Sunfish Plans

[GBaldwin]

Several months ago someone on the forum was looking for plans for a "wooden sunfish". The authro indicated that the plans were in Popular Science in 1949. He indicated that they were out of print and that Popular Science only had one copy and wouldn't make a copy as it was not acid free paper and would be destroyed.

I have access to a library with hard copy of
Popular Science for the yedar in question. However, there were no plans for a wooden sunfish in 1949, or 1947 - 1953. In the March 1951 issue there was a set of plans for "Solution: A 16 ft. Plywood Sailing Scow". I made a copy of the article and have the plans is anyone is interested.

Then, two days ago I searched Reader's Guide to Periodic Literature. I recalled that the Sunfish by Vanguard was celebrating its 25th anniversary. I looked in the 1975 index and found the plans for "Sailfish" a wooden replica of Vanguard's Sunfish. It was in Mechanics Illustrated, volume 71, pages 40-42 of the August, 1975 issue. I made a copy of this as well and would be willing to share it.

The "Sailfish" is the older design, 13 ft., 46 inches wide, inset cockpit, weighs 186 lbs. (according to the author who used 3/8 inch plywood) and uses the Sunfish rig from Vanguard.

Hope this is helpful and, again, contact me it you have any desire for either articles.

[garland reese]

Hi Mr. Baldwin,

I'd like to get hold of the plans for the Sunfish. My daughter is learning to sail. I'd love to build her a wooden Sunfish. I have an old set of lateen spars, though not from a Sunfish, but it'd probably work. I think the sail area is less the the 75 sq ft of the Sunfish.
it would seem that 3/8" plywood would build a bombproof hull. I wonder if 4 or 6mm would work?
Let me know how to get a copy of the plans.

[ishmael]

Hi,

I'm a bit suprised that there were ever plans for a wooden Sunfish (speaking of the class, yes?). The Sailfish was definately originally a plywood hull, as I watched my older brother refurbish one back in the early sixties. He sailed it for a couple years, then sold it.

I learned to sail on a glass Sailfish, and at the time we bought it used and fixed it up (1967?), the glass sunfish had superceded the sailfish as a beachboat/racing trainer on the lake where we sailed. I suppose the sunfish would have been built first in ply as a prototype, but if so, it was well before 1975.

All that said, I think either boat has much going for it as a sail trainer for young folk.

The Sunfish is the dryer,(if such can be claimed for the type!) more comfortable, more able boat.

Prob'ly the major drawback, in warmer waters, is the ease and desire to capsize either boat. A two edged sword no doubt. That said, I remember being proud, that in a month of sailing in all conditions up to a fresh breeze gusting a gale, I never capsized the summer I was thirteen.

Like to hear more of this discussion.

[Rick Gruenewald]

I have my first sailboat in the basement right now awaiting a new deck. She's a 1954 (or thereabouts) wooden Sunfish that had an oval metal plate tacked to the old deck saying that she'd been built by "alcort inc." in Waterbury, Conn. The sides are solid .625" thick ribbon striped mahogany, bulkheads(?) are all .25" fir plywood (of a grade that probably isn't available today), bottom and deck are of the same plywood with some kind of resin impregnated paper veneer both sides.
I wrote Vanguard Sailboats and they said that 1959 was the last year Sunfish were made of wood. Interestingly enough, there is confusion as to when the first wood Sunfish was built for they said the designers aren't even sure when that was. Evidently alcort did not keep very good records the first few years of operation, but according to Vanguard it was most likely 1952.
I have a wonderful old clear 2.25" thick cypress stave salvaged from a dismantled Heinz vinegar vat that I plan to rip .25" thick strips from and then book-match for the new deck.
Lots of fond memories sailing that boat. It'll be a sad day when my arthritic knees won't let me hike out anymore to keep her on her feet.

