger board had some decent damage to the edge, but I just tried to smooth it out instead of replacing, so It has a slightly odd profile. (it appears I don't have a photo of it after sanding, but there is a photo after its refinished.)

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The only hardware that was replaced was one bolt and the brass screws. Everything else was just cleaned. I don't have a polishing wheel or else I would have shinned everything up a little. (Just for fun.)
Oh, I also remade the longer tiller shaft. When I was sanding it I found that it was cracked most the way though. I tried to make the replacement identical to the previous one though.

The only other thing done so far was to buy replacement mast hoops for the sail.

My planned next steps I have in mind are:
1) Give the top of the hull a nice wet sand, working to 2000-3000 grit to see if it will take out the remaining scuffs and shine it up.
2) I would like to patch the bow and then sand and maybe re gel-coat the bottom of the hull.
3) Try to clean up the aluminum trim.
4) Reassemble all the hardware attached to the hull.

And I think that's about it really. ...But here are a couple questions:

Do the short and long tiller shafts have different names? What is the best way to attach them at the pivot point (just a bolt and locking nut, as that was what was there when I got it, but not sure if that was original.)

That's it. Shoot me any advice or anything helpful to this project! Thanks!
 
Leave the aluminum trim alone. Aluminum gets an oxide coating which protects it from further corrosion. You can clean it up, but it will come back.

There are many things you can do to make the hull look perfect. Starting off with 2000 grit will not take out much. You need to be down to 400 or 600 and work your way up. That is if that is your real goal. Some people like perfect shiny. It is a lot of work and if you are just going out to play it will show your play quick. You can get the 3M stuff for fiberglass which is a compound/ polish that will make things look nice and just sort of leave it at that too. It is what you feel like doing.

A word of wisdom. You dont want the deck to be super smooth where it is slipperly when wet. You have to crawl across the deck some at times. I went in once at the beginning of the season cause I had my deck nice and smooth and slippery. Just saying!!

I would also say re-gel coating the bottom is also a LOT of work to do right. If you use the boat it will get more scratches. Fix deep cracks with gel coat and clean it up nice.

As you can see I lean towards make it look nice and understand if you really use it it will still get messed up. So all your work may be wasted. So temper your plans to what you personally like to do. Some people like to spend lots of time keeping up with it all and other dont. I can tell you Fish that have been neglected for decades sail just as well as pretty nice ones. I see it everyday at the club.
 
The year is on the upper right of the transom

You have a 48 ish year old heatwave sail and hull, which were z very popular boat in pretty good shape for a very great price.

Marine tex the chip in the front. Do a leak test, make sure the lines are good and go sailing.

Alan on this forum is good at how to clean hulls. Bleach and sun.

I would be careful removing hardware from the hull like cleats, bow handles, bridle hardware, etc. The wood backers can fall off and you would need a port to reattach.

I also would not make the tiller handle longer it will get in the way.


Once you enjoy sailing:

Upgrade the shadow centerboard that sideslips to a foil board which makes sailing much nicer as it does not slip.

Put a universal tiller extension on to replace the extension and bolt method. The tiller extension is where you can increase the length.
 
Good job on the centerboard and rudder, they look great and should work well. I would suggest replacing all the lines: new halyard, new mainsheet, and new bridle. If you do what was mentioned above: just wash the deck, repair and work on the bottom, and get a good working hiking stick attached to the tiller, you will have a really solid sunfish with minimal outlay. this appears to be a bargain at $125. go sailing.
 
Thanks all for the advice! Here is a couple answers and remarks for the reply's.

"There are many things you can do to make the hull look perfect. Starting off with 2000 grit will not take out much. " - For sure, I would work up to the 2000.

"You can get the 3M stuff for fiberglass which is a compound/ polish that will make things look nice and just sort of leave it at that too." - Nice, I will look into that for sure.

"Marine Tex the chip in the front. Do a leak test, make sure the lines are good and go sailing." - Looks like I can get some Marine Tex on amazon. Sounds like that might be the best option, thanks.

"I also would not make the tiller handle longer it will get in the way." & "Put a universal tiller extension on to replace the extension and bolt method. "- I think I might have worded my tiller question wrong. I wont change the size of anything. I was just talking about the pivot point of the two different parts of the tiller. I do actually have that refinished tiller extension, I didn't realize it wasn't in the photos. (When I posted I didnt know that it was called the "Tiller Extension"). Would you say it is best to just use the bolt and plastic washers with the wooden extension or go with a new universal extension? Or is it just personal preference?

"I would suggest replacing all the lines: new halyard, new mainsheet, and new bridle." - Yes, I agree. I was actually looking at a line length chart last night. Any recommended online line sources?

"This appears to be a bargain at $125" - Thanks, I think it was. I get a lot of enjoyment from the work associated with cleaning and fixing it up too!

I will post an update after next weekend. By the way, Rock Chalk too all the KU fans!
 
Sunfish Direct, West Coast Sailing and the Dinghy Shop are good sources for all things Sunfish.

A universal (joint to connect extension to tiller) is the preferred way to go.
 
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Sunfish Direct, West Coast Sailing and the Dinghy Shop are good sources for all things Sunfish.

A universal (joint to connect extension to tiller) is the preferred way to go.
@DinghyShop are members here and good peeps. I picked up the mainsheet keepers and mast float from aerosouth. Also did the hiking strap, and telescoping battlestick. Been do busy haven't gotten out yet and today we have snow and blowing 30. Lol. Nice looking boat.
 
To get lines I have found the best source is from Shoreline Sailboats in NY. They sell the original Vanguard set for $28 and I can assure you the correct sized lines make a difference. Especially for the halyard where most sunfish seem to have too large a line. I also see people using a main sheet that does not have a smooth surface and that is uncomfortable.


Before you put in Marine Tex for a repair consider what look you want on your boat. Marine Tex will never be the right color and yellows over time. If you want a clean single color look over time then you do not want to go that route. It is also much harder then the gel coat and is hard to level properly.
Keep in mind I am not saying it wont do a repair, it will, but it will not look so nice over time. Also the bow tends to get hit if you are using a dock or are around other fish. I am not sure what might happen if you break the hard lump of marine tex, that is it might break the glass around it.

The biggest mistake I have seen in repairs is not feathering back enough before adding your filler. The feathering gives a wide area for the stuff you put on to bond and make new structure. This applies to Marine Tex, glass or even just fixing the gel coat. The surface needs to be sanded with around 80 grit for best grip and you need to make sure the is pushed into the sand scratch.
 
I’d look to sell the daggerboard online and use the proceeds to replace it with a new foil shaped board. You will go upwind better and come out of tacks better. If you are going to race you should get a class-legal board from Laser Performance. If you won’t race, save some money and get one from Intensity Sails.
 

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