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Hi everyone, I was just given this Sunfish. Seems to be a 1969 model. The lower plate of the rudder mount on the bottom of the boat has a screw in it that doesn’t grab hold of anything any more. Photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/3XWSRAAoUT2HSYiz9 Is this the right screw/part? Can I put something in the hole (epoxy? Brand? ) and drill a new hole for the screw? Is it dangerous to sail this before it’s properly fixed? The rest of the rudder mount seems fine. I have sailed it in light winds. PS - i used this screw hole to drain water that was in it after long storage. Thanks for any help - Kristen on Lake Champlain

There’s something about sailing that makes it quite unlike other sports. More than just skill and strategy, it teaches certain values that shape sailors into the unique athletes that they are. Yet, we’re often so focused on the physical aspects of sailing that we forget how much we stand to gain from the sport – both socially and emotionally. So here’s a list of the top 10 socio-emotional benefits of sailing https://prezhost.com/2020/05/29/ten-socio-emotional-benefits-of-sailing/

Thanks Mike, I once hauled a Penguin out to the Chesapeake Bay, from Chicago, for the international championships with a pickup truck. Two carpeted two by fours, held on by C clamps, did the trick. Very easy on the boat. Car topping, which was a standard in Sunfish back when I was first racing them in the 60s and 70s, has fallen out of favor. However, it's really easy on the boat, compared to bouncing around on a trailer, even upside down, and if you live anywhere that you have to endure tolls it is quite cost-effective. Here's a comprehensive story I wrote, on the subject, for the Sunfish class magazine in 2018: https://www.sunfishclass.org/documents/Windward_Leg_summer_2018.pdf Happy days, Mark Mark A. Kastel Kastel@... 608-625-2042

Hello sports fans, After sharing the photos of my mount for the ratchet block (with the matching I strap underneath the deck for the forward mount of the hiking strap) I was contacted and asked how I mounted the aft end of the strap. Please find photos attached. And I appreciate the compliments regarding the photos. Since my boat is hanging upside down I had to stand on my head to take these :-) — a great way to store and transport your boat. Although the hardware is fairly generic if you want a turnkey updates, to make your boat race ready (outhauls, hiking strap, racing board, etc.), one shortcut is to find a qualified dealer that has gone through all this before. I've worked with The Dinghy Shop, on Long Island, and they've been happy to ship out here to flyover country (Wisconsin): http://www.dinghyshop.com/. The outfit is run by a father and daughter team. Both of them are highly-competent and longtime competitors in the Sunfish class (and have made many other contributions to the organization as volunteers). So you get a lot of knowledge along with the equipment. Go sailing if you feel comfortable doing so! Day sailing alone is certainly safe. With a few minor modifications, being outside, the risks in raising are extremely low and the rewards high. Best regards, Mark PS: Racing rules for our Laser Fleet that we tested out last week: LaX Laser Fleet pandemic rules: Here are the ground rules we are starting with (and we will probably be a little more generous on the starting line and at mark groundings---thinking about maintaining social distancing and not being directly upwind of our favorite competitors). If anyone has constructive ideas to add please let me know: Here are the ground rules going forward. Based on our experience they might very well be modified for future evenings: 1. Please take your temperature before coming down to the club. You can be contagious with the coronavirus before you show any overt symptoms. So please, before participating, error on the side of caution if you have any vague symptoms or doubts about your health (loss of taste/smell, fever, respiratory symptoms, swollen feet, etc.). 2. Masks are mandatory on and off the water. I have a "neck gator" on order and that might be the best option. If the mask is uncomfortable, and you are well away from anyone, you can take responsibility for taking a brief break-but that runs the risk of forgetting to put it back on so, just like a PFD, it's better to just wear one. 3. Unless the wind is light, and it is warm, we will all wear a PFD, shore to shore. 4. Before and after handling the lock and gate, or helping one of your fellow competitors lift the boat off of their vehicle (appropriately distanced at 14 feet-the length of a Laser :-) please wash your hands or use a disinfectant wipe. 5. Soap and water is the most effective prevention so please consider bringing down some soap, in a travel dish. You can use your elbow to turn the water on. 6. We will be rigging at least 20 feet apart. So as we pull our boats out of line, rig, and launch please be aware of the location of other competitors and negotiate the transitions. Mark A. Kastel Kastel@... 608-625-2042 Voice 866-861-2214 Fax

