sunfish sailboat fiberglass hull repair [video]

just a few days ago, I saw this sweet how-to video posted over at the Sunfish Forum for doing your own fiberglass repair to fix leaks or hull damage to your Sunfish.

doug does a sweet job of narrating the process and putting the video together, and makes the whole process look pretty simple!  and, all this from a first-timer, no less!

This is a video of a repair I made to one of my early 1970′s sunfish that had a split in the hull underneath the cockpit.

For me this was a first time fiberglass repair.

sunfish hiking straps

here are 2 videos that I just recently saw posted at the Yahoo Sunfish Sailor Group about modifications to make your hiking strap have some ability to adjust the tension on the hiking strap while sailing.

in this first video, Dayton Colie goes into a little detail on how David Loring, the 3-time Sunfish Worlds champion, customizes his hiking strap to give him to capability to adjust the tension on the hiking strap while in the middle of racing out on the water.  it does involve making a custom attachment using webbing material and some grommets.

Dayton Colie and David Loring collaborated to make a pretty sweet DVD called “Back to Basics for Sunfish World Championship Speed” – it’s available from most Sunfish dealers, including Intensity Sails.  the video could stand to be updated for HD, but it is still a great video, with rigging tips as well as tips for while out on the water.

in the second video, Eduardo Cordero and Paul-Jon Patin display some what their sailing coaching school, Starboard Passage, has to offer.  the hiking strap customization is at about 0:55 with more comments throughout the video about it.

there are also a ton of pictures on Sunfish rigging at Starboard Passage.

Annapolis Performance Sailing: 20 years

after my last post, I wanted to make sure that I don’t give the impression that I don’t like Annapolis Performance Sailing (APS) or the great service that they provide. I’ve ordered several parts from them, and will continue to do so in the future.  they have also started a blog – the APS Stern Scoop, providing commentary from employees (all “racing” sailors), as well as good product reviews, and notices of sales at APS.

this year APS celebrates their 20th year in business – as the business started in 1991 when the founder, Kyle Gross:

…recognized the need for a local business that would supply dinghy racers with everything they needed – from foul weather gear to obscure boat parts that seemed impossible to find.

you can find a pretty thorough history on the APS website, including old magazine covers, a video, and an interview with Kyle Gross.  Kyle talks a bit about changes over the last 20 years:

The other thing has been the threat to sailing. Perceived (and in many cases, real) barriers: water access, cost, historically, an elitism had to be overcome. It seems that every sport has become a little more intense, whether it’s lacrosse or soccer or whatever you happen to do , there’s more equipment, the bar has been raised, it’s a bigger commitment. Therefore, the person that participated in 4 to 8 activities from organized sports to recreational whatever it is—scuba diving, I think the economic pressures and the commitment levels have required that people pick their top 1, 2, or 3 and there’s no room for others. There are so many barriers to sailing that it’s an easy one to just drop off of people’s radar, and it’s hard to overcome that. The sport has grown, and trust me, I’ve been happy for that change.

[full disclosure: this is not a sponsored post or anything like that - just wanted to pass on the news for their 20th anniversary.]

APS Sunfish recreational sails (misleading ad)

so, I was flipping through the 2011 catalog that I got in the mail a few days ago from Annapolis Performance Sailing (APS), and I’m a little frustrated with the way they show the new “practice” or “recreational” (so basically not class-legal) sails.  here is a scan from the 2010 catalog, but it is identical in the current 2011 catalog, other than minor price changes:

my concern is that looking at this page from the magazine, there is no indication that the significantly cheaper recreational sail (above the picture of the 2 sails) will be arriving at your doorstep without the Sunfish logo.  if you go onto the APS website, they have these practice/recreational sails shown correctly, without the Sunfish logo – but if you only looked at the catalog, you might assume the logo is going to be there.  here is a snapshot from the website:

if you’re looking for a cheaper Sunfish sail to replace your old, worn-out sail – this is a perfectly good option if you’re a recreational sailor, or if your local club will allow the non-class-legal sail for club racing – but just be aware that it won’t arrive with the Sunfish logo, as it is not the official class-approved sail.

but, you can always just buy some insignia cloth, and make your own logo if you’d really like to see that little Sunfish up there when you’re sailing.  that’s what I’m planning on doing!

spring thaw at Torresen Marine

this Saturday, March 12th, Torresen Marine in Muskegon, Michigan is holding their “spring thaw” event.

the event will feature several seminars during the course of the day:

