Alcort Sunfish ZIP

14 Jun 2013:

We picked up a 1952-4 wooden Sunfish, reportedly one of the first 20 built by the Alcort partners Alex Bryan and Cortlandt Heyniger (ALCORT) and delivered to a friend. Zip was number 13 of the first 20 boats. It was sold from an estate in Waterbury and has been living a quiet life in the rafters of a garage in Grand Island NY for 7 years after a stopover in one other state. A restoration was started but never completed, so boat is taken apart but most parts are accounted for. The current owner likes the restoration work we do and would like to give us the wooden boat, and sell us her 1977 sister Neptune. Here is the first picture we saw of the boat, which we decided to name "Zip"edeedoodah.

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Jeff gave Zip a bath before we showed up, so I don't get to take the "barn find" photo. She looks good on those saw Buffalos, which ended up coming home to Florida with us :)

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Loaded Zip up at the house and headed over to Niagara Sailing Club to pick up Neptune. A little duct tape will keep padding secure on spars and ratchets off the hull for the 1156 mile ride. The modified Magic Tilt trailer rode great on the way up, we'll see how it goes heading South through Erie, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinatti, Louisville, Nashville, Birmingham, Montgomery and into Florida.

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Zip and Neptune take a break with the big rigs in Pennsylvania.

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Here is Zip's deck edge trim, made of mahogany. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad lantern made the trip down from Grand Island, I saw it hanging in the garage in the first photo and Jeff threw it in with the deal.

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We bought this rudder pin 2 years ago and have been waiting for the boat to show up.

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Wilcox and Crittenden boom block for wooden boom.

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It fits!

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Mast collar and halyard cleat before.

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Mast collar and halyard cleat after. Used teak oil on wood and lemon juice/salt on the cleat.

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No bow handle so I used the bow strap , trailer frame and towel to fashion a hold down.

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Zip and Neptune arrive at Jack's Boat Yard. Merci is making fun of their Canadian accent, Phoenix is egging her on and Cyane is sleeping.

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I tied a line through daggerboard well to keep Zip from sliding aft.

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Here is my "Bill Knot" named after a friend who ties some beauties.

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I had to secure wood spars to aluminum to keep them from flexing too much.

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Lacing sail using marlin hitch.

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Spar interlocking hardware.

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Old North Sail, made in Canada. And wooden spars made of Sitka Spruce!

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Double decked Neptune. The foam noodles worked great and she didn't move at all during 1156 mile ride home.

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1977 Sunfish

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Wooden floorboards.

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Tried some paint stripper, we didn't like the residue and staining, so we switched to sanding.

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Rigged for racing.

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Sanding through red/primer/red/primer to fir plywood using random orbital sander an 80 grit sandpaper. 120 would have worked as well.

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Ergonomic testing.

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Painted white so you can see if weeds hung up on rudder.

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Deck is nailed on.

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Old repair to rotted area, this will be cleaned up in a few weeks.

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Bits box.

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Neptune's sticker.

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Neptune heading to new home.

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Zip checking out the beach with Scout,

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Mahogany splashguard.

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Details on the mast.

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Rudder on right.

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Temporary shelter for Zip.

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Sanding continues.

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Screwdrivers were on sale at Sears, wanted new ones to remove splashguard backer.

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Killed the sander, Ace was the place for helpful new sander.

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The dry vac hooked up to the sander, kept dust down.

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Tiller bridle eyestraps.

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Splashguard backer screws needed to be cleaned out and removed.

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Part of backer had to be coaxed loose.

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Deck hardware that came with the boat.

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A coffee can and bucket come in handy for keeping track of tools and hardware.

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One backer rail split, area will clean up nice.

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A couple of hull screws came through the side.

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Deck will be lighty sanded and repainted red, full sanding this Winter.

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Painting the hull, see roll and tip video on youtube.

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Rolled some extra paint onto Merci...

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and the chocks.

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Zip's bilge.

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Deck edge sanding.

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Ready for vacuum and acetone wipe.

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West System epoxy applied, 105 epoxy and 207 hardener.

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Floorboards, cockpit, deck edge and backer rail painted Interlux Brightside Fire Red.

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Halyard and sheet.

