The No Stupid Questions Thread

Corprin

Corprin

Active Member
The goal of this thread is to allow people to ask simple/quick/random questions (related to the Sunfish/clones) and to ask "stupid" questions without getting flamed or not ask because “bah, this is dumb.”


I’ll kick it off.

The Harken “spring boot” to keep blocks standing:

1686496148957.jpeg


..is this a cover for the wire spring, or is it a spring in itself?
 
Bumping with another dumb one.

Was out on a local lake today and it was quite gusty. I would go from the sail luffing to heeling to the point where the leeward rail was in the water. Upper spar tied between the 8th and 9th ring from the tack, rec sail. I’m a hefty boy at just above 200lb.

At what point is heeling too far too far. How much can the boat tip before I’m going for a swim?
 
There's no universal 'right' answer to this question.
A lot depends on your level of athleticism. For instance, if you manage to get most of your 200 lbs over the rim of the boat by hiking really hard and stretching out, you should be able to get your Sunfish back up from almost horizontal (sail position).
If not, I would guesstimate to not go more than 45 degrees from horizontal (or vertical). A lot will depend on how gusty it is as well.
 
Corprin said:
Bumping with another dumb one.

Was out on a local lake today and it was quite gusty. I would go from the sail luffing to heeling to the point where the leeward rail was in the water. Upper spar tied between the 8th and 9th ring from the tack, rec sail. I’m a hefty boy at just above 200lb.

At what point is heeling too far too far. How much can the boat tip before I’m going for a swim?
Click to expand...
Your likelihood of capsizing can be assessed by how much of the clew (boom) is trailing in the water.

Sometimes, just a little...can be too much. :(
 
Corprin said:
Bumping with another dumb one.

Was out on a local lake today and it was quite gusty. I would go from the sail luffing to heeling to the point where the leeward rail was in the water. Upper spar tied between the 8th and 9th ring from the tack, rec sail. I’m a hefty boy at just above 200lb.

At what point is heeling too far too far. How much can the boat tip before I’m going for a swim?
Click to expand...
When you fall out. Hey, I always push the boat to the edge, then a gust takes me over and I'm swimming. Nice and cooling on a hot day.
 
As wavedancer said no universial right answer. If you were racing you want you boat as flat as possible with the mast vertical. Lots of hiking off the strap. Lots of easing the sheet in puffs and triming back in. When you heel you are side slipping up wind.
 
I just got a quick release goose neck adjuster from intensity, its fine threads don't fit in the brass goose neck, they are coarse threads, anyone have one of these? Do I drill out the hole on the gooseneck to accept the new adjuster, am I missing something? Thanks
 
Anybody have experience two boats on a RightOn trailer with the box rack?

I have a feeling I’ll be needing to haul my sunfish and a second, or an opti for my 8yo in a couple months. Are there other reasonable options to run multiple boats on a single trailer?
 
In other words, if there's even a small hole, a mast will fill up (slowly perhaps) and sink.
On a properly rigged Sunfish the mast should be secured by the halyard.
 
RE: the pool noodle idea. Our sailing club has fleets of 420s and FJs and over the years accumulated a number of broken spars, mostly booms.
They were headed to the dumpster so I hauled them home and salvaged the blocks and other fittings and when I removed the end hardware, I noticed that there was a long strip of styrofoam jammed into the inside of the booms obviously (?) for flotation. So, yes, it would not hurt to pool noodle the inside of a mast if concerned about it sinking.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
 
Hobie uses a plug of the pool noodle type foam and then smears a blob of silicone to cover the entire plug and to seal it along the inside of the mast extrusion on each end of their masts to keep the water out. Remember water pressure at say 10 ft down is around 4 psi so just a plug of foam will tend to want to slide down the inside of the extrusion. That 4 number is in pounds per square inch so with a exposed area of the inside of a Sunfish mast of around 3 sqin that is a pressure on the foam plug of around 12 pounds.
Dale
 
My latest mast treatment got a shot of expanding Pond & Stone foam. (A two-second blast at each end). Use a ladder or staircase for ease of reach.

