me

this blog is to help me remember the timeline and history of my 2, now 3, ahem 4, sailboats, the sailing trips that I take with them, and the repairs and upgrades that I work on to improve the boats.

I’m currently keeping busy as husband to one lovely wife, father to 3 young boys (now 4 boys!) and am hoping to start teaching them to sail in the next few years.

as I live in Michigan, my sailing season is rather short, so I will randomly post about other types of sailing or similar watersports.  I’ll also occasionally post about other things that my family or I have been doing other than sailing, and maybe once in a while post about music and things of the like that catch my interest.

for questions, comments, suggestions, email me: my2fish – at – gmail.com

25 comments

  1. Hi There,

    I saw on the site that you installed a mast cleat. Do you use special screws? Drill pilot holes and screw the cleat in? Simple as that?

    Peter

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      • Stainless and aluminum don’t mix well (actually kinda true for almost all dissimilar metals). You will probably get away with it for a while but eventually the stainless screws will cause erosion of the aluminum mast (look up galvanic corrosion). Aluminum spars should be fastened with either aluminum or monel fasteners. Maybe not a big deal for a $150 Sunfish mast but very important for larger more expensive masts.

        For Sunfish mast cleats I use 3/16 inch long grip aluminum pop rivets (which match the 4 inch Schaefer aluminum block I prefer). The ones I use came from McMaster and are rated at 550 pounds shear stress each which should be adequate. To prevent the fasteners from levering out, I sand the cleat (mine are aluminum as well) using course grit sand paper on the spar until the cleats mounting profile is identical to the spar,

        I race my Sunfish in the ocean and I have seen the damage that steel on aluminum can cause. I have lost a boom due to putting stainless rivets into the boom block strap while rigging (too lazy to get right rivet that day). After a few years the area around the rivets was heavily corroded and the boom buckled. -Ian

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  2. I just joined your blog. I raced Sunfish in my teens and was a fleet champion at the Leland Yacht Club. Odds are you’ve been up that way once or twice. I even took a three day seminar with Derrick Fries. I haven’t sailed much since I had to get a real job, and that was 25 years ago. I just picked up an abused ’75 era sunfish and have been restoring it in central Illinois. Luckily, my parents still live in Leland and I get to go up an visit my old boat on occasion. Now I might be able to tow it home. One thing I’ve only done once is sail in Lake Michigan. Beautiful area if you can get up there. Here is my Dad’s site: http://www.lelandreport.com You might also be interested in some extreme videos by a friend of ours, Elijah Allen http://www.youtube.com/user/elijahallen/videos?view=0

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    • jim, glad to have you! I’m not sure I’ve made it up to Leland, but I know that northwest area of Michigan pretty well – more familiar with the area a bit south of there near Frankfort and Arcadia, though.

      thanks for the link to your dad’s site and the videos – I’ll be sure to check them out!

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  3. I enjoy your blog. I am a sunfish sailor in Lake County Ohio. Mostly sail Fairport Harbor Lake Erie. I am originally from Michigan and would like to find some good areas for sailing Lake Michigan. The most challenging part is easy access getting the boat in and out of the water from a trailer.
    My present project is fixing up and painting a 1978 Minifish.

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    • Dave, thanks for reading and commenting! I would agree the difficulty will be finding a place to launch with a trailer. Lake Michigan often has larger sandy beaches that stretch quite a ways. a dolly with fat tires would help, but if you don’t have that, I’d try to research if there are any boat ramps along the coastline.

      I’ve only sailed on Lake Michigan near Arcadia, and we have had to carry my boat down to the water’s edge.

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  4. Thanks. I often sail alone because my kids are only 10 and 5 yo. I bought a Minifish because it is lighter, only 80 lbs. I plan to use a Rollaboat tote which fits in where the centerboard goes. Hopefully, I will be able to launch from most beaches that way. The trick is to do it all by myself and not kill my back. The sunfish is really made for beach launching. It is just hard to move it on a soft beach.

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    • Dave, you might be alright with the lighter Minifish and that dolly.

      Have you taken your kids sailing? I’ve taken all 3 of my boys out with me (not all at the same time!). It is a great father/child bonding experience!

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  5. my2fish hopefully you can help…after this winter my wife discovered quite a lot of water in the hull of her only 3 year old sunfish….can you reccommend the proper weith to get this out? She has not had issues with water in the hull after sailing….thanks….

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  7. Hi there, found your blog while searching for tips to keeping our Super Porpoise afloat (near Muskegon). Not sure of the vintage, and we are not very experienced sailors but it gets us around our little lake. So the attachment for the rudder has come right off the hull and there’s not much there to screw back into. Taking advantage of open screw holes to drain the hull a bit right now. But have you any advice for screwing that part back on? Would toggle bolts be insane? I appreciate any thoughts you have. Btw out serial no is S3389 if you happen to know of when that might have been made.

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    • Elizabeth, great to hear from you! I don’t have any good way to estimate the date for a Super Porpoise. I’ve never found any information on that online.

      I would recommend against using toggle bolts. If you think there might be decent backing still there (wood blocks maybe?), then you could epoxy the holes with some filler and re-install the screws… maybe slightly larger screws. Your best option would be to install an inspection port on the deck in that area, so you have access and can inspect the inside of the hull to see what kind of backing material is there. Good luck!

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  8. Dear my2fish,
    Just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your blog and everyone’s comments. I’ve been “Sunfishing” nearly all my life, after one showed up under the Christmas tree (yes, right in the living room! Never quite figured out how Santa got it down the chimney…) We sailed mostly on the St. Clair River as children. Then, when I bought my own from Avon in Rochester, I sailed on the Detroit rivern and Lake St. Clair. I miss the big water and greenery, as my boat and I have relocated out west. It’s quite a different animal sailing on mountain reservouirs.

    I just had to have my rudder repaired…it split over the winter. It’s soooo dry here. The wood shrinks with our 15 to 20% humidity!

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    • Thanks for reading and commenting! You might want to upgrade to the plastic/fiberglass daggerboard and rudder (check Intensity Sails), to avoid wood drying out issues.

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  9. Hey My2Fish, So happy to find you as I just reconnected with Sunfish after 40+ years. Gulp!!! Anyway looking forward to reading more on your site. BTW, looking for parts in my area, Baton Rouge or whatever is closest; any suggestions? Would you suggest buying the “bible”?

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    • Len, the Sunfish Bible is nice but a bit dated. You’d be better off browsing the Sunfish Forum and searching for previous posts that might have asked the same question you have. The Sunfish Forum is s good place to find used parts as well. After that, I’d check Craigslist for spare parts.

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  10. Just got the email about the bracelet. This is the first time I’ve won something in 47 years. I’m on a roll !!!

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  11. Hi
    I live in Victoria Australia and have just acquired what I think is an old Alcort Sailfish. I am thinking of restoring it but am missing the whole rudder assembly and centerboard. Also the mast has stays which as I understand is not how sailfish are rigged. The yacht measures 11 foot 1 inch long and is 3 feet wide at the widest point. Will include some photos. Any help would be appreciated re original plans and parts.
    Not sure how to post photos?

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  12. Just came across your blog and noticed you live in Michigan. I also live in Michigan and have been acquiring a few Sunfish over the years. I am currently up to five. Not bragging, just letting you know I share a similar hobby/passion. All are between 1970 and 1984. I am currently working on a solution to add the fifth to my trailer that I built for four. I’m in Van Buren County. Curious if you are close by. Forgive me if you’ve already said, I haven’t read all of the posts. Anyway, I just thought I’d drop a line and say hello. Feel free to email me. I’m sure we could swap some stories. Have a good one!

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