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Mast collar reinstalled, checking gooseneck setting.

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Line whip for the halyard, a fun, easy project.

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Mast has a nice taper to it and a sheave at top. The bottom section is aluminum and had something that looked like old masking tape on it. For aesthetics I wrapped the bottom section in gaff tape, it will help protect mast step as well.

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Set the gooseneck aka yoke at 24 inches, halyard will be at 60 from gaff outhaul. This setup is good for a nice, lazy sail.

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Not really sure that a gooseneck was prototypical for this year, as it had copper shims and there is a hole through the spar underneath. An early Sunfish at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum has a leather yoke, so some research is required. In the meantime I am padding this area gaff tape.

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Sail went up real nice and the spars made a pleasing thunk against the mast when the breeze shifted.

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Attaching bridle and bridle eyestraps, grabbed a philips head out of habit, older screws are slotted :)

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Installing rudder fittings, found a screw had been sheared off inside the transom, so I drilled the shanks out, starting with tiny bit and working up through the bit sizes until screw could be installed.

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The carriage bolt actually goes through the transom! I tried to line the fittings up like the not-so-old style rudder and the holes didn't line up, bolt was hitting transon. Took out boat and deck plate lined up perfect over a big ol hole in the deck I had been ignoreing.

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Keel plate and carriage bolt.

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Rudder is rigged. The groove in the keel plate is very deep, the rudder will not pop up and will have to be installed just before launch. No running up on the beach with this setup. We love the keeper chain for the rudder pin.

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Mahogany splashrail backer and steam bent splashrail installed.

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Painting the deck edge trim.

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Zip is back in the water for a test sail, she sailed beautifully. She didn't want to gybe but gave a smooth, solid sail. Had a small leak It stopped so maybe boat swelled up a bit, we will check that out before next sail, maybe wet the boat inside and see if water drips out. Our wet vac is handy to get water out afterwards. And the 3 loop bridle almost caused a capsize, we are going to deep six that bridle.

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I don't know who was more excited, Zip or the Skipper.

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Zip's fan club, we even made t-shirts :)

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Boat measurer swung by...

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The fir plywood is fabulous!

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Zip sails, Summer Sailstice 2013.

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Summer 2014: Zip takes a dip.

From SBR 4: Jun 2014 -

18 May 16:
1953 Alcort SunfishZip's bottom never got the full strip and paint, so we are going to spruce it up for the Bagdad Riverfest. Paint swatch test, we are going to use Rustoleum Topside marine paint Bright Red, which is the color on the right bow and a small stripe over the Interlux Brightside Fire Red. The oil base of the paint will help condition the wood.

Belt sander with a light touch, 40 grit then 120. The shop vac with a HEPA filter hooks up to the belt sander, plus I wore a mask, goggles, hat, gloves and a long sleeve shirt...and pants. Putty knife to scrape out seam compound and clear a groove for Pettit Flexpoxy.

Found a nice scarf on the port side bottom.

21 May 16:
We got an invite to bring some boats to the first Bagdad FL Riverfest. The park was built on the site of an old sawmill and has great access for canoes and kayaks. Our 1953 Sunfish Zip and 1950s Sailfish Winnie got to attend this year.

Road trip!

26 Mar 2014:

Zip wrote a book about his adventures! Zip, the Little Wooden Sailboat

14 Jun 17:

1953 Alcort Sunfish Zip and 195? Alcort Standard Sailfish Winnie hit the high seas for a messabout today. As always it was a treat to rig these simple boats. Drop the mast through the gooseneck, raise the sail, clip the sheet, clip the daggerboard retainer and pin the rudder. Add a PFD and they're ready to go.

Skipper wore her new hat, a gift from WoodenBoat to commemorate the Relaunching of Winnie in 2016. They were both featured in WoodenBoat Magazine number 257.

Light winds, warm temps made for a peaceful sail. Both boats tacked and gybed beautifully. Winnie sailed with a longer Barrington style daggerboard and the extra 8 inches provided a nice foot rest for the Skipper. Her vintage silk sail sets beautifully and the elephant ear rudder answered the helm at every turn.

Zip cruised with ease, powered by a race cut sail from Schurr Sails Pensacola. Normally too much sail, it was perfect for the zephyr experienced today. She made a very stable camera platform and the cockpit provided a comfortable seating area.







