Sunfishsailboats. com another good source aka Yankee Boating Center
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Spoke to Bill Crane today at LP, they have 200 Sunfish hulls in the warehouse and dealers have some as well. He said dealer orders or direct orders were welcome!?
Cheers Clark and Skipper
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Sunfish Direct is a dealer (their name implies that they are affiliated with the manufacturer but that's not the case).? I've heard good things about them but when I was looking for the parts they didn't have what I needed in stock. ? I ended up working with The Dinghy Shop on Long Island. It's owned by a father and daughter that are both very active and competent competitors actively racing Sunfish and incredibly knowledgeable. So just like working with the an excellent old-time hardware store you gain a lot of knowledge along with the gear that you purchase. ? That being said, there are number of other excellent dealers around the country. After my unfortunate experience sails became more readily available. Maybe someone else can update the list in terms of the availability of all parts today. ? Best regards, ? Mark Kastel ?
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From: sunfish_sailor@... [mailto:sunfish_sailor@...]
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2019 9:29 PM
To: Tom Leone tgleone@... [sunfish_sailor]
Subject: Re: [sunfish_sailor] Re: new sunfish? ? I am not sure if you tried this site??for sails and blades.. ?They also state that they have boats that you may order. ?I have not ordered from them yet, but did look into acquiring parts for my sunfish. ?I have a hull that I need to repair, which I bought it mostly to practice fixing a fiberglass boat and learn to sail a sunfish. ? ? Hello all, ? After a 40 year hiatus I was determined to get back into the Sunfish class in 2017. I came close to not making it because of the gross dysfunction of the manufacturer. ? There were virtually no new boats available. None in the Midwest. And I located a couple really, really nice clean used boats but they needed all the racing gear (sail, daggerboard, lines, etc.). It wasn't mandatory but I bought a new fiberglass broader blade as well before the North Americans. I believe the situation has been resolved but in the whole country I couldn't find a sail or daggerboard. ? I paid $1000 for the hull including wood blades that were in beautiful shape. But everything else I had to purchase and I put a lot of sweat equity in the boat installing ports, sanding the bottom and mounting the new hardware. I purchased covers. I used the dolly and tiller extension from my Laser. I have less invested than if I had purchased a new boat but that's not counting one heck of a lot of time and hassle. ? If I had to do it again I probably would buy a new one (although I love my 1983 – it looks just like the one I owned as a teenager). Here's the whole story that was published in the class magazine: ? The other advantage of buying a new boat, and over the years I used to buy a new Laser every 1-3 years (I used to joke by saying I needed a new sail and it came with a boat). There's very, very low depreciation. By buying a new boat you are keeping the manufacturer and dealer in business?and?if you turn over a good boat periodically you are adding another competitive boat to your fleet or region. Everyone wins. ? Good luck to you, ? Mark Kastel La Crosse Sailing Club La Crosse, Wisconsin Sunfish 7500 ? ? ?? The biggest competition for a New fish is... a quality used fish. Kinda the same thing as Harleys. If it looks and sails the same, why spend more? They last a very long time with any kind of care at all.
Which suggests to me a question; is there an official appraisal/rating system for used Sunfish, kind of like the quality rating systems for comic books and such?? Or the concours ratings on classic restored cars? I've never heard of one.
Seems like it would be pretty subjective, but an objective format might be based on some easy criteria like:
Age of the hull
Hull weight over factory spec.
Number of non-factory-original holes made in it.
OEM parts percentage regarding the rigging, rudder, daggerboard.
Condition of mast and spars from like-new to "some scuffs" to "looks ok? from the dockside".? Any bends or kinks would take points off.
Quality of the gelcoat in terms of cracks, scratches, goug es, breaks: none, minor spiderwebs, major cracks, repaired and refinished damage.
overall finish: Original, refinished, repainted.
A points system associated with each category gives you an overall number that could roughly describe the boat's value relative to factory-new.? But it also might give you a? checklist, a way to assess the value of a used boat in relative dollars to fix it up, compared to the price of a brand new boat.? A 100-dollar boat is a great value, ...unless you need to spend 2-300 dollars (and shipping) on a new mast and spars, 100 for a new sail,? 80-100 for a new block, 100 for cam cleats, 80 for ropes and lines, 100 for a daggerboard or a rudder,? 80-150 for a tiller or a tiller extension, 50-150 on fiberglass and refinishing supplies... see where I'm going with this?? I got a used boat for basically 20 bucks.? I've got probably 300, spent in little batches, into it now, to restore it. It's a ctually worth more, parted-out, than at the dock, ready to sail...
... or you could just jump in the damn thing and go sail:-) We don't do this for money, we do it for love. But money helps make it all happen.