We are sifting through the Parts List for the ALCORT Wooden Sunfish kit and the very last item listed was Open fairlead. Took us a while to figure out what it was. What do y'all think it is? Also we cut a replacement transom from mahogany for a wooden Sunfish restoration project (not the Sunfish pictured, that's ZIP, who's getting a hull puncture repaired red and some other deferred maintenance.) -- Cheers Clark and Skipper Our blog Small Boat Restoration ( http://smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com/ ) Our book The Sunfish Owners Manual ( https://www.amazon.com/Sunfish-Owners-Manual-Maintain-Repair/dp/1484987217 )

Hi folks, How do you fasten a new ratchet block to the Sunfish deck? Does one drill pilot holes first and then fasten? I am also having difficulty finding exactly what screws or other fasteners that should be used in this application. I have a 73 that is still in excellent condition and would rather not make a mistake here. Many thanks! Brian

Here you go Brian (please find attached)… Mark A. Kastel Kastel@... 608-625-2042

What if there’s a gust of wind? Will the boat capsize? https://prezhost.com/2020/05/08/questions-from-the-first-time-sailor/

The Greater Detroit Sunfish Club is readying for its first outing of the season. Singlehanded sailing is safe and legal in Michigan. See the flyer and schedule attached for basic info. Email for specific information on launch sites, how to join, and how the dates will function. We’re out to have fun and certainly welcome more to come and race. Sincerely, Gail ~~~~/)~~~/)~~~~~/)~~/)~~~~/)~~~~/)~~~ Gail M. Turluck Fleet Captain Greater Detroit Sunfish Club US Sunfish Class Fleet #50 Visit: https://www.facebook.com/Greater-Detroit-Sunfish-Club-169933653059125/ ?Like our Page on Facebook!!! Share it with your friends. Sign up for our Yahoo!Group listserv: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/gdsc_sailing/info ~~~~/)~~~/)~~~~~/)~~/)~~~~/)~~~~/)~~~ Doing whatever it takes to get more people sailing Sunfish in the Greater Detroit area! ~~~~/)~~~/)~~~~~/)~~/)~~~~/)~~~~/)~~~ Visit: www.sunfishclass.org to learn about Sunfish sailing and racing P Think before you print!

I am new to sailing at 77 years old. I traded a jet ski a few years ago for a Whistler sailboat and my sailing life began. The Whiastler is a 11 foot sloop rigged dinghy for two. Kind of tubby and a bit slow, but a great boat for a new guy to learn to handle two sails single handed. I was hooked the first time I put up the sail. Two years later, i acquired a Force 5 for the price of hauling it away. I took lots of practice and a bunch of capsizes. The big hi aspect ratio sail was bit much for my weight and skills so I bought a junior sail. A good choice especially when I wanted to sail and not swim and the breeze was north of 15 mph. Two years ago I saw an older Sunfish that had been sitting behind a shed for years. I drove by it almost every day. One day I walked up to the house to see if it might be for sale. A young woman told me it was mine if i would haul it away. It was in my backyard that afternoon. I made a new old style rudder, repaired the CB and fixed a few odds and ends and in a few days I was sailing this 1964 Alcort Sunfish. I live right on the water on Bogue Sound in NC so I was out there two to three days a week. Here are my thoughts on the Sunfish: (1) The latteen rigged sail makes launch, landing, docking so easy. I cannot tell you how many times I have sailed right to my dock and dropped the sail like I knew what I was doing. I moved the halyard cleat to the cock pit to make this maneuver easy. The low aspect ratio sail is less risky on a gybe. and its position can be adjusted so it is easier for old timers like me to get to the other side of the boat on tacks and gybes. (2) The boat is plenty quick which makes tacking under bridges and narrow channels against the current very doable. My Whistler doesn't make it half the time. And downwnd it is a lot safer than the Force 5 which has a propensity to death roll. I know some of you athletic seasoned sailors could gybe on downwind runs in a F5, but it takes perfect balancing and precise moves to do it in stronger winds. I came home in a 25 mph 4 mile run, in my Sunfish and stayed out of the water. It was a real thriller on plane the whole way. (3) The sunfish is a breeze to right. The Force 5 with its tall water filled mast is not so easy. (4) The lip on the gunwales make a hiking strap unnecessary and the pivoting wooden tiller extension is adequate for everything but all out racing. Overall it is easy to see why the lowly Sunfish is the most popular and often raced dinghy ever made. It does so many things well for novists and seasoned racers alike. The designers of this little boat got it pretty much right from the get go. My hats off to them. This year I converted my rudder to the newer flip up design and gave my sun scorched deck a couple coats of bright yellow marine epoxy. This old boat deserved some TLC. It is hard to believe this little boat is almost 70 years old and for the most part unchanged despite often changed ownership. Mr Mike