04 May 18:

Light winds, but enough to ghost our Sunfish and Standard Sailfish for an hour.

10-11 Sep 19:

Picked up SMEDLEY, Eddie and his team made the trailer 15' 6" so it will fit in a Pods moving and storage container. They cut off about a foot on the tongue, and the trailer looks better and still tows great. We had asked for a longer tongue when we had the trailer built, thinking we could back the boat all the way into the water, but it turned out it was easy to get the boat on and off the trailer with the rollers.

The Pod arrived and SMEDLEY fits! With room to spare on the side.

Once SMEDLEY was in we built a rack over the top. It holds the Super Sailfish ZSA ZSA and Sunfish MADISON. Suspended above is our wooden Sunfish ZIP, and below are the Standard Sailfish WINNIE and wooden Sunfish CHIP. The rack also held all of the spars and sails, there was also room for 4 Dynamic Dollies which break down easily. We also put the compact planer in the Pod and all of our boat patterns.

12 Sep 19:

The Pod Full of Fish departed to Virginia, full of our Standard Sailfish WINNIE, Super Sailfish ZSA ZSA, wooden Sunfish ZIP and CHIP, Catfish SMEDLEY and fiberglass Sunfish MADISON.

12 Sep 19:

The Pod Full of Fish departed to Virginia, full of our Standard Sailfish WINNIE, Super Sailfish ZSA ZSA, wooden Sunfish ZIP and CHIP, Catfish SMEDLEY and fiberglass Sunfish MADISON.

Next stop Chesapeake!

10 Apr 20:

Pandemic. Back from Chesapeake until the COVID-19 dust settles. Our Sunfish ZIP went for a ride in a storage container, I tied her up with dock line. My knot slipped and she got 2 hull punctures from banging on the swivel cam cleat of the Sunfish below her. So we put her on the Work Dolly and towed her to the Carriage House, where we will repair the holes in her 3/8th inch plywood. WINNIE will supervise.

17 Apr 20:

Evaluation of ZIP's hull puncture, and other Carriage House happenings.



24 Apr 20:

Gathering supplies for ZIP's hull repair.

THIXO Wood for the letterbox scarf. TotalBoat Wet Edge Fire Red for the repaint, using Mighty Mini roller kit, all from Jamestown Distributors.

1/2 inch A/B marine grade plywood.

25 Apr 20:

Marked out damaged plywood to be removed. There is a frame just to the left so we don't want to cut too far in that direction. A letterbox repair is planned with an internal backer plate.

27 Apr 20:

Worked on our Alcort Sunfish ZIP's hull, prepping the puncture area for a Letterbox repair. I wasn't sure why it is called letterbox but it appears that this is the type of repair that would have been done to a door that had a mail slot cut into it, a way to repair that slot. Maybe we add 2 mail slots to ZIP and we're finished!

We marked the repair area so that we cut out lines that were parallel and had rounded ends. The goal was to cut away the damaged plywood and as little more as possible past that. We looked around the Carriage House for objects that were about the same width as the puncture and also for objects that had the end circumference that we needed. The items we found were a THIXO tube, a square and a roll of waxed thread. Here's the rough trim before we shaped the ends.

Used the THIXO tube to mark the parallel sides with Sharpie.

Scribed the circumference.

The long repair was about the width of the metal square. The waxed thread roll was used to scribe circumference.

We used the jigsaw to trim away broken bits, cut to the line on the sides and cut just a little shy on the ends. Then we used the Kobalt diamond file to get the final shape on the ends.

Letterbox repair video: https://youtu.be/T82Y48dKooc



Next we needed to plane down some 1/2 inch marine ply to make it 17/64th inches, put it through 12 passes on the DeWalt tabletop planer and used the Dust Deputy to collect the sawdust. Normally for solid wood we'd plane both sides, alternating sides on each pass, but for plywood we kept the good face down and planed only one side, as we knew we'd go through the veneer ply and some glue along the way.

Compared the planed plywood thickness to ZIP's hull thickness.

We made the internal backer plates about an inch wider all around the letterbox patch, marked the hull then transferred those marks to the repair plywood. Our found shop object to mark the 1 inch was our 2 foot level, it is about an inch wide.