My pool noodle mast treatment was difficult due to the need to cutting them to fit, but thinner diameter pool noodles have appeared on the market since then at Dollar Tree. :)
 
thinking of winter and building a rack to hold the sunfish. Is there an issue of storing on their side supported by the edge of the hull? Is the rolled gunwale enough to support the boat? Is the older aluminum gunwale coping enough to support things (I have both)?
 
No issue a s far as the boats go for either style, just add some padding along the gunwale like an old lifejacket or foam board.

The only issue for you is that you have to wear shorts like these, hiked up, a plaid long sleeve button down, and black shoes with white mid calf athletic socks while you are storing the boats.

The early 1960s Ford Ranchero station wagon is optional.

1965 Sunfish storage garage Melvin.png
 
signal charlie said:
The only issue for you is that you have to wear shorts like these, hiked up, a plaid long sleeve button down, and black shoes with white mid calf athletic socks while you are storing the boats.
Click to expand...
This was totally how my Dad dressed during the summer months on the coast of Massachusetts. The only difference was his shorts weren't hiked up and he had running shoes instead of black ones.

My Dad really enjoyed keeping people guessing about who he really was and hid under a mantel of nerdy and geekiness. But in reality he was an incredible, super experienced waterman. Together, we were a wicked team. We always caught the most and the largest striped bass and bluefish and got our ducks and other bird limits early, often returning to the boat ramp as other hunters were only just launching.

One of my Dad's favorite ploys when friends would ask him, "Ed, where DID you catch those huge bass?" would be to dead pan answer with, "East of the buoy." We spent several lifetimes worth of time together on the water, from the time I was a little boy right up until he was too old to go anymore.

Here's my Dad taking his 2 grandsons Bayley and Jackson bass fishing in 2001. Check out the shirt and shorts. :D

Bayley-Jackson-Fishing.jpg


And, my Dad found the fish.

Bass-2.jpg


- Andy
 
LVW said:
Deck drain(s) should be "down" and loosened.
Click to expand...
Just bought two nylon "Universal nylon 25mm garboard drain plug transom" (deck) drain plugs--$3.51 each--from AliExpress.

(I dont recommend transom plugs in Sunfish).
 
Last edited:
andyatos said:
This was totally how my Dad dressed during the summer months on the coast of Massachusetts. The only difference was his shorts weren't hiked up and he had running shoes instead of black ones.

My Dad really enjoyed keeping people guessing about who he really was and hid under a mantel of nerdy and geekiness. But in reality he was an incredible, super experienced waterman. Together, we were a wicked team. We always caught the most and the largest striped bass and bluefish and got our ducks and other bird limits early, often returning to the boat ramp as other hunters were only just launching.

One of my Dad's favorite ploys when friends would ask him, "Ed, where DID you catch those huge bass?" would be to dead pan answer with, "East of the buoy." We spent several lifetimes worth of time together on the water, from the time I was a little boy right up until he was too old to go anymore.

Here's my Dad taking his 2 grandsons Bayley and Jackson bass fishing in 2001. Check out the shirt and shorts. :D

View attachment 57121

And, my Dad found the fish.

View attachment 57123

- Andy
Click to expand...
We're friends in real life and sail quite a bit but I just learned stuff about you that I didn't know!
 
signal charlie said:
a plaid long sleeve button down with white mid calf athletic socks while you are storing the boats.
Click to expand...
How about a long sleeve button down with white mid calf athletic socks while you are gassing up... in preparation for a day of fishing with 2 of your grandsons? I just found this photo while browsing again through the group that the first photo came from.

White-Socks.jpg


Also note the belt doing double duty; 1) keeping the shirt tucked in and 2) securing the fish scaling and filleting knife with case in the back pocket.

- Andy :cool:
 
We love the photo! He has checked all of the blocks. Outstanding outfitting.

Sailing knife is the number 1 item on our Boating Checklist, Coffee is number 2. Everything else is optional.

Andy, what is your Dad's name?
 
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