Hi Andrew, I grew up sailing on Lake Michigan north of Chicago (Winnetka Yacht Club). There were hundreds of Sunfish on racks. We had a junior sailing program with about 20 kids three times a week and maybe 25 Sunfish on a weekend racing (along with a fleet of Thistles, Flying Juniors and later Lasers and Enterprise). Nothing fancy. No clubhouse. Just good racing and instruction for youth and adults (the club would end up with at least one Sunfish world champion, Masters champion, one Thistle national champion and a number of other high-caliber contenders). For the larger boats there was a launching ramp that went right into the lake (no breakwater at the time) and the Sunfish launched off the beach. If it was a northeaster the waves traveled over 300 miles down the length of the lake and were quite exciting by the time they got to us. How to launch: If there are any appreciable waves it's best to have someone help. If they can help you launch the boat, and then hold it, so you can get in, in deep enough water to get your daggerboard halfway down and your rudder down, you can have the mainsheet ready to trim and the trick is to go off on a close/beam reach so you have the power to get through the waves. A strong push by the person helping gives you a head start. This is all possible to do alone once you become more experienced. But even for the experienced, in extreme waves, it really pays to have help. If you're alone, and certainly in less extreme conditions, you want to generally do the same thing. Get your board down halfway, get your rudder down and the sheet in your hand, push the boat out so you have some momentum (that will give you steerage) … And jump in … trim hard and fast. If it's really wavy, and you are trying to maintain a perfect bottom is smooth as a baby's butt (most folks who are racing), the safest thing is to come in with speed, surfing, as fast as you can, and ride right up on the beach. Obviously you need to get your daggerboard up at the last minute so you don't damage your boat. The rotor will kick up on its own. Then jump out of the boat, quickly, and pull it all away up on the beach before the next wave hits. There is a saying in flying, "With speed there is control." The worst thing you want to do is basically stop and then broach in the waves. If you have a really nice boat, maybe for racing, we usually surf to the beach and then in the trough of a wave quickly go head to wind and jump out of the boat and grab the handle. Hopefully someone will come and help you get it on the dolly. Good luck. It's worth the effort! Mark Kastel La Crosse, Wisconsin PS: Photos below of my "new" boat. I race a pristine 1984 AMF/Alcourt Sunfish. I bought this one last year, a 1975. It's in pretty good shape and I have a used racing sale to go on. It's for practice. The maiden voyage was last Saturday on Lake Onalaska (part of the upper Mississippi River Wildlife Refuge). It was oilcanning and making noise pretty badly under the cockpit or just below the storage compartment so I'm not sure this will ever be competitive for racing but it cleaned up pretty well and is going to be a lot of fun for 500 bucks. I can leave this one on the beach, at the local club, and keep my good boat hanging in the rafters of the garage ready for the next regatta (I sure hope there might be a few yet this year). Mark A. Kastel Kastel@... 608-625-2042