The X marks which line to cut.

Repair backer plates cut out, they will be epoxied to the inside of the hull.

We cut 2 of each for the backer plates, and then put one inside the hull to trace the shape of the hole.

One piece of plywood will be trimmed to letterbox patch shape. All of our clamps are named for family and friends, my brother Kirk's clamp held the backer plate in place while we worked on shaping the letterbox patch for the smaller hole.

We cut out the letterbox patch with a jigsaw, to the line on the sides and left the ends a bit proud. Then we used the diamond file to sneak up on the fit of the ends. We do not want the fit to be super tight, as we want a little space around the perimeter to be filled with the thickened epoxy.

Two backer plates and one letterbox patch ready to go, one more letterbox to be cut out and trimmed to shape.

28 Apr 20:

THIXO Wood for the backer plate.

Held the backer plate in position with deck screws and fender washers. The washers keep the screws from pulling through the deck as the backer plate is pulled tight.

Pulled the letterbox plug tight with a deck screw and fender washer.

Used some cord to pull the backer patch tight until screws were installed.

We'll let the THIXO dry for 24 hours, then remove the screws and fill the screw holes with more THIXO.

29 Apr 20:

Pulled the screws and washers from our 1953 Alcort Sunfish ZIP. Mixed TotalBoat THIXO Wood, a thickened epoxy adhesive through the mixing tube and dispensed it into a syringe, then filled the screw holes with the THIXO. Also built up a few low spots around the repair area with THIXO, we'll sand that and do a light fairing over the area with TotalFair. We don't want it too smooth, we want the area to retain its wood grain satin finish characteristic vs be smooth and shiny like gelcoat.

THIXO Wood 2 part resin and hardener flowing through the mixing tube.

Filled the screw holes so that ZIP won't have a subsonic whistle.

Filled in a few low spots with THIXO, but not too much. We'll sand that and the fair it just a bit with TotalFair fairing compound, but work to retain as much wood grain as we can. Might even mold some in.

11 May 20:

Faired the screw holes and low spots on ZIP's letterbox repair with TotalBoat TotalFair 2 part epoxy fairing compound. The blue and yellow resin and hardener mix in equal parts to make green, and we use a plastic spreader to apply it.

We try to get the compound as smooth as possible but leave a little extra on top, to be smoothed with sanding.



30 May 20:

Removed latch plate so we could sand the repair area and the rest of the bottom, prep for paint.

Flipped ZIP with Skipper's hoist so we can replace a bad patch on the deck. She looks kind of like a flying saucer.

Removed the deck hardware, which included the bow handle, mast collar, daggerboard retainer eyestrap, bridle syestraps, horizontal hinge plate and spring plate. The deck will get a fresh coat of West System 105 Epoxy with 207 Special Clear Hardener. Our Marine Carpenter friend Keith recommended that system to protect the wood, and since ZIP is stored out of the sun we did not need to add varnish on top of that. The finish has held up well for 7 years and looks great.

A common area for rot is under the coaming, the boats got stored on theri side a lot outdoors and rainwater and leaves collected there. The old patch did not look great and on closer inspection we found that it is failing. Not sure what the blond colored wood is but it was very hard.

We removed the coaming, which is screwed to a long cleat, which is screwed to the deck with #8 bronze x 1 inch wood screws about every twelve inches.

We traced around the area to be removed with Sharpie and gave it a nice smooth curve that will accept the letterbox patch easier. I say we, Skipper has to approve all of the cut lines, I am on probation after cutting a sculling notch in BARBASHELA back in 2016 without her permission. There is support structure under the deck, so we marked the locations of the 1/4 inch wide frame and the 3/4 inch wide stringer with tape so we would not cut through them. Next we drilled a 3/8th inch pilot hole for the jigsaw blade and cut the unsupported sections. When we got close to the frame and stringer we used DeWALT oscillating multi tool to carefully trim the old deck section away.

The deck thickness is 17/64th inches. Spoiler Alert, that truns out to be 1/4 inch A/B Marine Grade plywood. A/B means the face is A grade, vey few plugs and the back is B grade. The maximum core-gap size permitted is 1/8 inch. Its exposure durability rating is EXTERIOR and the glue used is a water resistant structural adhesive

ZIP telling tall tales to WINNIE and MARGARET ROSE after a day at the Boat Works.