[Todd Bradshaw]

The original Sunfish was designed and built between 1952 and 1954. Even the guys (Al &Cort of "Alcort") who designed and built it couldn't remember exactly when. The first fiberglass Sunfish came out in 1960. Up until that time, they were plywood with spruce spars and originally, ten-panelled cotton sails. The wooden versions were available in kit form.
I've got a book with a picture of a Sunfish kit spread out on the floor. The deck is one piece of fir plywood, the V-bottom is two pieces of the same. Solid ply bulkheads with a couple doorknob-sized holes bored through them, port and starboard, are blocked-in every couple of feet, attached to side planks built from Philppine Mahogany. The daggerboard well and mast step are blocked, to the bulkheads and anchored to a beveled keel piece and a deck beam which are let into the bulkheads and run full length, fore and aft. I can't see a rabbet on the keel piece, so it may have been internal with some sort of outer keel strip to protect the joint where the plywood panels meet. There are also four stringers, two under the deck, two inside the bottom and running lengthwise to help stiffen the plywood panels. The book mentions mahogany rubrails, but I can't tell exactly where they were - deck/side joints, bottom/side joints or maybe both. Other parts and the coamings are mostly mahogany.
These guys originally built iceboats and the construction is very similar to an old DN or Renegade with small pieces blocked together spreading a pair of plank sides.Weight was listed at 130 lbs.
Source: The Sunfish Book by Will White (Sail Publications Inc. - the Sail Magazine guys). It's mostly about racing, etc. but the first chapter has some history.
With that much internal structure, I think that 3/8" ply would be too much.
T.E.B.

[ishmael]

Thanks Rick and Todd,

Histories are so good; knowing more. I only knew that those glass sunfish were faster than my sailfish, and that my brother had once had a wooden sailfish. My presumption of a 'proto-type sunfish' was clearly that. They were originally built in wood! Was the foot well self draining?

I can't remember about my brother's boat, but did the early wooden sunfish have the signature drain in the bow of the later glass ones? I assume they did. My glass sailfish always leaked at the deck joint. It was one of the rituals at the end of the day to turn it over and drain the hull.

Either of you know how many of each were built in wood? Best, Ishmael

P.S. I just had to add that these are GREAT boats for their purpose. Hard to beat, even today, though, obviously, there are more sophisticated hulls and rigs.

[This message has been edited by ishmael (edited 10-07-2000).]

[Rick Gruenewald]

Ishmael, funny you ask about self-bailing. My boat had a "De Persia Automatic Bailer" made in Grand Haven, Mich. installed in the footwell. It is of some kind of cast metal and has this legend engraved on the knurled screw cap that opens it. I'd like to find another as I had to cut through the retaining nut to remove it prior to renewing the boat.

There were two 1/2" diameter slotted screw-plugs in collars, one mounted fore and the other aft of the footwell that I used to drain the hull after a sail. When the intake of water grew to where it took several minutes to clear, I installed a 6" screw-out deck plate at each location so that I could bail and then sop up the remainder with a towel and air her out for the next sail. (Forgive me, this was in my younger days when it hadn't occurred that to seal the leak(s) at their source would have been the better way to insure the boat's future.)

I weighed the boat one time when I thought she was "relatively" dry inside and tipped the scale at 142 lb.

Todd's description is right on. I can't say about the rubrails as my boat had none. The reincarnation may have curly cherry rubrails mounted to cover the deck to side joint if I can find that board and it's long enough...

[garland reese]

This is fascinating stuff here. I've been wanting to build a wood version of a Sunfish, since I think that they would be very good boats for the family to learn to sail with. We have a small reservoir here that has a good bit of wind usually. These seem easy to transport and rig, and there are a number of modern 'glass ones around here.......even have a guy in town that is a Vanguard dealer. All the Sunfish that I've seen for sale (used) around here seem to hold their value well, at least as far as indications from the asking price vs overall condition goes. I've not seen too many around here for sale though, and I really would like to have a wooden boat (or two).
I'd never even heard of a wooden one, but given the age of the design, I should have figured that it had been built in wood at some point.
I'm glad to know that it is possible to have a wood version.......even do the spars in wood (I've thought about trying that with the birdsmouth technique). It would not have the history and appeal of an original wooden Sunfish, but it would sure be nicer than a 'glass one and would be a great learning project.
Now.....where is that gentleman with the plans source???
garland

[Ian McColgin]

Those old wooden sailfish bring back memories. Dad made one in '51 as I remember. Maybe during that winter 'caus I was almost 3 and just rambunctions enough to todder into dangerous places. He and another pilot each made one and our two families - two adults, two kids under 4 and some camping gear on each boat - would set off for the weekend.