• 9:00 a.m. Fog, Lightning & Great Lake Storms – Capt. Jack Klang of Quantum Sails
• 10:30 a.m. Blister Repair & Prevention – Kevin Kyle of Interlux Yacht Finishes
• 11:30 a.m. Introduction to NOAA in Muskegon: Science, Charting, Forecasts & Operations – Dennis Donahue
• 12:30 p.m. New & Current Product Line-up – Jeff Fink of Raymarine
• 1:30 p.m. What’s Happening at GVSU Annis Water Resources Institute? – Amanda Syers
• 2:30 p.m. Successful Application & Maintenance of Performance Coatings – Bob Harris of Pettit Paint
• 3:30 p.m. Ten Sailing Skills Every Wife Should Know (Husbands welcome & encouraged) – Capt. Jack Klang of Quantum Sails

I’m probably not going to drive all the way across the state for it, but it does look interesting.  there should be several suppliers on site, including representatives from Laser Performance, Harken, and Interlux.

that weekend, they will also be offering a sale on Laser and Sunfish sailboats – $300 off a 2011 model.

10% off Harken at APS

I was browsing through some sailing supply websites this morning, and noticed that Annapolis Performance Sailing (APS) is running a promotion for all of March: 10% off all Harken hardware, and a free gift if you spend more than $100.  now would be a good time to upgrade your mainsheet block or other hardware!

for my upgrade to my Sunfish mainsheet block, I decided to use the Harken 2135 57mm carbo ratchet block with a Harken H150 cam cleat.

winter storage 2010-2011

to get my boat prepped for storage over the winter this year, I wanted to come up with a way to keep the inspection ports fully open to allow natural airflow through the (2) inspection ports I put in (I’d prefer a small fan, but the one I was using crashed out – to much constant running, maybe?).  I wanted to try to create some sort of barrier to keep rodents and bugs if possible from making a nice winter nest on the interior of my Sunfish, though.  I spent a few hours making these little screen covers for the inspection ports:

now before you criticize me for that piece of fine wood-working, keep in mind 2 things: it was quick and dirty, and I really really really HATE using a jigsaw.  I didn’t really have any other tool in my shop that would work any better, though, so that’s what I put together, and I think Norm Abrams would be mighty proud.

anyway, it’s made from a piece of 1/4″ plywood, with a piece of window screen stapled to the back.  I also added these little pieces of foam around the back perimeter to sort of seal the edges.  the 2 screws are attached to little blocks of wood, each with a small piece of the foam, and a quarter turn of a screwdriver from above will “clamp” the bug/rodent cover down over the inspection ports.

another thing I did towards the end of the summer or early fall was order a sail/spar bag from the Sailboat Garage (same folks that help run the Sunfish Class).  they recommended one a bit heavier duty than the “official” Sunfish version from Laser Performance, and so far I’m quite happy with it.  it is a full length zippered bag constructed of rugged, water resistant nylon, with the white webbing handles that make it easy to throw it over your shoulder to carry the sails, spars and mast down to the beach (order # MSF558 from the Sailboat Garage).

I had my usual helper that fall afternoon – Luke is modeling his lovely Burger King crown while sitting on top of the Sunfish.

for winter storage, I just keep the sails, spars and mast zippered up in the sail bag, and use bungees to hang it all from the roof of my garage:

last year, it was brutal ordeal to wrestle the Sunfish up into the 2nd floor of my dad’s barn (it really was brutal – I wrote about it here, if you want to re-live the pain), so I was really hesitant to try that same route this year.  instead, over the holiday break a few weeks back, I trailered the Sunfish up to my dad’s again, but this time decided to just hang the Sunfish from the floor joists of the barn.  the ceiling is pretty high, so it shouldn’t interfere with any of his stuff in the barn (unless he tries to wire up that extra ceiling fan hanging there!).

my brothers and brother-in-law helped me out this year, and we used my dad’s John Deere a little more wisely this time: we lifted the Sunfish laying flat and balanced it on the tractor front bucket, and used the tractor to lift and hold the Sunfish horizontal up near the joists.  after we screwed the (4) hangers into the floor joists, we had to only lift the Sunfish slightly and install the 2×4 cross beam.  I also threw in some scraps of fiberglass insulation as padding.  I’m sure there are better alternatives than that, but it was handy, and better than having the boat rest directly on the 2×4 cross beams.  I haven’t put a fan on it, but left the inspection ports open with the bug screens I talked about above.

we’ll see how it holds up over this winter, and it should be pretty easy to reverse the process in the spring!