Look close for the deck scarf. 8:1 scarf, the scarf is 8 times the thickness of the panel. So the scarf for a 1/4 inch panel runs 2 inches. The forward deck panel overlays the aft deck panel.

Since the deck was cleared off we made patterns from pattern plywood for the wooden Sunfish build. There are two panels that join just forward of the daggerboard trunk. We laid the pattern ply on the deck and traced around the edge of the deck with a Sharpie, then cut out the panels with a DeWalt jigsaw. We left about 1/8th of an inch around the perimeter so that the panels can be trimmed to fit on the new Sunfish. We also marked for the mid deck 2 inch scarf, so the panels overlap 2 inches amidships.

Aft deck pattern.

01 Jun 20:

Picked up some 1/4 inch AB marine grade plywood.

Made a pattern of the plug area.

Trimmed the plug backer plate, there will be about 1 inch overlap under the deck and a 3/4 inch shelf for the plug to attach to.

03 Jun 20:

We cut out the plug from 1/4 inch thick AB marine grade plywood. The masking tape was used to make the pattern, and we cut the plug a little big so we could sand fit it to final shape on ZIP.

The backer plate had to be cut into 4 pieces to fit around the internal stringer and frame.

We used TotalBoat THIXO Wood to fasten the backer plates to the inside of the hull. THIXO is a 2 part thickened epoxy and hardener that comes in a caulk tube and mixes in the mixing tip. A 18:1 High Thrust caulk gun makes disoensing the product easier.

Lots of clamps with light clamp pressure until a small bit of epoxy squeezeout is seen. Too much clamp pressure can squeeze all of the adhesive out of the joint.

Clamp video: https://youtu.be/2KFFkbzn2Sc



Even though it is a different piece of plywood, we are trying to keep the grain running the same direction on the patch as the it is on the deck. We marked the grain on ZIP onto a sheet of poly, then moved the poly over to the plywood sheet to align the blue tape pattern with the grain on the plywood where we would cut the plug from.

Skipper's new DeWALT 24V XR cordless jig saw, wow it is nice! More on that tool later.

We cut the plug just a little outside the pattern line so we can do the final shaping on the boat.

04 Jun 20:

Removed the clamps from the letterbox repair backer plate. The plug needs some trimming to get a good fit. We don't want it too snug though, we'll leave a small gap for epoxy to bond and fill.

That's all we got done on ZIP today. We "yak shaved" most of the day, shaving a yak is when other project(s) pop up ahead of the project that I got up out of the recliner to work on. I left the house at 0940 to work on ZIP for a bit, and actually got to take clamps off around 1730. On the way out to the Carriage House Skipper mentioned she needed to pot 2 plants, and needed pots. While looking at where the plants were to be dug up we thought some stones under the new pots would look nice, and maybe some river rock. And we need a bag of mulch. So after a trip to Lowes for pots, potting soil, 6 bags of river rock, some pea gravel and pavers, we launched into yak shaving the first test section of a small paver step, 30 feet's worth, around the Wheel Deck next to the Carriage House. v1.0 in 2016 was wooden and rotted right away. We'd like to keep yard goop away from the floating joists so mulch was not an option. v2.0 involved border stones and was overkill, that plan got nixed fast. v3.0 has us putting a low profile 18 inch perimeter of pea gravel and river rock around the deck, to enhance drainage, and adding a step on the West End and plant parking spots on the North Side.

Here is the mock up with a few stones. The lemon tree likes it.

05 Jun 20:

Filed and sanded the letterbox plug to fit with a Shinto rasp and 40 grit disc on a DeWALT random orbital sander.

Marked high spots with pencil, sanded small sections at a time.

The plug fits, a little snug, so we'll sand just a tiny bit more to allow room for expansion and a little room for the adhesive. Thickened epoxy is formulated to fill small gaps with light clamp pressure, so a little space is desired, vs glues that need tight joints and lots of clamping pressure.