Let if never be said that those WWII vets and their young families lacked adventure.

We found when racing a Sunfish with a Sailfish rig against a Sailfish, that the Sunfish was faster mostly due to the greater power of the hull. Interesting what a little extra bouyancy in the right place will do.

Oh yeah, on those family outings, Mother's collie would tack us along the beach and join us for the fire out on the sandspit.

Even as we got larger and larger boats, we never let go of having the Sailfish (and later a plastic Sunfish) as the knockaround kid's boat and the boat the Mom & Dad would slip off with for a few hours . . .

[staehpj1]

Do You have the MI article in a format that you can email? I would appreciate a copy. If you need to send it via snail mail maybe I should try to find a local copy at the library to save the trouble and postage.

[Scott Rosen]

Great thread. Like you folks, I've sailed on a lot of different boats of all types and sizes (no square riggers, though). If I had to chose the ideal recreational day sailer, it would be a Sunfish or a Sailfish. They are simply a blast to sail. We had a Sailfish, 'glass I think. On the hot days, we would sail her a few hundred feet from shore and spend the day capsizing her. If you're looking for a boat to get the kids sailing, you can't do better than one of these. There are faster and slicker boats of that size--a Laser comes to mind--but none are more fun.

[garland reese]

I agree Mr. Rosen,
I think that a Sunfish is just about perfect for starting out in sailing, especially for young people. The reasons that you have stated are the reasons that I'd like to have one. I have two kids 14 and 11, who want to learn to sail, as well as myself and my wife. My youngest is takeing lessons right now. I was very excited about the sailfish plans, but I cannot locate a source for them. The fellow who posted the original message seems to have dissappeared. I have been giving some thought to trying to take off lines from a
Sunfish hull and building one like a cedar strip canoe, or using the station frames to get out plywood panel shapes and build the thing S&G style, maybe with a strip/sheathed deck. The hull is pretty simple, so it shouldn't be too hard, but I don't know how legal that would be to copy the hull. We've no interest in organized Sunfish events, we just want to have some fun and learn to sail so we can build a bigger boat sometime. Building a wood version would certainly add a nice (and unique) touch to these little boats. I'd kinda like to try my hand at some birdsmouth spars too. Whadaya think??? Is it doable? Does it make any sense?
Garland

[garland reese]

I think that I have found a source for the Mechanics Illustrated article.

John Muxlow
22 Somerset St.
Dartmouth, NS
Canada B2Y-1Z1

I found his email through a search on the web. He said he cannot scan the article, but he can photocopy and send it for $1.00/page plus $1.00 S&H. The article is three pages and is called "Build Our Aquafish" Mechanics Illustrated, August 1975.
Mr. Muxlow's email is jj.muxlow@ns.sympatico.ca
Hope this helps those interested.

[Dave Carnell]

I located the MI article on the SUNFISH clone. I was sure I remembered one in Popular Science, too, but I extended the search from 1953 to 1970 and found nothing.

The MI AquaFish is grossly overweight, mostly because of using 3/8" plywood where 1/4" plywood would be more than adequate. As a result the AquaFish weighs 186# vs. 139# for a fiberglass Sunfish.

For $1 and an SASE I will send it along with information on a much simpler alternative and information on a very low-buck rig equivalent to the SUNFISH. If non-US send $2 and I will supply postage and envelope.

Dave Carnell
322 Pages Creek Dr.
Wilmington, NC 28411-7850
USA
<davecarnell@att.net>

[This message has been edited by Dave Carnell (edited 10-15-2000).]

