Breeze Bender
Breeze Bender
It seems like inspection ports are all the rage. I cut a port (never larger than 5”) only when upgrading to the ‘new style’ rudder or when the boat is grossly overweight and needs the fan dry out method.
I bought a beautiful ‘79 Sunfish on Saturday (dirty and complete, just like I like ‘em!) I will do a leak test, but the boat feels light and dry.
The problem is I can confirm how nice the interior is because I can practically stick my head through the 8” port the previous owner installed. He was ready to install a second one (see circle outlined at stern) and I’m so glad he hesitated!
I know there are benefits to a port, but the first line of defense should be to find and repair any leaks.
Putting a drain in the stern is another common ‘solution’. Not a smart thing to do!
I’m probably preaching to the choir on this forum, but the Facebook forum for Sunfish must get a percentage on port sales. It seems everybody’s happily cutting up their boats! There’s some really BAD advice on that forum, too. I rarely comment anymore- it’s like spitting in the wind.
I bought a beautiful ‘79 Sunfish on Saturday (dirty and complete, just like I like ‘em!) I will do a leak test, but the boat feels light and dry.
The problem is I can confirm how nice the interior is because I can practically stick my head through the 8” port the previous owner installed. He was ready to install a second one (see circle outlined at stern) and I’m so glad he hesitated!
I know there are benefits to a port, but the first line of defense should be to find and repair any leaks.
Putting a drain in the stern is another common ‘solution’. Not a smart thing to do!
I’m probably preaching to the choir on this forum, but the Facebook forum for Sunfish must get a percentage on port sales. It seems everybody’s happily cutting up their boats! There’s some really BAD advice on that forum, too. I rarely comment anymore- it’s like spitting in the wind.