?
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I see a typo error in my last email I meant to say, I don't have TIME to sail anymore, , hope you can help him out, I have a friend who said a sunfish Hull washed up to his beach house after a storm he would give up, not sure of condition, I said I want to go see it, I would give it to PC , his beach house is on dog island, only way to get there is by boat or airplane, hehehe, going to be difficult to go take a look and retrieve it, Hugh
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On Mar 23, 2019 8:50 PM, "lewis.kent@... [sunfish_sailor]" <sunfish_sailor@...> wrote:
Thanks Hugh, and good on ya for getting them back to sailing again.
Kent
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People lucky enough to live a long time notice how the time cost of money shows up in things like the Sunfish.? About 10 years ago I did a financial evaluation and determined that a Sunfish then cost just a little more than in 1963 and that was with having to add on dealing with OSHA, EPA, employee benefits, etc.?
Sunfish sailboats are an incredible bargain!?
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Thanks Hugh, and good on ya for getting them back to sailing again.
Kent
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Kent, call Bill Morris 850-259-7323, tell him I gave you his number, he was happy to get my boats, I put him back in business, I got to where I don't have to to sail anymore, I sold him 2 fishes ready to sail on one trailer, we piggy backed them, I let both go for $1100, which was what I had in them minus all my labor of love, so I was happy to help hurricane victims in PC,? that 78 I had was in like new condition, I hated to part with it, he says I can come sail it anytime, that's great,,,, Hugh
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On Mar 23, 2019 8:20 PM, "lewis.kent@... [sunfish_sailor]" <sunfish_sailor@...> wrote:
Thanks Hugh, we are considering selling a few.
Cheers Kent in Navarre.
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Thanks Hugh, we are considering selling a few.
Cheers Kent in Navarre.
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Yes, he lost 8 hulls in the hurricane, he does want more, mainly hulls, he has plenty of sails spars and blades, I have his phone number if you want, let me know, this is Hugh,
Sent from my Verizon Motorola Droid
On Mar 23, 2019 10:58 AM, "lewis.kent@... [sunfish_sailor]" <sunfish_sailor@...> wrote:
The person who sold the Sunfish in Panama City. And was the sailing school looking for more Sunfish.
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You are right about all of that! One stick, one string. Kids can rig it.
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I am late to sailing.? I got my first sailboat at 73 and now at 76 I now have three sailboats, a Whistler, a Force 5, and a Sunfish.? I hit the jackpot on a sunfish. ? I saw what looked like a sunfish behind a shed in our neighborhood.? I saw it everyday I passed by, so one day I walked to the front door to inquire about the boat.? A very attractive young woman answered the door with a cellphone jammed in her ear.? I asked her if the sailboat was for sale.? She said, with the cellphone still jammed in her hear, "If you can get it out of here it is yours".? It was in my back yard in about 30 minutes.? A good sail, dry inside, mahogany CB that needed a lot of sanding and three coats of urethane.? I had to make a new rudder and add a few bits of hardware.? While the sunfish is not the most sophisticated or fastest dinghy, it is a fabulous design for what it can do.? First the lateen sail makes it easy to paddle out my canal and raise the sail on the water.? A sleeved, battened, sail is hard to paddle even when I furl it.? Second, it is fast enough to negotiate tight areas and strong current in the ICW where I do? all my sailing. Third it is light enough to easily pull up on my dock. Four, it is easily righted and easy to recover when I hit a sandy shoal.? While I acquired my at a bargain price, they are reasonable both new and used.? The boys that designed this little boat got it right.
Mr Mike
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The person who sold the Sunfish in Panama City. And was the sailing school looking for more Sunfish.
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Wow, I can remember back in 1969, bought a new sunfish in fort Walton for $900.
Sent from my Verizon Motorola Droid
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To whom are you replying, and with respect to what? (Quoting would be helpful!) On Saturday, March 23, 2019 08:36:04 AM lewis.kent@... [sunfish_sailor] wrote: That's great! Did they act like they needed more?
Cheers
Kent
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Re: 1976 Sunfish Going Up for Sale
Good luck with the sale, and the Peapod!
Kent and Skipper
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Hi Tom
What part of the country are you in? Some dealers have boats in stock. You can also work through the LP HQ to find a boat.
There is a Dealer Locator on the LP website, and a chat function
Scroll down to the Information link at the bottom of the page, click on it and look for the Dealer Locator link.
The choices on the LP site are the Race model ($4923) and the regular Sunfish ($4629). Some dealers may have previous year's hull in stock, and they might be able to offer a discount on those, usually the Recreational model. Also it's good to check with yacht clubs that hosted big Sunfish events in the last few years, they may have charter boats left over.