Christmas idea: APS practice sails (on sale!)

this is getting to be late in December, but if you’re looking for a last-minute gift for a sailor, Annapolis Performance Sailing (APS) currently has their custom practice sails for the Sunfish, Laser, or Opti on sale for 25% off the regular pricing (until December 31st)!  you can pick up the race-cut practice sail for a Sunfish for $111, including a free set of sail numbers, and you can get them installed by APS for only $10.

this looks like a sweet deal, and a perfect opportunity to pick up a high-quality practice sail for a Sunfish racer, or just a good sail for a recreational sailor to use full-time.  I don’t know the racing class rules for Opti’s and Laser’s, but I would imagine they are similar to those for Sunfish: these practice sails are not class-legal for official Sunfish racing.  your local sailing club may allow them, though, or they will work great as a backup sail for practice days.  the Sunfish sail comes in 2 choices: the recreational sail with colored panels or the all white race-cut sail (sewn with more camber to the sail, giving it a bit more power).

I bought the APS practice race-cut sail for my Sunfish this past spring, right after they were initially offered (I saw the ad in the APS magazine, before they had even been added to the website).  I knew they would be back-ordered a few weeks, but it took a bit longer than expected, and I didn’t get it shipped to me until late in the summer – so I didn’t actually get to even use mine yet!  I will keep it stored over the winter in the nice draw-string bag that comes with the sail, install my sail numbers and some tell-tales in the spring, and hopefully get several years of good use out of it.  I probably should have returned it – and then taken advantage of this sale, but oh well.

so stop on by APS and pick up a practice sail or any of their other fine sailing gear.

 

sunfish mainsheet block update

early this spring, I laid out my plans to upgrade to a Sunfish mainsheet block for controlling/holding the mainsheet, as my current setup on the Sunfish left a little to be desired (but was better than nothing on my Super Porpoise).  here is the picture of my old set-up, a swiveling fairlead with a cam cleat to hold the mainsheet if I wanted.  I also had the old hook on the cockpit edge (the really old method used to hook the mainsheet and relieve the tension you had to hold with).

my original plan was based on a few posts over at the Sunfish Forum that recommended trying to use a low-profile swiveling cam cleat and modify it with an eyestrap and stand-up spring, and then add your mainsheet ratchet block of choice — similar to this diagram below:

but, the more I looked at the diagram, and thought about how this system would work, I couldn’t wrap my brain around something: after I fed the mainsheet through the ratchet block, and then the through the little strap over the cam cleat, I didn’t think I would be able to really take advantage of the ratcheting action of the mainsheet block.  turns out my suspicions were correct as noted here – scroll down to comment #38 on this post over at the Sunfish Forum.

I decided I’d instead go with a simpler and slightly cheaper route: I would just remove the old swiveling cam cleat, and install an eyestrap on the deck.  the mainsheet ratchet block would then connect to the eyestrap.  then, to give myself the option to cleat the lines in light air or similar situations, I removed the old hook, and added a standard cam cleat.  for my setup, I used the Harken 2135 57mm ratcheting carbo block and the Harken 150 cam cleat.

here is a picture of what the ratchet block looks like with the mainsheet running up to the sail, and the other end of the line held in your hand (picture is simulated – I didn’t want to set up the whole rig, so my 9-yr old son was just holding both lines up in the air).

here is a picture with the mainsheet fed through the ratchet block and then cleated in the Harken cam cleat, with a stopper knot tied in the end of the mainsheet.

I had also bought a stand-up spring that would keep the ratchet block standing upright, and prevent it from bouncing around on the Sunfish deck, but honestly – it was ridiculously hard to compress the spring down and then to try to slowly feed the little split ring onto the pin holding the ratchet block in place (in fact, I never did get it fully installed).  after talking a bit with other sailors at the Sunfish Forum – some have had success using zip-ties or something of that nature to compress the spring, then install the ratchet block, and then cut off the zip-ties.  most of them leave the ratchet block on permanently, though, and I wanted to be able to easily and quickly install mine before sailing and then remove it after sailing so that I wasn’t trailering the boat with the ratchet block flopping around.  so as of right now, I will probably skip the stand-up spring, but keep it in case I figure out a way to cover/protect the ratchet block while I’m trailering the boat.

overall, I’m extremely happy with the setup I have now.  I really enjoy playing the mainsheet through the ratchet block, and enjoy how the sheave on the ratchet block grips the mainsheet, so that the amount of pull I see is reduced, helping to keep my hands and arms from tiring as quickly.  I also like that this setup will force me to focus more on the sail trim, instead of just using my old setup to set it and then forget it.  I’d highly recommend this upgrade to other Sunfish sailors.