03 Jun 20:

Skipper insisted that we buy a new jig saw to go with our DeWALT 20V batteries, so we picked up the DeWALT DCS334B brushless model. We have been wanting a cordless jig saw for a while, ever since we noticed that the cord is always getting in the way and the cord also likes to find the gap on the edge of the plywood where the cut was made, and always snags there. Maybe I could learn better cord management, but for me it was time to try the cordless model. If you are interested in one, be sure to get the brushless model, the motor uses less power which means more torque for the tool and less draw on the battery for longer run times.

First cut was the repair patch for our 1953 Alcort Sunfish ZIP. The LED light was great and the dust blower was even better, I can't believe we went this long without one. It is amazing how much easier and safer it is to cut when we can see the line and not have to brush off sawdust. And there was no cord to get caught and jiggle the cut line. The nylon shoe is nice and the bevel angles are easy to adjust.

07 Jun 20:

The THIXO WOOD epoxy is dry in ZIP's letterbox repair backer plate, and while we tried to clean up most of the squeezeout when we installed it there are a few blobs that we missed. We used the DeWALT oscillating multitool to trim out the bead, a half circle head gave best control with minimal area contact for most of the trim, and the straight mettal cutting blade was used in the corners. We use metal cutting blades on our wood boats in case we find a hidden metal fastener.

Next we dry fit the patch, used a thumb plane to take down high spots the 120 grit discs on a DeWALT Random Orbital Sander to get the patch flush with the deck. The Porter Cable cordless vac was hooked to the sander dust port to help keep dust down and for general cleanup.

11 Jun 20:

(Editor's Note: Let me start this blog post by recommending that you check with the manufacturer of the different products that you plan to use to verify compatibility. I bought a Minwax oil based stain and later found out on the West Systems website that it would be better to use a water based or gel stain underneath epoxy. And another option is to varnish over the stain vs coat with epoxy. We will need to make sure that the oil based stain is very dry before we epoxy over the top of it, but so far so good on a test piece. Ref West Systems 2013: Epoxy Adhesion Over Stains)

So here is one of the 4 cans of Minwax Premium Oil Wood Finish Penetrating Stain that we bought, the color that worked best on a scrap piece from the same panel as a the patch after about 4 coats was Golden Pecan #245.

I tried some stain on the backside of the patch piece and oh wow, there can be startling differences in color between different plywood veneers.

We put the first few coats on the patch piece.

And then I remember I'll need to sand wayward epoxy after the patch is glued into place, and that might change the finish on the original deck, and we planned to scuff the old finish to apply another coat of epoxy over the entire deck.

Now I recommend skipping ahead to the next blog post because it's about to get real confusing....

Thoughts on what needed to happen next, in random order...
The 7 year old epoxy finish on the deck needed to be sanded and I didn't know if it would refinish back to the same color, depending on how much epoxy was removed, so I didn't want to stain the patch too dark.

So sand the old deck, but not the patch area and reapply 2 coats of epoxy.

Then stain the patch area to match, let it dry and dry and dry, then apply epoxy over the patch area.

Wait, I better build caster bases for 2 storage cabinets first and paint the trim on them, an activity also know as "yak shaving" which are the things you do while avoiding the original task. See our blog on quick and easy storage cabinets.

Time to attach the patch with TotalBoat THIXO Wood thickened epoxy adhesive, wood colored. Remember to use a High Thrust 18:1 caulk gun to make your life easy.

Used clamps to provide light pressure on the joint while it dried.

We cleaned up epoxy squeezeout as best we could but we know a little finish sanding is in our future.

13 Jun 20:

Sanded ZIP's deck with 120 grit discs on a DeWALT 5 inch random orbital sander, attached to the ShoPac for dust extraction. The goal was to scuff the old epoxy coating to give it some tooth for the new coating to adhere to. We tried to avoid sanding all the way to bare wood, we just wanted to dee the old epoxy scuffed a little. Dust masks, protective goggles and gloves highly recommended.

We vacuumed off most of the dust then wiped the deck down with isopropyl alcohol to remove the last bits. Then we applied a new coat of West Systems 105 epoxy with 207 Special Clear Hardener, the 207 will not turn amber like the other hardeners do. Thin coats applied with a closed cell foam roller, then the roller bumps were lightly tipped with a 2 inch sash brush designed for oil based paints. The key for the brush is to find the softest bristles that we can so it doesn't leave ruts in the epoxy.