Cheers Kent
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That's great! Did they act like they needed more?
Cheers Kent
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Do not split the seam on either side of the cockpit. They need to stay attached so the deck/hull stays aligned for reassembly. Do not cut out huge hunks of the deck. You can gently lift the bow or stern enough to get your arm inside, as far as it will go. We have had 10 sections of deck open with no cracking.
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I am not sure if you tried this site??for sails and blades. ?They also state that they have boats that you may order. ?I have not ordered from them yet, but did look into acquiring parts for my sunfish. ?I have a hull that I need to repair, which I bought it mostly to practice fixing a fiberglass boat and learn to sail a sunfish.
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hello all, ? After a 40 year hiatus I was determined to get back into the Sunfish class in 2017. I came close to not making it because of the gross dysfunction of the manufacturer. ? There were virtually no new boats available. None in the Midwest. And I located a couple really, really nice clean used boats but they needed all the racing gear (sail, daggerboard, lines, etc.). It wasn't mandatory but I bought a new fiberglass broader blade as well before the North Americans. I believe the situation has been resolved but in the whole country I couldn't find a sail or daggerboard. ? I paid $1000 for the hull including wood blades that were in beautiful shape. But everything else I had to purchase and I put a lot of sweat equity in the boat installing ports, sanding the bottom and mounting the new hardware. I purchased covers. I used the dolly and tiller extension from my Laser. I have less invested than if I had purchased a new boat but that's not counting one heck of a lot of time and hassle. ? If I had to do it again I probably would buy a new one (although I love my 1983 – it looks just like the one I owned as a teenager). Here's the whole story that was published in the class magazine: ? The other advantage of buying a new boat, and over the years I used to buy a new Laser every 1-3 years (I used to joke by saying I needed a new sail and it came with a boat). There's very, very low depreciation. By buying a new boat you are keeping the manufacturer and dealer in business?and?if you turn over a good boat periodically you are adding another competitive boat to your fleet or region. Everyone wins. ? Good luck to you, ? Mark Kastel La Crosse Sailing Club La Crosse, Wisconsin Sunfish 7500 ? ? ?? The biggest competition for a New fish is... a quality used fish. Kinda the same thing as Harleys. If it looks and sails the same, why spend more? They last a very long time with any kind of care at all.
Which suggests to me a question; is there an official appraisal/rating system for used Sunfish, kind of like the quality rating systems for comic books and such?? Or the concours ratings on classic restored cars? I've never heard of one.
Seems like it would be pretty subjective, but an objective format might be based on some easy criteria like:
Age of the hull
Hull weight over factory spec.
Number of non-factory-original holes made in it.
OEM parts percentage regarding the rigging, rudder, daggerboard.
Condition of mast and spars from like-new to "some scuffs" to "looks ok? from the dockside".? Any bends or kinks would take points off.
Quality of the gelcoat in terms of cracks, scratches, goug es, breaks: none, minor spiderwebs, major cracks, repaired and refinished damage.
overall finish: Original, refinished, repainted.
A points system associated with each category gives you an overall number that could roughly describe the boat's value relative to factory-new.? But it also might give you a? checklist, a way to assess the value of a used boat in relative dollars to fix it up, compared to the price of a brand new boat.? A 100-dollar boat is a great value, ...unless you need to spend 2-300 dollars (and shipping) on a new mast and spars, 100 for a new sail,? 80-100 for a new block, 100 for cam cleats, 80 for ropes and lines, 100 for a daggerboard or a rudder,? 80-150 for a tiller or a tiller extension, 50-150 on fiberglass and refinishing supplies... see where I'm going with this?? I got a used boat for basically 20 bucks.? I've got probably 300, spent in little batches, into it now, to restore it. It's a ctually worth more, parted-out, than at the dock, ready to sail...
... or you could just jump in the damn thing and go sail:-) We don't do this for money, we do it for love. But money helps make it all happen.
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1976 Sunfish Going Up for Sale
I have a 1976 "Bicentennial" Sunfish going up for sale.? The boat is in good shape - but not perfect -? I sail her a number of times each season.? Sail is very good - not brand new, but newer - North sail, red, white and blue - with mast and sail cover for trailering.? Boat leaks some but not terribly.? Has one inspection port in the center of the boat behind the splash rail.? Includes a new trailer.? Foam is all in place and dry.? I don't know weight, but is easily carried by two people.? Boat has been kept indoors for at least the last 4 years.
I am clearing the way in the garage to build a Chesapeake Light Craft Lighthouse Peapod.
I will be asking $1,000 for boat and trailer.
I am near Greenville, SC if anyone is interested.
Thanks everyone!
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Signal Charlie
turluck