What age is this sunfish?

[jmerritt1]

Any idea what the age of this SF is? I'm thinking of purchasing it. Its listed for $300. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Alan Glos]

Jeff,

This is an odd duck. The rudder fitting show on the stern in the left hand photo is non-standard but looks like it replaced "old style" bronze rudder fittings making the boat pre-1972. The paint job is also a retrofit. But is also has the storage area aft of the cockpit that, along with the old style rudder fittings, makes the boat a 1971 hull. So there, it's a 1971 Sunfish - that's my story and I'm sticking to it! Comments from other welcome.

Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY

 

[jmerritt1]

Thanks Alan.

From the pictures that I posted, can you see any trouble spots? Was that a good year for SF?

Thanks again,

Jeff

 

[edboat]

Everything is relative. We can't tell much from the photos. What does the boat weight? Are there cracks in the boat. What do the rudder and board look like? How about the spars and sail?

 

[Wayne]

Jeff,

I believe you have a Viking aka Funfish, built by International Boat Co., Inc. of California during the 1970s. AMF sued IBC for trademark infringement over the similarity of the Funfish name and IBC's ad campaign winning the name change and some phenomenal sum, like $600.

Telling signs, the mast step collar, the box hinge for the rudder. The rest of the boat was nearly a spot on copy, however quality is unknown.

 

[aggiearchi]

Post 1972 Sunfishes have a storage compartment in the cockpit - I don't see that on this one. I would expect to see an oval metal plate on the deck just aft of the center of the splash guard, bearing the manufacturer's name (Alcort, AMF, Vanguard) and a serial number, but I don't see that, either. If you can find a serial number (4 or 5 digits), and it's a Sunfish, you can find out the year from that. What does the seller say about it?

 

[Offramp]

well I see a storage compartment in the second picture. But the collar at the mast socket doesn't look like the one on my 1973 Sunfish.

Is there a serial number on the boat? Others might be able to better identidy this "fish" with a serial number to reference.

 

[jmerritt1]

Thanks for all the responces. The serial number is AB0041001074. The owner has estimated the weight of the boat to be 250 lbs. I assume that means its full of water. I'll see if I can get any more information from the owner.

Thanks again,

Jeff

 

[jmerritt1]

This is the sellers words from the ad:

I have 1970ish 14 foot vanguard sunfish for sail. It has all the parts you need to sail. mast, rudder, centerboard, sail, etc. hull is all fiberglass in good shape. it is light enough for two people to carry, sorry no trailer. this boat sails very fast, but is also a good begginer boat.


Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Alan Glos]

I think Wayne (above) probably nailed it. The box hinge fitting on the rudder and the mast collar probably make this a Sunfish clone and not a true Sunfish.

Alan Glos

 

[DanB]

USCG Manufacturers Identification Code (MIC) Database is foggy for this history. Here’s how I read it combining all the info people have given here.

AB0041001074

AB0 Manufacturer – International Boat Co.
04100 Factory Serial Number
10 Month Built - October
74 Year Built - 1974

MIC Note - IN 1995 INTERNATIONAL DISSOLVED (ABO) ASSIGNED TO ABACO MARINE INC.

 

[Clyde]

250 pounds? Way too heavy. Also, Vanguard did not make Sunfish in the 70o's.

 

[MtlNdo]

What age is my Minifish?

I bought an AMF Minifish yesterday which the seller quoted as mid 70's.
The serial number is 001706
Can anyone tell me exactly what year it is?

Any and all replies will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
MtlNdo

 

[Wayne]

I haven't seen a serial number record for anything except the Sunfish.

I can tell you this, Minifish were introduced in 1971 and produced through the early 1980's. The Coast Guard made their Hull ID system mandatory in Nov 1972 affecting the latter portion of the 1973 model production. Since your serial number isn't in the Coast Guard format your boat would be among the models designated 1971 through early 1973 (built Aug 1970 - Oct 1972).

That's the closest I can get you.

 

[MtlNdo]

Thank you so much Wayne for your quick response,
That is a whole closer that I knew before your email.

Thanks again and happy sailing this long weekend!!
tonyp