[BradW]

Here's a link to a Sailfish page! I learned to sail on a plywood Sailfish many moons ago. That thing could fly, I thought. The Sailfish site author lists 3 variants, one a Super Sailfish that is 2' longer and hoists a bigger sail. The author apparently sails a standard Sailfish w/ the larger sail, for a "turbo sailfish"! http://www.execpc.com/~abuelow/sfish.html

[ishmael]

Off the wind, in a fresh breeze, in good puffs, the connection between the lone skipper and the boat on a sailfish is beautiful. Because of the low freeboard, without attention, it would dive. You had to lean back to keep her nose out of the wave overtaken. If you saw and moved just right, the boat skipped the waves like nothing I've experienced before or since.

[Dave Carnell]

On rec.boats,building Jacques Mertens has posted that the Mechanix Illustrated for March, 1964, has an article on a FUNFISH that is a SAILFISH or SUNFISH clone. He is offering the magazine on ebay.

I have the 1975 MI Aquafish article for those who want it. My library only has MI back to 1967, so I don't have the '64 article. That may be the SAILFISH clone that I rembered as being in Pop. Sci. The one I remember had to be well before 1975.

The question of copyright was raised. This material is copyright, but the magazine is defunct and you cannot retrieve the articles any way but from back issues. It is the same as the problem of getting old "Rudder" articles.

If anyone can supply the 1964 article, I will be glad to combine it with the 1975 article and offer the package for $1 and a long SASE.

[jsumrok]

Mr Balwin,

I'm very interested in obtaining a copy of the article describing how to build "Solution: A 16 ft. Plywood Sailing Scow". I'm not sure how to get in touch with you. Can you please post your e-mail address, or reply to me privately at jsumrok@serviceware.com? Thanks.

[Tom Beecroft]

Boy you guys sure know how to humble a poor bloke. I've sailed sunfish about a dozen times from about 1970 to 1985 or 86, and again last year. Last year was the FIRST time I can recall not capsizing, and that was probably because I never got outside the seawall of the marina (my daughter was bored after a few minutes). How do you do it?

[Todd Bradshaw]

I spent a couple years sailing a Sunfish when it was the only sailboat that I had access to. I was flying a balloon for a living and didn't have any money, but any day with winds over 10 knots was a day off, which left me a lot of time to go sailing. At first, I think it was a bit embarassing to be seen in a lowly Sunfish, which a lot of people don't think of as a "serious" sailboat. Out of vanity, as much as anything else, I decided that that if I was going to be seen sailing one, I wanted it to be as I passed most of the other boats on the lake.

The boat will sail in almost any kind of waves and wind, but there are a few tricks. First, rig the sail fairly low. Most people set-up a Sunfish so that they barely have to duck when the boom comes across. You want to limit the heeling power of the rig, so lower is better.

Second, in heavy air, you really need to be ready to hike-out. The boat is much faster flat than heeled way over. Also, at severe angles of heel, the clew and the end of the boom will hit the water and skip along the surface. When it does, you have reached the limit, as far as easing the sail and letting the top twist-off and spill wind. If you don't hike and bring the boat back up, it goes over. On windy days, the edge of the deck will be about halfway up your thighs and every thing above that will often be outboard for balance. After a while, you'll have abs of steel, just like Suzanne Summers...

The third tip is to do all your tacking and jibing under control. Don't sit there with half the mainsheet hanging out and wait for the boom to come flying over. Trim the sail as you steer through the turn. When the sail breaks, grab the boom, hand-carry it over your head and ease it out the other side with the sheet as you finish the turn. The best way to practice this is to spend a while doing tight figure-8's.

Tie a piece of 1/8" bungie cord, about 4' long to the tack corner of the boom. On the other end of it, make a loop that is a fairly snug fit over the top of the daggerboard. Most of the time, the loop-end of the bungie just hangs off the boom, but when you are running, you pull the board up, grab the bungie and loop it over the top of the board. This works as a preventer (to prevent an accidental jibe) and also jams the board against the front of the well, to keep it retracted. This keeps the boat from "tripping" on the daggerboard if you are going downwind in heavy air.

The Sunfish is highly under-rated as a sailboat. Many people learned to sail on one, but most quickly moved on to something grander. Very few stuck with it long enough to really learn it well. All you have is a tiller, a mainsheet and your body as ballast, but it feels really good to blast by a $20,000 boat on a broad reach and overhear them say "Gee, that guy's really good."

[paladin]

Gentlemen,
The "wooden sunfish" article came out in the 1956-1958 time frame either in Machanix Illustrated or a similar magazine because I built one in wood shop in high school. It used 3/4 by 1/2 inch stringers on edge for the deck 3/4 by 1" for the chine logs and 1/4 inch plywood for the hull and deck....I may be wrong on where the plans came from because I also built a Thunderbird during the same time frame and the plans came from the U.S. plywood Corp. who spnsored the T'bird project. I remember because I coated the entire boat inside and out with low viscosity epoxy, no cloth, and used epoxy and duplex nails, the nails being removed after the epoxy set. I had lots of "famous" boubuilders and a couple of designers telling me it would never work. 25 years later it was still sailing until my nephew destroyed it in an auto accident. The T'bird still sails and is lighter than the new ones.
Chuck

[millsfam]

Several months ago someone on the forum was looking for plans for a "wooden sunfish". hello, Then, two days ago I searched Reader's Guide to Periodic Literature. I recalled that the Sunfish by Vanguard was celebrating its 25th anniversary. I looked in the 1975 index and found the plans for "Sailfish" a wooden replica of Vanguard's Sunfish. It was in Mechanics Illustrated, volume 71, pages 40-42 of the August, 1975 issue. I made a copy of this as well and would be willing to share it.

The "Sailfish" is the older design, 13 ft., 46 inches wide, inset cockpit, weighs 186 lbs. (according to the author who used 3/8 inch plywood) and uses the Sunfish rig from Vanguard.

Hope this is helpful and, again, contact me it you have any desire for either articles.

hello, i have a n interest in your wood sunfish plans . if you would be able to get me copies i would greatly appreciate it. let me know of what expence i need to cover. thank you, Bob Mills

[PLyTheMan]

Not a Sunfish exactly but there are free plans for a sailboard over at Svensons called the Jamaican. This one doesn't have any kind of cockpit on it though. Also check out a discussion with a bunch of plans over here.

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

Salvation is at hand. Jacques Mertens did an S&G version of the "Sunfish", recently that he calls the "Moonfish". Being S&G it's about 50 lb. lighter than the weight quoted in post #1. Some of the Sunfish pieces will fit the Moonfish but not vice-versa.
http://www.bateau.com/studyplans/MF1....htm?prod=MF14
Why get carpal-tunnel driving screws when you can glue your boat together?

[Boatsmith]

The third boat I built was a Sailfish. Sophomore woodshop. That boat would fly and flip, great fun. David

[Todd Bradshaw]

The Moonfish looks quite good, though I'm not too keen on their mainsheet system compared to the one on a Sunfish and would change it. I suppose they're trying to eliminate the drooping tendency of the sheet running along below the boom, which you do have to watch out for on a Sunfish when tacking, but in the process of changing it they lost a lot of sail control. They took a lot of volume out of the front of the hull. I wonder what happens when you stuff the bow into a big wave?

[Cuyahoga Chuck]

Not a Sunfish exactly but there are free plans for a sailboard over at Svensons called the Jamaican. This one doesn't have any kind of cockpit on it though. Also check out a discussion with a bunch of plans over here.

If you look at the Jamaican plans carefully you'll see the bottom isn't wood. There's a keel hanging down from the deck that forms a vee-bottom when it's overlayed with several layers of Dynel and wetted out with polyester resin.

[Keith Wilson]

Well, I learned to sail on a Sunfish, and a wooden clone would be interesting. I just bought a 'March '64 Mechanix Illustrated on eBay for $3.50, and when it arrives I'll make scans if the plans look decent. If I can figure out an easy way to do it, I'll put them on the web somewhere so anyone can download them. Otherwise I can send 'em by e-mail as .pdf files.

[sailboy3]

I have a wooden sunfish hull that I got for free but have never had the time to deal with it. Too many other boats.
I also have a fg sunfish to generally abuse and fool around in with my friends; great boat for the purpose.

[marcellsworth]

There is a Sunfish Sailor group at Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sunfish_sailor/

In the files they have plans for a wood Super Sailfish. You have to join the group to get to the files, but it's free.

Marc

[waynec]

I can't remember about my brother's boat, but did the early wooden Sunfish have the signature drain in the bow of the later glass ones? I assume they did. My glass sailfish always leaked at the deck joint. It was one of the rituals at the end of the day to turn it over and drain the hull.

Either of you know how many of each were built in wood? Best, Ishmael

Todd has it pretty well nailed down with his reference to Will White’s Sunfish® Book…, now revised and expanded as The Sunfish® Bible. Same history, just more tactical info for sailing the lateen rig.

I will add the wood hull was ¼” plywood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailfish_(sailboat)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunfish®_(dinghy)

As Todd mentioned, record keeping was poor to non-existent. Serialized hulls didn't appear until the fiberglass generation. I think it's anyone's guess how many wood boats came out of Alcort. I've heard unconfirmed estimates of 200 a year (in later years) for wood Sunfish®, 400 a year when the fiberglass design was added.

The wood fish had the bow drain, however they were available as both Alcort shop built or kit built. Kits came with two drain plugs and the instructions recommend one in the bow and one high on the transom..., open both for ventilation during storage. I've seen kit built boats with drain plugs in some pretty unconventional places.

The glass boats were originally bonded at the deck flange, but saw rougher kid-play than probably anticipated. I first learned to fiberglass re-affixing that seam on my first Sailfish® back in ’63.

My boat had a "De Persia Automatic Bailer" made in Grand Haven, Mich. installed in the footwell. It is of some kind of cast metal and has this legend engraved on the knurled screw cap that opens it. I'd like to find another as I had to cut through the retaining nut to remove it prior to renewing the boat.

De Persia bailers still show up now and again. I’ve seen them in both bronze and aluminum. They liked to corrode solid. The original instructions said to disassemble and grease the threads monthly.

Several boats used that bailer, but Alcort probably ordered the lions share. De Persia went belly up shortly after Sunfish® switched to their own plastic design. A replacement these days is PVC, available from any Sunfish® dealer…, or watch ebay and keep a few gold sovereigns handy for bidding on the old style metal one.

There is a Sunfish® Sailor group at Yahoo -http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Sunfish_sailor In the files they have plans for a wood Super Sailfish. You have to join the group to get to the files, but it's free.

Thank you Marc…, I was wondering when that resource would come up.

Also if you use the search feature at WoodenBoat Forum (an obscure forum, I know) you’ll find several threads on the subject as recent as a month ago with links to a few of the wood knock-off fish available today.

http://forum.woodenboat.com/showthread.php?t=114111&highlight=sailfish


I agree, the MoonFish looks like the best of the lot with the MiniCup a close second.
MiniCup Link - http://www.stevproj.com/FastSailrs.html

Mid to late '50s Sunfish®

Rob Herschel Restoration Project

Here’s some trivia for fun…

• Alcort founded 1945
• First boat – Standard Sailfish® 11’ 7” wood hull 65 sq ft of sail (plans or Alcort shop built - you paint & finish)
• Within a couple of years … Super Sailfish® introduced 13’ 7” wood hull 75 sq ft of sail.
• Late ‘40s the kit idea appeared, plans went away forever - replaced by the kit assembly instructions.
• ~’52 the Sunfish® came onboard (kit or Alcort shop built only – never were plans available to the public for the brand name Alcort Sunfish®)
• 1959 Sailfish® emerged in fiberglass
• 1960 Sunfish® out in fiberglass
• Alcort phased out shop built wood boats, but still offered kits until AMF bought the company in 1969
• Wood kits could still be found at a few dealers up into the 1970’s

[SamSam]

I had a Sailfish that was loads of cheap thrills, but I did have a crappy time once when I abandoned ship a little too early and it sailed away from me. Wear a life jacket.

[Jlaup]

Hi,



Prob'ly the major drawback, in warmer waters, is the ease and desire to capsize either boat. A two edged sword no doubt. That said, I remember being proud, that in a month of sailing in all conditions up to a fresh breeze gusting a gale, I never capsized the summer I was thirteen.

Like to hear more of this discussion.

I was 'docked' for 3 weeks in the summer of 1968 for flipping a sunfish a reported 20 times (I was not counting) in one afternoon on Lake Winnipesaukee at Camp Tecumseh At 11 years old, what's the fun of sailing if you can't cool off every now and again. I was outraged by the unfairness of the punishment!

[waynec]

I was 'docked' for 3 weeks in the summer of 1968 for flipping a sunfish a reported 20 times (I was not counting) in one afternoon on Lake Winnipesauke at Camp Tecumseh. At 11 years old, what's the fun of sailing if you can't cool off every now and again. I was outraged by the unfairness of the punishment!

This sounds like more of a camp politics issue than a boating one. I surmise you were supposed to be learning sailing and improving rather than doing perpetual capsize drills..., but you'll have to take that up with the camp's powers that be.

I can empathize having spent many youthful summer days "sailing" beach boats. It's all part of the fun.

.

[boatbuddha]

I was 'docked' for 3 weeks in the summer of 1968 for flipping a sunfish a reported 20 times (I was not counting) in one afternoon on Lake Winnipesaukee at Camp Tecumseh At 11 years old, what's the fun of sailing if you can't cool off every now and again. I was outraged by the unfairness of the punishment!

I learned to sail on a sunfish, and I'm sure I spent more time in the water than on the boat when starting out.

[Daniel Noyes]

Yeah there as much a swiming toy as a boat!
but they really are a great boat.
I routinely sail by 20-25' cruising boats on PI sound

I think I have unintentionally fliped my Sunny 3 times in 8 yrs and I think I had the darger board out sailing off the wind in heavy conditions each time, the deck burries and grabs and over I go

[Jlaup]

Just for the record, all the flips in 1968 were intentional

[Keith Wilson]

I just received the March 1964 issue of Mechanix Illustrated. (Communist Subversion Schools Operating in the US!! ). It contains plans for the "Funfish", which looks a great deal like the Alcort Sunfish. The coaming's slightly different, but it has a footwell. If anybody wants a copy of the plans, send me a PM. I'll post them on the web eventually, but paper copies are easy.

[Chan]

The sailfish was flush decked, I've also thought of building a wood sunlfish, I'm sure it would be lighter than the glass version, all the hardware and sails could come from sunfish dealers for quite a bit of money for what they are, ie. last time I priced a new rudder, tiller It was hunderds of dollars.
I remember sailing a sailfish with 5 of us little buddies in a gale in Vineyard Haven harbor. The flags were all red and we were screaming with the hull totally submerged, jumping off then climbing back on...what a memory.

[waynec]

I've also thought of building a wood sunfish,

I'm sure it would be lighter than the glass version,

all the hardware and sails could come from sunfish dealers for quite a bit of money for what they are, ie. last time I priced a new rudder, tiller It was hunderds of dollars.

There are links to some available plans in earlier replies to this thread.

The kit Sunfish weighed in at 145#, Today's fiberglass Sunfish weighs 120# Fiberglass has a specific gravity > than most wood, but at 7/32" thick the bulk is a whole lot less.

I've worked up the BOM for building a wood Sunfish. Using the aftermarket sail now available for around $140 and used fittings & spars it can be done for between $1500 and $2000. Even less if you get lucky on used parts and go cheap on the wood.

Buy new fittings and rigging from the dealer and the cost would be right in there with building a new car using parts counter components.

.

[pwilling]

This thread was great fun, and very nostalgia-provoking. I learned a lot about sailing on a sunfish my dad built in a couple of weeks in 1956 or so -- he painted her out, launched her, and won a race with her the next week. She was a plywood kit. I think my cousin still has her in the Adirondacks. I started thinking about her because my stepson might get the sailing bug, and I can't think of a better start for a newbie on the water (SF Bay).

[Dave Carnell]

My Nutmeg, a modified Bolger Featherwind. can use a SUNFISH rig as a drop in. I sold over 600 sets of plans worldwide befor selling the business to Thom Vetromile at <smallboatsforum.com>. He sells it in his store. And Bolger's estate gets a royalty.
You cannot flip it and it will accomodate four adults.