Anyone transport a sunfish without a trailer either by cartop or pickup truck? Have any pictures?
I'm curious of the best way to keep it stable in the bed of my truck without scratching anything up. Perhaps I should make a cradle for it to sit in? Anyone with experience with this please educate me.
It can be done, but please make a cradle that supports as much of the hull as possible. One of out club members had a SF that he carried in his short bed Pickup. He made a cradle with just 2 crosswise supports that extended over the tailgate (just past the balance point of the SF). He carried it with the bow to the rear and had to tie it in well (bow to truck rear, criss-cross lines across the rear deck to points in the bed). You may have noticed I said "had a SF". Unfortunately for him, he had removed all of the foam from inside. The combination of no foam, transportation in the bed of a 4WD pickup, his over 200 lbs weight, grounding the dagger board and sailing in stronger conditions all contributed to the hull failing in the dagger board area. The boat just gave up and sagged beyond reasonable repair. The good thing; he sold all of the non hull items for more than he paid for the SF in the first place.
Thanks, I was thinking a cradle would be needed, originally I was thinking of just placing an inch thick foam pad in the bed then just putting the SF on it but it would be hard to keep it from moving around, Guess that will give me something to do while its cold.
Please explain your Avatar, Looks a little like the Harold Krier Craft. Im a CFII, MEI and Tailwheel, Aerobatic, Seaplane instructor currently flying Part 135 charter.
Thanks, I was thinking a cradle would be needed, originally I was thinking of just placing an inch thick foam pad in the bed then just putting the SF on it but it would be hard to keep it from moving around, Guess that will give me something to do while its cold.
Please explain your Avatar, Looks a little like the Harold Krier Craft. Im a CFII, MEI and Tailwheel, Aerobatic, Seaplane instructor currently flying Part 135 charter.
I used a hitch extender on my 2000 Jeep Cherokee. I never used it at more than about 30 mph.
It worked for great for a summer and was cheap. I used plenty of padding and the boat sat flat and didn't move or bounce. I got a little tired of stuffing the boat in the back of the suv. However, I think that it may be a bit easier to use on a pick up? I gave the extender to my brother to use on his pickup for his canoe.
IMHO- Look for a used or build a trailer. I got one of the small Harbor Freight ones and made my own. For me the trailer = safety, less possible hull damage, more time on the water and lots less fatigue on a hot day. Also, the trailer was cheap and was really easy to do. There is a ton of info here and on the Yahoo SunFish Sailor Page
The avatar (as I remember) is a picture of a 200hp, Clipped wing, shortened fuse and other mods Supercub used for aerobatics. It was posted on the net, I think either at airliners or supercub.org. I found it doing research for documentation on a 1/5th scale Supercub R/C model, one of my other hobbies. The pilots name is John “MacGun” I am not sure about the last name, can’t quite read the signature.
I agree with Mark P., get a trailer. I did the car top thing for a season and a half, the trailer is much better. With the right bunks and springs, it will save a lot of wear and tear on the SF and YOU. Look for one rated for about 500-600 lbs. Trailex makes aluminum trailer, but they cost, you can get a new tilting galvanized on for just over half the Trailex cost. Most trailers will have bunks set up for a flat bottom Jon or Bass boat (not good for SF), you need to make new bunks to fit a SF. The Harbor Freight trailer is good as a starter, although many have gone and traded up to a galvanized. As Mark also pointed out, there is info on trailers in this forum, the SF Class web page under Tips and Tricks and the FAQs, and Yahoo Sunfish Sailor (Files, and the Photo Section –Skylarks Trailer) and Shorty Pens web site ( shortypen.com ).