anybody know anything about sunfish sailboats?

[davestlouis]

We live in a community with 2 lakes, the larger one is mainly for powerboats, limited to 125HP outboards, v6 I/O's and V8's are ok on real, honet-to-God ski/wakeboard boats, up to 20ft long. The little lake is 9.9HP rated, which leaves old pontoons and sailboats. A neighbor offered me a sunfish as a freebie, but I have never sailed and don't know squat about the boat or handling it. How much does it weigh? Where do I buy replacement parts? Did multiple companies build them? Any information would be appreciated.

[84300DT]

Originally Posted by davestlouis

We live in a community with 2 lakes, the larger one is mainly for powerboats, limited to 125HP outboards, v6 I/O's and V8's are ok on real, honet-to-God ski/wakeboard boats, up to 20ft long. The little lake is 9.9HP rated, which leaves old pontoons and sailboats. A neighbor offered me a sunfish as a freebie, but I have never sailed and don't know squat about the boat or handling it. How much does it weigh? Where do I buy replacement parts? Did multiple companies build them? Any information would be appreciated.

as far as i remember the sunfish was made by AMF. 2 people can carry one.
they are dead easy to setup and sail and a fairly stable boat. you will get wet in any kind of wind though.. most people don't mind it.
as far as parts etc goes i have no idea.. but there aren't very many anyhow and the wood parts (tiller-rudder-centerboard) you can fabricate yourself.

these are good fun boats for people who don't know how to sail...you can get in and start sailing your first time out...
plus for free you can't go wrong!

[BrierS]

Yes. It should be an AMF Alcot Sunfish with removable center board. Flotation vest and the Sunfish will provide you with fun learning to tack . . . Been thirty or more years since I used one and eventually moved to an antique wooden peapod hull sailing vessel. At times I missed the maintenance freedom (teak, mahogany and light oak require too much work) of the Alcot . . . I think.

I digress . . . the Sunfish was used for several years in sailing races and was so popular for this venue it replaced several other small sailers. You should have fun in a stiff wind.

[davestlouis]

They do have a regatta, of sorts, over the summer, although I never paid much attention to when it is, because it was never directly relevant until now. The little lake is only 80 or so acres, so there's not much room to get in trouble. I guess we'll see what shakes out. My 11 year old autistic son seems enthused, anything I can do to get him away from his video games is a good thing.

[BrierS]

I hear you on the outdoors versus video games. My two sons are now in their mid twenties and remain very active in sports/activities. I was fortunate enough to be a primary care provider (worked from home) so I spent alot of time with them as they grew. At that point in their lives, I (right or wrong) decided they were not going to have electronic babysitters. I now believe I should have provided some compromise . . . but we certainly stayed busy.

Back to your sailboat . . . they have a clean design and when I mentioned stiff wind, I seem to remember that those things really pick up speed quickly. In fact, you and your son could spend time waxing and rewaxing the hull so as to make it as friction free as possible. Great thing to do and test. Even if each time the results are not that much you can certainly imagine they are . . .

Personal floatation devices are a must. Hope to read about your adventures later this year.
Steve

[kerry]

Learned to sail on one. Loved it. Ours was a wooden Sunfish. I think there must have been someone selling plans to the home builder. Even made out of wood, two people could carry it. Wish I still had it. Co-owned it with my brother and sister-in-law. They let it sit outside in TN and it rotted away.
Can't get a simpler rig to learn to sail with. Lateen sail. Imagine yourself in the Arabian Gulf. Be prepared to get wet and practice righting it. The only sailboat more fun would be a catamaran or an iceboat.

[POS]

We owned one as a kid - had it for 10 years or so. Fun as the dickens, can hold two, in strong winds you can get up on the side and teeter with flipping. Once flipped, one person can easily right it again.

As a freebie? Take it and use; they're a lot of fun.