Epoxy Roll and Tip Video: https://youtu.be/fEASXqj3enw

Repair area was not coated, we still need a few more coats of stain there.

As mentioned before, the 105/207 coating does not need varnish if it does not have prolonged UV exposure.

14 Jun 20:

We used the new DeWALT 20V Brushless Random Orbital Sander to sand the rub rail, coaming, coaming backer and daggerboard with 120 grit discs. The sander did all of those bits on one 4ah battery.

Painted the rub rail and coaming backer strip with TotalBoat Wet Edge Fire Red. Applied a coat of West Systems 105 Epoxy Resin/207 Special Clear Hardener to the coamings and a second coat to the deck (but not the patch.)

West Systems sells the best closed cell foam roller cover to use with their epoxies, it is guaranteed to apply a thin coat and not melt and shed foam all over the work surface.

Fresh coat of epoxy on the mast collar also.

15 Jun 20:

Tried this tape to mask the cockpit edge. Worked great. Recommended by Geoff Kerr at Two Daughters Boatworks.

We left one area underneath ZIP's cockpit in original finish, a tribute to the original builders at Alcort. We got the idea from aircraft restorations at theNational Naval Aviation Museum. TotalBoat WetEdge Fire Red for the cockpit. 3m #2080 for delicate surfaces masked off the cockpit trim. Paint brushed with a Redtree Fooler chip brush, it has double the bristles of a basic chip brush and works well with this paint. Supplies acquired from Jamestown Distributors.

Jamestown Distributors provided the paint for ZIP's restoration. We love the extra bit of blue, it's our favorite Fire Red of different brands we have tried. #totalboat

Floorboards got a fresh coat of paint.

Video of tape and cockpit paint: https://youtu.be/cuVpgawwuC4

The little bumps along the paint edge are from variations in the edge of the plywood and the gap between the deck and cockpit trim pieces. Very happy with the tape



First coat of West Systems 105/207 on the patch.

Got a little ahead of ourselves and put one of the rub rails back on. We still need to do an air leak test and will need access to the deck/side seam for that. We don't expect to find leaks along the deck seam but will check none the less. Most likely we have a small area to seal up in the daggerboard trunk.

16 Jun 20:

Applied a coat of TotalBoat Halcyon Amber Gloss Varnish to ZIP's daggerboard.

Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkwE0CBCMUE

17 Jun 20:

Laid some poly on the deck and marked fastener hole patterns.

Did an air leak test next, pumped in low pressure low volume air from a shop vac and sprayed seams with Dawn/water mix, daggerboard trunk and fasteners to find leaks. Quite a bit of leaking along the starboard deck edge seam, that's where the coaming rot damage was as well.

Repaired the leak areas by dredging out a small groove with the DeWALT oscillating multitool, maybe 1/16th of an inch, and injecting TotalBoat THIXO Wood into the seam. Also applied THIXO to a few spots in the daggerboard trunk.

Flipped ZIP so we could tape her off for paint. Used 3M #2080 for delicate surfaces, it leaves a nice crips line.

We rolled and tipped TotalBoat WetEdge Fire Red with a Mighty Mini Roller kit, all from jamestown Distributors, who donated the paint for ZIP's restoration. Thanks JD! Tipped with a 2 inch oil based paint brush with soft bristles.



We are thrilled with the coverage and color of the Fire Red!

19 Jun 20:

Time to refit Zip's bits. After a kayak paddle. First we filed down epoxy bits in the daggerboard trunk, to make sure the daggerboard fit, and yes, it goes in both ways.

Reamed out the carriage bolt hole of any paint drippings, 1/4 inch bit.

Attached the rudder assembly latch plate, secured with a #8 silicone bronze screw, 1 inch.

Fit a new bow strip, quarter round stainless that runs back 16 inches. ZIP showed up to us without one, so this is new bling for her.

Screws got clocked on all the reinstalled hardware.

ZIP got a flip, the finishing dolly disappeared and she got lowered onto the Dynamic Dolly.

ZIP got a new rudder pin.