sailing log: 2010-06-26

I was pretty frustrated that my 1st sail of the year wasn’t until late June, but I tend to be pretty good at making excuses (trying to wrap up things with the kids at school, need to finalize some repairs like the foam block reset, etc.) as to why it took me that long.  either way, we had scheduled a camping trip for Tawas Bay, Michigan (I just blogged about the camping trip), and one of my main goals on the trip was to get the Sunfish out on the water for a sail.  I said this about launching the Sunfish in the camping trip post:

since the water was so shallow so far out at the campground beach, I had to drive out of the campground, and noticed a marina right away with a public launch ($5 or so), but it was much more suited to much larger sailboats or powerboats.  I continued just a short way down the road and found a free public launch and used that.  the ramp was not really developed at all, and parking was quite limited.  it was really just a bit of sand where you could back your trailer up to (or in the case of one local I saw – just drive your big ol’ pickup truck and trailer right out in the water to drop off yer jet-ski).  …  the water was quite shallow still – I had to walk the boat out maybe a few hundred feet before I could drop the daggerboard and hop on to start sailing.

this was my first live (at the water) test of my Sunfish PVC dolly, so I was excited to see how well it would do.  (remember: it was on the drive up to Tawas Bay, though, that I almost lost the dolly wheels – and decided to update the dolly to have cotter pins to keep the wheels on.) the hard-packed sand “ramp” or access point worked really well with the PVC dolly, though – I was able to easily slide the Sunfish off the trailer onto the dolly, and then roll it down to the water and drop the Sunfish off there while I went back to get the rest of the sailing gear.

over the early spring, I had purchased a few new upgrades, and I was pretty excited to try them out for the 1st time.  I had sprung for the replica FRP daggerboard (the non-class-legal, but much cheaper version) and a new hiking strap – both from Intensity Sails, a complete new set of Sunfish rigging lines from APS (the recreational package, SF110), my new mainsheet block setup (I’m using just the Harken 2135 carbo ratchet block, with a Harken 150 cam cleat mounted on the cockpit lip if I need to cleat off – the block hooks to the eyestrap shown in the picture below), a new tiller extension with the universal joint, and some new sailing gloves.

as I was fiddling with getting my new mainsheet and halyard lines rigged correctly on the Sunfish, another gentleman was rigging up his older AMF Force 5 at the same launch, and he set off sailing just before I did.  I was (finally) ready to get going, so I pulled on my shorty wetsuit, and waded out a couple hundred feet with the Sunfish to get out of the shallow water.

as I don’t have a wind-meter, I can’t really say for sure what the wind speed was at the time – but it was fairly strong.  there was almost nothing along the shoreline for me to use as a gauge for the wind speed and direction – just 1 flag at the nearby marina, and it was flapping pretty steadily.  I set off on a beam reach to start out, sailed for a short while, and decided to make my 1st turn.

now, I can’t remember exactly what I did – but I ended up dumping the Sunfish over, and on my very 1st attempt at a tack for 2010!  not only did it dump over, but it turtled the full 180 degrees, mast pointing straight down.  luckily, the water felt great, and I was able to quickly right the boat.

with my new mainsheet setup, my goal was to use the ratchet block the entire time, trying to avoid having to use the cleat, and just constantly playing the mainsheet to adjust the sails (this was a new method for me, as my old setup was more prone to cleating off and leaving the mainsheet alone).  even with the sailing gloves, though, my hands were quickly getting sore – party due to the lack of practice, but I think I also could stand to get a slightly larger diameter mainsheet line for days like that with heavier winds.  with the new mainsheet setup, combined with the new universal joint on the tiller extension – I will admit I might have overloaded my brain.  I was having a hard time keeping the tiller straight – I think party due to just how floppy with universal joint makes that whole setup.  it was a whole new feel to steering, as before with the wooden tiller extension, it was very controlled.

I spent most of the time sailing on beam/broad/close reaches, or doing my best to sail close-hauled.  the wind was tricky to read (for me at least!), and I think I really need to put some wind indicators on my boat to better gauge the wind direction, for I found out that without more flags on the shoreline for reference, I was having trouble with some wind directions.  sailing on the close reach or close-hauled, I really had to hike out a LOT to get the boat to sail flat, and unfortunately, I had only tied a quick simple knot on my new hiking strap, and it came undone in the 1st few minutes, so I was back to hooking my toes under the cockpit lip. I ended up turtling the boat one more time that afternoon (I needed to cool off, right?!), and in general I was a tad frustrated with not reading the wind well, but when I got in the groove, the Sunfish was flying, and the hiking out was great fun.

the other sailor with the AMF Force 5 was pulling up to the boat launch right when I was, and we both put our boats away for the day and headed home.  he might have had more practice this summer – and might not have been quite as beat up as I felt, but I know for sure that my future sailing packing list will now always include some Icy-Hot.  my body was bruised and battered – my hands were quite sore from gripping the mainsheet, my arms were a bit sore from trying to use the new tiller extension and holding the mainsheet, my legs and knees were bruised from banging the edge of the cockpit while sliding around, and my body was just plain sore.  who said sailing was this much work?!  I was pretty whipped, but it had been a great time, and a great way to start my 2010 sailing season.