old style Sunfish rudder repair [video]

Shoreline Sailboats just posted a great video showing some of the steps and process of converting an older style Sunfish rudder to the current rudder system.

Small Boat Restoration also has a good blog post “sunfish rudder conversion” about this same upgrade, with a lot of photos of the process as well.

old style rudder (photo by Small Boat Restoration)

new style rudder (photo by Small Boat Restoration)

all 1972 and newer Sunfish are equipped with the current “new” style of rudder, so this only applies to those of you who have currently, or are looking to buy, an older Sunfish.  back then, the manufacturer of the Sunfish was AMF, and they released a write-up with the procedure to upgrade the rudder.

sunfish wood parts restoration (by Epoxyworks)

I got my latest copy of “Epoxyworks” magazine in the mail earlier this week and was excited to see they had an article about the restoration of wooden Sunfish parts – the rudder, tiller, and daggerboard.  I completed similar repairs and improvements to my various Sunfish (and Super Porpoise) wooden parts as well, using more or less the same steps – but with maybe slightly more serious structural repairs for my gear.

photo by Epoxyworks magazine

you can read the full article here: http://epoxyworks.com/index.php/sunfish-wood-restoration/

JD summer clearance sale

I’m a big fan of Jamestown Distributors, and have been on their email list for quite some time.  today’s email had a nice little photo surprise – an old wooden Sunfish!

for Sunfish sailors, Jamestown Distributors is an excellent source for epoxy & fiberglass supplies for when it comes time to make repairs to your Sunfish hull.  they supply West System epoxy  & all the various fillers, and they have recently started their own line of boat repair products, the “Total Boat” line.  I also used JD to purchase supplies for when I did the repairs and re-finished my Sunfish daggerboards and rudders.

a DIY Sunfish rudder build [video]

saw this video posted on the Sunfish Forum.

thoughts? it certainly is pretty creative.  also quite simple and fairly low cost.

I didn’t realize you could flatten PVC like that – but I’d worry about it’s long term strength. pine and plywood also don’t strike me as the best suited for exposure to water, or having very much structural strength and stiffness.

it seems like old rudders are pretty readily available if you look around, so I’m not sure I’d try to recreate something that works if I can find an old one nearby to buy and maybe refinish if need be.  plus, I sail enough on the Great Lakes that I don’t think I’d trust sailing in heavy wind and waves with a home-made creation that might not hold up under the heavier loading from heavy sailing.

sailing supplies

I was trying to organize my basement shop, and had my sailing supplies in 3 or 4 different boxes.  I decided to organize them a little better, but before I did that – I laid most of it all out on one of my workbenches.

there is a little bit of everything there: an old rudder head that needs to be cleaned up.  a pair of old tiller straps that have been polished up to look almost like new. a new tiller extension (a Ronstan Battlestick). bailers, old and new.  sail rings, old and new.  inspection ports. new lines – a mainsheet, halyard, outhaul and cunningham.  cleats – cam and clam. two options for Sunfish mainsheet control – a new ratchet block and an old swiveling fairlead and cleat. eyestraps, standup springs, hiking straps.  Interlux varnish, West System epoxy stuff, and the remains of my 2-part expanding foam (use to reset my foam blocks).

anything else I should add to my collection?

 

how to replace a Sunfish pintle

Sailing Texas has a sweet step-by-step photo tutorial on their website for how to replace your Sunfish pintle.

the pintle is the pivot point for a Sunfish rudder.  it is a small steel pin with a spring that is attached to the rudder head.  the necked down portions of the pintle are where the whole rudder assembly then attaches to the rudder gudgeon bracket on the back end of your Sunfish.

you can buy a replacement pintle (only the pin) at Intensity Sails for $6.50,  or you can buy the whole kit, including the pintle, the spring, a steel washer, a snap ring, and a cotter pin, from various Sunfish dealers – Colie Sails has the kit for $24.

I’ve never had to do this repair myself, but am bookmarking this how-to page for future reference.