Fiberglass Deck Repair

Rosebud had a hole punched in the deck from resting upside down on a roller. I wanted to experiment with repairing the damaged area with a backer plate:

From Sunfish Sailboat

I laid wax paper over the damaged area to trace the crack:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Next I taped the wax paper on a good deck so I could get the proper profile for the new patch:

From Sunfish Sailboat

I laid up 3 layers of fiberglass and cut a hole in the middle to allow space for the backer block under the deck. As it turns out this hole needed to be bigger, and that allowed access into the hull while I was working on the first phase:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Mixed up epoxy and hardener and troweled it into the fiberglass:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Once it dried I trimmed the edges and had this backer plate:

From Sunfish Sailboat

The next step is to mark spots on the patch to attach the strings or wire that will be used to pull the patch snug inside the hull while it dries, or while you put in screws to draw it tight. This is an example of the strings from another patch I did. For this deck repair the strings must line up with the crack so you can pull the backer plate tight:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Lots of things going on in this photo, ran out of hands for the camera. The deck has been sanded and broken fiberglass sanded away. The crack has been faired in anticipation of future epoxy repair. The inside of the deck was also sanded and epoxy was brushed on outer perimeter of the cracked area, because I want to epoxy the backer plate into position without glueing down the middle flap down. Why? because I am going to use sticks inside the hull to push the deck back into position while the backer plate dries, then remove the sticks and seal the rest of the flap. Epoxy was added to the top of the backer plate, but only to the outer perimeter, With the assistance of a helper I slid the backer plate into the hull while the helper maneuvered the strings into the right position. Before we did this, I numbered the strings with tape and marked the corresponding string position on the deck so we would know how to sort them out. Once backer plate was in I used two sticks to push up deck into proper profile. Then I added screws around the outside perimeter and let epoxy dry:

From Sunfish Sailboat

From Sunfish Sailboat

Once epoxy dried I removed sticks from inside then epoxied and screwed the flap:

From Sunfish Sailboat

I added filler to the epoxy and left to dry:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Removed the screws, sanded and added first layer of marine tex epoxy putty. This picture is after sanding the first layer of marine tex. if the gel coat was not 40 years old, we could gel coat and sand. The rest of the gel coat has issues though, so the deck will be painted:

From Sunfish Sailboat

After paint.

From Small Boat Restoration

Back in the water.

From Small Boat Restoration

Another article from Howie, Sunfish maintenance tips

From Sunfish Sailboat

Sunfish Pickin Panama City, FL - Elle

Saw an ad on craigslist for a yard sale with a Sunfish sailboat. Hooked up the trailer and drove over to check out the boat, ended up buying it from original owner. It is a 1987 hull, pretty much original except newer sail, tiller extension and swivel cam cleat. My wife says the Sunfish's name is Elle.

From Sunfish Sailboat

From Sunfish Sailboat

The gelcoat is original, needs to be buffed out. Here the boat is wet, so the gelcoat could look like this with some elbow grease. Nice repair on the chine could be sanded a bit, but not right now.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Here is the swivel cam cleat and splashguard.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Considering this Sunfish was raced in a saltwater environment, the gooseneck, mast and spars are in great shape.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Nice straight spars.

From Sunfish Sailboat

The rudder is in good shape. It shows usage and has been reinforced with a dowel, a common fix on wooden Sunfish rudders. They did a nice job.

From Sunfish Sailboat

The sheet is pretty dirty and the other lines were missing. I'll work on cleaning this up, but in the meantime I'll add a new line kit.

From Sunfish Sailboat

I got a line kit a few months back that didn't match my green boat, so I put it aside. Turns out these colors will work great with Elle.

From Sunfish Sailboat

The sail was off the spars, so I started putting it back on by grabbing a S hook.

From Sunfish Sailboat

We are coming acreoss a lot of Schurr Sails, made in Pensacola, and still in business making great sails. Hunter and his team do excellent work.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Then I tied on the outhauls.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Sail rings were next, then the halyard and I raised the sail. There are some nice, small repairs on the sail.

From Sunfish Sailboat

I made a bridle from a 32-36 inch piece of line and needed to whip the ends. The line needs to be small enough diameter to fit through the eyestraps, and FYI it is not race legal. First put a few wraps of tape on the line, cut the line then grab a foot or so of small whipping line. This particular line is not waxed and a little thicker. I like it because it is obnoxious yellow. Make a half loop with the long and short tails running off the end of the bigger line.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Start at the end, wrapping the line over itself for 10-12 turns.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Run the end on the line through the loop.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Now pull the short tail so that the small loop gets pulled about halfway under the wraps. Trim off the loose ends, and coat with some glue if you like.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Ru the line through one eyestrap and tie a figure eight knot. Then add a block and run the other end of the line through the other eyestrap and tie another figure eight. Throw a bowline knot on the halyard clip and bridle is ready.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Daggerboard is in good shape.

From Sunfish Sailboat

I alwyas like looking at the vintage Alcort stickers. The hole to the right is the hull vent, not sure what the other 3 holes were for.

From Sunfish Sailboat

This Sunfish has nice white lettering on the side.

From Sunfish Sailboat

The hull is ready for the water, lightweight and stiff.

From Sunfish Sailboat

Added a new bow handle. The different color spots are where the deck is wet.

From Sunfish Sailboat

The sail still has many days of sailing left and works great with the hull and deck color.

From Sunfish Sailboat

This is a sweet Sunfish, ready to sail!

From Sunfish Sailboat

Sunfish Sailboat Parts

After we learn to sail in only 3 days, we'll probably need parts for the Sunfish. I like using Yankee Boating Center, they answer the phone and also have a nice online store at sunfish sailboats.com. I have also ordered from Laser Performance and have a local Sunfish dealer, Key Sailing, who keeps some parts in stock. Other parts we have found on Craigslist and Ebay, but do some homework before paying too much. Two other good resources are the yahoo Sunfish Sailor group and Sunfish Forum. I have found parts there and also helpful advice to tackle most repairs or upgrades. Those two groups also have Files, Links and Photos, so budget some time when you go to visit.

Lower spar replacement

Swapping out Phoenix's lower spar with a new spar. Here is the old set, we'll swap the lower spar now and get the upper later when funds permit. Phoenix's old spar will replace a spliced spar:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Here is the sail that needs a new lower spar, old spar was spliced:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Creative person used shower rings to secure sail. These are going away:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Here is the new interconnecting bolt and lower spar. Note that the lower spar end cap has the plastic tab on it to protect deck from scratches:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Nuts and bolts are a dead giveaway to spot a spliced lower spar. They usually corrode and fracture at the gooseneck:

From Sunfish Sailboat

While we have this sail out we'll see if we can clean it a bit and let the sun bleach out an area where red faded onto the white:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Took off the spliced spar endcap and yup, there's something shoved in there:

From Sunfish Sailboat

You can see the crack under the old taped area:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Slid the gooseneck from the spliced spar onto the new spar. Lined it up, tightened it down and now end cap and interlocking bolts can be installed:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Yep, there is a broomstick wedged in there! I will be throwing these spar parts away after I scavenge the gooseneck, blocks and end caps:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Phoenix's sail has a new lower spar:

From Sunfish Sailboat

This nice older Schurr sail has a new lower spar and real sail rings. When sun is out we'll clean with mild detergent and let sun bleach the white a little:

From Sunfish Sailboat

Nice Winter sunset over the Bay:

From Sunfish Sailboat