News Sunfish renovation!

tynwald

tynwald

Member
Well, it’s been many years since I last posted. Have long since moved up to larger boats, but have always kept the Fish, and it seems right to update her status. Over the years there’s been some gel coat damage and the like, so I thought it time to give my old friend a new lease on life. I repaired all fiberglass damage, faired out imperfections in the gel coat, replaced some missing parts and gave her several coats of new paint. I think the ol’ gal looks pretty good! What do you think?
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Looks great. Did you do anything to make the metal banding around the gunwales and cockpit look so good?

Did you repaint the deck?
 
I carefully removed the aluminum pieces by drilling out the rivets, then replaced them after painting. She was painted with 2-3 coats of Alexseal, which give a finish that closely approximates spraying (I did some wet sanding and buffing afterwards that removed any brush strokes). Every part of the boat was painted, including the red and blue stripes, and I replaced the Alcort sticker with a repro. She really is a new (more or less) boat. I named her “Rediviva”, which means revived or resurrected. I now live on the Columbia River, which was named for Capt. Gray’s ship, Columbia Rediviva (so named because it had been completely rebuilt prior to her sail from Boston to the PNW in 1792 when he discovered the “great river of the west” and claimed it for the fledgling US). Anyway, think I’m going to take her a sail tomorrow. Gotta love these Sunfish!
 

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Looks awesome! Where did you get the repro stickers?

I want to repaint my hull (bottom) so maybe I should use Alexseal. You rolled and tipped then cut and buff?
 
I found it on eBay. I did roll and tip, but some have said that just rolling is better. Be sure to use the rolling additive.
 
tynwald said:
Well, it’s been many years since I last posted. Have long since moved up to larger boats, but have always kept the Fish, and it seems right to update her status. Over the years there’s been some gel coat damage and the like, so I thought it time to give my old friend a new lease on life. I repaired all fiberglass damage, faired out imperfections in the gel coat, replaced some missing parts and gave her several coats of new paint. I think the ol’ gal looks pretty good! What do you think?View attachment 56301View attachment 56302View attachment 56303View attachment 56304View attachment 56305
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Pretty!
 
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