a builder update from Laser Performance

the latest issue of the Sunfish Class “Windward Leg” had an interesting update from the manufacturer of the Sunfish sailboat:

Brand new Sunfish boats manufactured at the LaserPerformance LDA facilities in Setubal, Portugal being inspected and boxed for shipment to the U.S.

LaserPerformance faced considerable headwinds in 2020. A combination of Covid-19 lockdown and supply chain disruptions curtailed Sunfish plans for continuous supply, growth and expansion. In 2021 the primary goal has been to get back on track. Last year LaserPerformance LDA successfully established manufacturing facilities in Setubal, Portugal. They also put into place technical teams for production, product development and quality and compliance. Sunfish hull production started this year in Setubal with one shift and, as of June, they have added a second shift to meet forecasted demand. The goal of meeting Sunfish boat construction standards has been attained. For the remainder of the year, priority will be given to bringing further design and quality improvements to the boat. To this end, the LP Team in Portugal is working closely with the Sunfish Class to incorporate their feedback and sailor experiences into the continuous improvement process.

LaserPerformance LDA also has an initiative to identify local and reliable vendors for Sunfish parts and accessories. LaserPerformance LDA aims to have all Sunfish boat parts sourced locally before the end of the year so that it can ship “a Sunfish in a box” to customers around the world and get parts to customers more rapidly. Equally important to LaserPerformance LDA is its commitment to seeking every available opportunity to introduce sustainable and environmentally friendly practices in all its activities and is excited by prospects for development and growth of the Sunfish.

Sunfish parts and new boats have been hard to get from suppliers… it’ll be interesting to see if this new build location will improve the Sunfish parts supply chain.

sunfish pvc dolly – handle upgrades

I love when I get feedback from fellow Sunfish sailors after they build their own Sunfish PVC dolly, more or less following the Sunfish PVC dolly plans that I posted several years ago. often they mention little tweaks here and there, but now Mark has made some major improvements and we both thought it would be great to share them with the rest of the Sunfish sailing community. here are a few of his modifications:

• modified the handle attachment to use hitch pins to allow the handle to be removable (major upgrade!)
• adjusted the axle design so that instead of a long threaded rod, you can use short bolts instead
• the axle design changes allow you to widen the dolly width (so as to not be limited by the length of threaded rod you can easily source)
• changed to all stainless steel hardware to allow use in saltwater environments
• added bunk supports to keep the dolly bunks from dragging

Mark put together a very thorough blog post that outlines his ideas and directions on how to tweak my dolly plans to incorporate his changes. if you’re interested in his improvements, check out his blog post and his very detailed instructions.

Mark’s handle connection and bunk supports

Mark’s hitch pin handle connection

going out of business: APS 30% off sale

in a bit of sad news, Annapolis Performance Sailing has announced that they will be permanently closing and will be liquidating all of their in-stock inventory.

It is with much sadness that we are announcing the permanent closing of APS.  Unfortunately, we are unable to bear the burden of the losses caused by the COVID-19 crisis. We want to first and foremost thank you, our customers, for your continued support throughout our 29 years of business. We hope you will take advantage of our liquidation sale through the following weeks.

on the bright side, if you’re looking for any new sailing apparel, now would be a good time to get them on sale.

the downside, no way to try on any items and no returns…. but if you know your size(s), grab some sailing gear before it’s all gone.

[for the record, I have links all over my blog to items from APS… I’ll slowly try to get rid of these links, or update them to another sailing supply vendor]

sailboat swap and sale at Zim Sailing (Rhode Island)

sounds like a great opportunity to grab some Sunfish boats or Sunfish gear at the upcoming sailboat swap and sale at Zim Sailing in Rhode Island.

A local club brought in a bunch of old sunfish and parts to sell at our Boat Swap this Saturday. See details below.

Saturday April 6th from 9-3
@ Zim Sailing’s Headquarters!
33 Broadcommon Rd, Unit 1, Bristol RI, 02809

Used Boat Auction:
Sell your Opti, 420, Sunfish, or Laser.
Find a great deal on a used boat.
Auction starts @ 10 AM, sharp!
Cash or check only.

Other Event Specials:
New Boat Specials!
BIC SUP Specials!
Parts and Gear Specials!
Clearance Rack!
Factory tours!

For more information Contact us, 401-237-6117.
RSVP Via Facebook Here​

details posted on the Sunfish Forum.

 

sunfish parts galore

if you are anywhere near the Dallas/Fort Worth area in Texas and in need of Sunfish parts, there is a craigslist posting by the Dallas Corinthian Yacht Club where they are selling a TON of Sunfish parts.  apparently they are no longer going to be using the Sunfish for their youth program, and are thus selling off the whole lot of them.  posting says this weekend only, so jump on it if you are in that area.

https://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/bpo/6005835312.html

the hulls look to all be older and are pretty beat up, but $150 to $200 range.

sails on booms ($175) or loose sails ($25 to $50)

daggerboards and rudders ($75 each)

the craigslist post has a lot more details.  I’m not sure this is your best option if you’re starting with nothing – but if you’re looking for a spare part or two, it’s probably well worth your time.

sunfish pvc dolly & handle [plans]

several years ago, I blogged about the Sunfish PVC dolly that I built for moving around my Sunfish.  I later drew up plans for building the dolly, and posted them here for free!

I have since then built a handle out of PVC that attaches to the axle of the PVC dolly, and makes it a little easier to pull the dolly with a Sunfish on it, particularly if you are trying to drag it through sand. the handle lets you pull on the dolly, instead of just pulling on the Sunfish bow handle, and having your Sunfish slide off the dolly and fall onto the beach (speaking from personal experience here…). here is a picture of my Minifish sitting on the PVC dolly with the PVC handle.

I’ve had requests for details on the handle, so sketched up the approximate size and layout that I used.  it requires an additional approx 20 lineal feet of 1 1/4″ PVC pipe and a handful of PVC pipe fittings.

for my version of the handle, I used a reducer tee at the axle of the Sunfish dolly – so my handle swivels (the reducer tee had a larger diameter size at the “arms” of the tee so it is larger than the 1 1/4″ pipe at the dolly axle).  if you are building a dolly from scratch, you could consider just gluing the handle at that location.

at the upper part of the handle where you pull the dolly, I added a PVC tee and a PVC plug.  I screwed an eyelet into the plug, and you can use a carabiner or short length of rope to attach to the bow handle on your Sunfish.  full disclosure: I’m not sure it is necessary or even really helps any! I did also add a couple pieces of pipe insulation on the parts of the PVC dolly handle that will rub against the boat gunwales.

if any of you would like to create your own dolly out of PVC, the dimensions should give you a pretty good head start (download a copy of the .pdf plan here). and here is a drawing for the handle (download a copy of the PVC dolly handle drawing .pdf here).

so there you have it:  a bit more detail on my Sunfish PVC dolly and its new handle option.  if you have any more specific questions, please feel free to post it in the comments below, or you can send me an email: my2fish -at- gmail.com

best of luck, and let me know any comments or questions!