On the factory boats the keeper chain was attached to the deck, but we found that many of those pins came loose during trailering and now litter the side of America's roadways. They are hard to find, so we attach ours to the rudder.

It is important that the vertical hinge plate have a nice straight edge on the bottom and that the latch plate, the cup that the hinge plate notches into, not have a worn upper edge, other wise there can be slop in the rudder assembly. If you have an old style rudder and it pops out easily, check these parts and make sure the spring plate on the deck is straight.

The last screw, the "Whiskey Screw."

Whiskey Screw video: https://youtu.be/p1z41gdjPFs



The patch looks nice.

Drilled out the hole for the daggerboard retainer line, it was full of dirt.

1/8th inch dacron cord from New England Ropes.

Rigged for sail, prep for Sea Trials on the Sailstice.

She's ready!

20 Jun 20:

Summer Sailstice 2020. Rolled ZIP out early morning, after looking outside and seeing a nice 10-12 knot breeze coming in from the NNW.

ZIP is the oldest Sunfish in existence, built 1953. She has had a few changes along the way. One change was that she came from the factory painted red, with the coaming and rub rail finished bright. We changed that up a bit to showcase her wooden heritage. Her solid wood mast is now a hybrid mast, aluminum bottom section with tapered wood top, circa late 1950s. She also got a bigger rudder at one point, the spoon tip that was used in the 1960s, and we changed out her 31 inch daggerboard for the 39 inch Barrington board of 1980s vintage. Her 1980s North Sail by the Fogh loft in Canada was retired and replaced by a beautiful sail cut by Hunter and his team at Schurr Sails Pensacola. And we replaced her wire 3 loop bridle with a line bridle.

Walkaround video: https://youtu.be/Oi92DTOeRG0



The Fearless Crew...well Skipper anyway...

Wait, why does Clark have a drill in his hand? More on that later.

Launch Video: https://youtu.be/54F0pwc-hH0



Skipper took out ZIP for the first Functional Check Float (FCF) where she checks control rigging and watertight integrity. She also sailed backwards a bit, I'm sure that was intentional and took ZIP up to Vne (Velocity never to Exceed).

She was chattering as she rolled out on Final Approach with the discrepancy list

Skipper liked how ZIP creaked like a square rigger while she was on a run. Wooden yard on wooden mast. And she liked the wave sounds on the hull.

Maintenance Discrepancies:
1) Sheet rigged wrong, we missed the forward block. Did you notice in the pictures? Here she is trying to sort it out during a tack. We caught the aft block and the two sheet hangers, but missed the forward block.

2) Forward sheet block too far aft.

Skipper called out the Flight Line crew aka Boat Captain (me) and we looked over the rigging and discussed block placement, we felt that the forward block was too far aft and interfered with movement in the small cockpit. Another factor we discussed was that ZIP did not come with an open fairlead/sheet hook in the cockpit like later boats did, and we had added a ratchet block to the forward cockpit lip. A quorum of The Usual Visitors was present and consensus was reached to move the forward block forward to place it over the ratchet block, that's when the tool box came out. We used an awl to unscrew the old block, they are screwed in with a wood screw on a bronze eyelet that captures an eyelet on the Wilcox and Crittenden block. We drilled a tiny hole about 7 inches forward on the boom, 7/64th inch bit on the DeWALT drill, as a pilot hole and screwed the block into the new position. Rigged the sheet correctly and Skipper declared "TLAR" (That Looks About Right) from her vantage point on the Gun Deck.

Salty Dog Rigging aka Marine Carpenter Clark.

3) Sail too low. We like the Geezer Rig (copyright claimed), it gets the sail up where it catches the breeze and up out of the cockpit, where it knocks hats off and catches on PFD collars. The Geezer Rig reduces the use of Skipper's salty vocabulary. We raised the rig by moving the halyard down one ring on the luff of the sail. The gooseneck could be moved forward an inch or so to raise the aft end of the boom a bit, but we'll get to that later.

Skipper launched for FCF 2 and had a great sail.

My turn, I took ZIP out and sailed her flat. Luckily for me the wind was dying off.

Zip video: https://youtu.be/v_Q0xUPeoPs



Final Approach: https://youtu.be/peCph8xOU5M

to be continued...