It's great fun to practice one's sailing skills (and race tactics) among identical boats. ( Annapolis Performance Sailing- not ApS). The Sunfish cockpit accommodates one adult OK, but can be cramped with two.ħ) Parts are available from APS. Some sellers are offering trailers that hold two or more Sunfish. A clear-vinyl "window" is a plus.ĥ) Inexpensive wood-built Sunfish are still around as original-or as "kit-built" again, the maintenance required by wood construction requires some "handiness" on the part of the new owner.Ħ) Figure on $100 for a trailer if the boat doesn't come with one. )Ī Sunfish with a five- or six-digit "race-number" on the sail has probably seen competition (and good care). (So if you find a complete Sunfish for $450, you've already got your money back. Rudders, sails and daggerboards cost about $150 each-if missing. If there are no numbers, the boat is old or has had a serious repair. The year can be "teased out" among the numbers at the transom's upper-right corner. (For such a basic boat, there are too many repetitive questions asked every day).Ĥ) Parts: Sunfish manufactured since 1972 have a superior rudder system. The home page at has decades of Sunfish experience to draw from, but answers can be gruff if the "Search" function isn't used. If you're willing to travel, there are Sunfish for sale at. Ports sell for about $10 each and, although not part of the original design, one or two ports in the hull is an indicator of a knowledgeable owner.ģ) One caution: a NH "dealer" is a frequent Craigslist advertiser, but charges about double the going rate for Sunfish- and parts. If your son is handy, the boat can be dried-out by cutting a round port in the deck. Take along a bathroom scale: the hull should weigh close to its original 134 pounds. A leaking hull will cause the interior to absorb water, making for a very heavy-and unresponsive-boat. (Discouraging too, is improperly rigging this very simple sail-note the "improper-rigging" photo at Wikipedia.).Ģ) Many have seen abuse. Clonefish (though inexpensive) are just simply inferior designs and can discourage a beginning sailor. Try a "Looking-for" advertisement HERE at this forum.ġ) Look for a genuine Alcort Sunfish: There have been many "knock-offs" sold with the Sunfish logo copied on the sail. I'd skip the occasional Alcort-built Mini-fish and Super-Sunfish as discontinued "orphans". For a freshwater boat, offer $500-and work from there. A new Sunfish costs $3300, less sales tax however, there are many perfectly-good Sunfish languishing in back yards and garages.īe patient, as millions have learned how to enjoy sailing in this stable sailboat and there are hundreds of thousands of Sunfish around.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |