My Dad recently gave me his '73 AMF Sunfish. I knew nothing of the
proper way to store it so it sat upright on its trailer wrapped in a
blue tarp for about a year (he had it stored in his garage for
years). Well, surprise, surprise, when I went to get it ready to sail
last weekend the cockpit and hull were full of water. Nit-wit that I
am, I did not leave the drain plug open so rain water filled the
cockpit and leaked into the hull through the air vent (at least that
is how I think it got in the hull). Pretty stupid on my part.
Well, as I drained the water out through the drain plug (it probably
took 25 minutes, eek!) I could hear air being sucked into the hull in
two places: a small hissing at the mast hole/step and another at one
corner of the stern. I could not tell where in the mast step the hole
was, but it was a very, very little hiss. The hole in the stern is
more obvious, as it looks like the boat was dropped on that corner at
some point and cracked. The hissing was easily heard while standing a
few feet from the boat as it drained.
This morning, I read through the posts on this forum about drying out
the hull. I will try to weigh the boat tonight or tomorrow after
work. I suspect it weighs less than 200 lbs because I could easily
lift and slide it back on to the trailer myself. It may weigh quite a
bit less than that. From what I read here, I assume that if I repair
the small crack in the stern that it would cause the boat no real
damage to sail it weighing in the 150 to 200 lb range? If it is that
heavy, I will install an inspection port and begin the suggested
drying methods, but I would like to sail it this summer, and it
soulds like the drying times are measured in months.
Another question I have concerns the centerboard/daggerboard (not
sure which term is correct). The bottom-leading edge has been damaged
over the years by running it aground. The wood is quite
smashed/frayed for maybe a length of an inch or two, to a depth of
maybe a half an inch, maybe a bit less. I'm not sure what the right
words are to describe its condition, but you can see the individual
wood fibers all seperated where it is damaged. Any sugestions on how
to repair this?
Last questions. The halyard shows a lot of wear, suggestions on what
type of line and where to buy it? Also the outhaul lines were both
broken. What is the correct type of line to replace them?
Thanks for the help/advice.
Bob
