Hi all, been looking through the site for the last few days, very informative. I used to screw around on sunfish 20 years ago, but haven't done much since. Have a couple of kids and were hoping to get them into sailing, and picked up a new (very old) Sunfish for $450. At that price, I was ok with it as long as it sailed. I have no idea of the year. It appears to have the old style rudder, which I guess makes it pre '72. I see an aluminum tag aft of the mast that appears to have some numbers, but I can't make them out. I'm hoping I can if I clean it up a little. I'm looking at making this thing sailable and fun, so I'm fine getting workable solutions to problems rather than pricey official ones. I also don't know some of the terminology, so please correct me... I haven't had a chance to go through everything thoroughly yet, but here's what I have so far:
1. Sail is in great condition. Guy said it was a year or 2 old.
--It's held to the mast by zip ties. Looks functional at least.
2. Missing hardware:
a. Bow pull. Completely gone, screw holes filled with caulk. Ordered a new one, have been reading about the repair. I don't know if the backing plate is still there (I assume not). Any reason not to drill out the holes a bit, and fasten with some sort of toggle bolt a la a drywall anchor? An epoxy/screw/5200 repair seems like it would be less secure.
b. Halyard cleat. Gone, screws broken off. I ordered a composite 3" cleat. Screw holes will be different. This is one that should be fine with adhesive and screws I think.
c. Drain plug on deck. Nothing but a hole here. PO said he just used a cork in there. I'm sure it's effective, but I'm thinking the screw drains from a kayak or something would work. Anything specific appreciated...
d. Bailer. Guy said he lost the ball in the grass or something. The rest of the bailer (plastic) looks fine. Any replacement for the ball aside from the $25/5 official replacements I've seen? I might just run without it for a while.
I'll see what else is missing when I get it rigged up I guess. Although I don't know if I'd notice if something is missing...
3. Broken: Latch plate (?) on rudder. The screw connecting it to the bottom of the boat is missing. Looks like an easy fix, but I don't know how long it's been like that and am worried about water entry, but who knows. I've never seen the old style rudder though, so I don't know if it's functional or not. I don't think it's supposed to have a spring?
4. Waterlogged hull. No idea. I'll weigh it when I can. I'd be surprised if this thing were 50 years old and watertight. Luckily, that seems curable.
Overall, I don't think I bought a money pit disaster, and all the hardware that's on it looks cool old original brass.
Lastly, I couldn't find anything showing year-to-year changes or major design revisions by year or anything. Curious as to how my boat differs from a newer one.
Anything else I should look for/be aware of?
Thanks, I'm looking forward to capsizing on my first jibe
1. Sail is in great condition. Guy said it was a year or 2 old.
--It's held to the mast by zip ties. Looks functional at least.
2. Missing hardware:
a. Bow pull. Completely gone, screw holes filled with caulk. Ordered a new one, have been reading about the repair. I don't know if the backing plate is still there (I assume not). Any reason not to drill out the holes a bit, and fasten with some sort of toggle bolt a la a drywall anchor? An epoxy/screw/5200 repair seems like it would be less secure.
b. Halyard cleat. Gone, screws broken off. I ordered a composite 3" cleat. Screw holes will be different. This is one that should be fine with adhesive and screws I think.
c. Drain plug on deck. Nothing but a hole here. PO said he just used a cork in there. I'm sure it's effective, but I'm thinking the screw drains from a kayak or something would work. Anything specific appreciated...
d. Bailer. Guy said he lost the ball in the grass or something. The rest of the bailer (plastic) looks fine. Any replacement for the ball aside from the $25/5 official replacements I've seen? I might just run without it for a while.
I'll see what else is missing when I get it rigged up I guess. Although I don't know if I'd notice if something is missing...
3. Broken: Latch plate (?) on rudder. The screw connecting it to the bottom of the boat is missing. Looks like an easy fix, but I don't know how long it's been like that and am worried about water entry, but who knows. I've never seen the old style rudder though, so I don't know if it's functional or not. I don't think it's supposed to have a spring?
4. Waterlogged hull. No idea. I'll weigh it when I can. I'd be surprised if this thing were 50 years old and watertight. Luckily, that seems curable.
Overall, I don't think I bought a money pit disaster, and all the hardware that's on it looks cool old original brass.
Lastly, I couldn't find anything showing year-to-year changes or major design revisions by year or anything. Curious as to how my boat differs from a newer one.
Anything else I should look for/be aware of?
Thanks, I'm looking forward to capsizing on my first jibe