Used Sunfish Help

K

kmbarnes1

New Member
Hi. I'm looking at a used sunfish and I have a few questions about it. Hopefully some of you could help me out! Its a 1975 AMF sunfish. The current owner was going to fix it up and got another project before finishing.

It seems to be missing the bailer and the stern plug. Also, the forward deck seems to flex a good bit, but I don't know if this is normal or not. How difficult is it to replace the bailer and stern plug? Is the flexing cause for concern? (it flexes up to almost half an inch in a few places)

Everything else seems to be in good shape. The rudder and centerboard have been completely refinished and restored. One of the sail booms have been repaired but seems to be pretty strong. I'll replace that sometime in the future so that's not a deal breaker.


IMG-20121020-00243.jpg IMG-20121020-00244.jpg IMG-20121020-00245.jpg
 
The missing bailer shouldn't be an issue.

The stern plug is an add-on; indicates that the boat leaked at some point in time. Replacing it shouldn't be a problem.

Remove the inspection port up front and take a good look inside with a flashlight. Feel if the structural foam is wet.

If there's a port in the stern area, inspect that area as well.
 
There's an impact mark in the cockpit, like something was dropped on it (mast?). I'd flip the boat over and see if you can see impact damage on the bottom of the hull and also push around that area to see if it's gone mushy or soft. There are cracks in one of my old fish's cockpit, but they are hairline and seem to be only in the paint.

Both of my 1960s boats have some flex in the bow area, which apparently is common for older boats. I wouldn't worry about it too much, and with those ports, you'll be able to actually see and feel inside for dampness, loose or crumbling foam, etc. I won't know on these boats until I put some ports in over winter.

Intensity Sails gets used a lot on these forums. AutoBailer at $40
And $46 at SunfishSailboats.com
and $46 at APS

I didn't look up drain plugs, simply because I don't know the set up done on the stern.

How much are they asking? You could certainly ask to knock off $50 for those parts you HAVE to replace before sailing. Unless the boat is dirt cheap and everything else is in good order, the seller doesn't have a good argument for not coming down on price.
 
They're asking for $500 for boat and trailer. The trailer is in pretty good shape. I've checked the impact area and there was no give whatsoever. The structural foam was a little damp and there was a little water in the bottom but it has been sitting outside for a while and I'm assuming it was from rain water...
 
Because the foam is wet, you will need to weigh the hull to find out how much water has been absorbed. Then you will at least know if you need to dry out the hull, if you would buy.

Just an hypothesis:
The foam could have gotten wet because of the missing bailer. Rainwater/snow could have accumulated in the cockpit and gotten inside the hull through that open hole.
 
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