We collect advertising materials on the Sunfish, they provide great information on the evolution of the boat, features and specifications throughout the years. First developed by Alex Bryan and Cortlandt Heyniger (Alcort) in 1953 as a sister ship to the popular 1947 Sailfish, the first Sunfish were built in wood. In 1960 the fiberglass hull was introduced and production took off, fiberglass Sunfish are still manufactured today by Laser Performance. The brochure we recently acquired dates to 1971, the first year that the "new style" rudder appeared, and the cockpit storage cuddy. Triple stripes also appeared on the foredeck, and these features help date boats made in the days prior to U. S. Coast Guard required Hull Identification Numbers (HIN) being stamped on the upper right transom.
We love the vintage 5 panel sails shown above, made by Ratsey and Lapthorn, soft and quiet, they last forever when properly cared for. AMF acquired Alcort in 1969 along with a lot of other sport and recreation businesses, for years we only knew them for their bowling balls. Had no idea they owned Harley Davidson as well. Hull weight stayed at 139 pounds, it would drop 10 pounds in 1988, not sure what was taken out, but we do know that the hulls made from 1960-1987 are well built and easy to repair.
Which way should the daggerboard tip point? Fore or aft? Decide for yourself. We like it this way, if we hit an obstruction or beach the boat, the daggerboard tends to ride up vs dig in. Other advertising materials show the tip forward.
You may have spotted the spars on the wrong side of the mast on the brochure cover photo, that is because the image is reversed. At first we thought it was a mistake by the advertising folks, now we believe that it is done on purpose, we always expect to find one photo reversed and spend extra time looking for it. Sometimes the gooseneck is installed pointing the wrong way, like the image below, it should point to starboard. If not, the halyard traps the sail against the mast. But you spent time looking for it, didn't you?
(Image: Laser Perfomance 2020)
Foam blocks of closed cell extruded polystyrene (XPS) were used for flotation and to stiffen the deck and hull. Fastened in place with 2 part marine grade flotation foam. In the early boats the foam was poured and there was better control. Our friend Howie worked at Alcort-AMF for 1960-1978 and he relates that around 1972 they switched over to a foam gun and after that some boats had expanding foam everywhere, excessive to the point that it could trap and absorb water. Wet foam weighs a lot, but skilled restoration folks can remove it and replace it with new 2 part foam. Save the blocks though, they are impossible to find.
The center block below will have a forward chunk removed to make space for the new aft storage cubby.
Storage area is still the same, 50 years later.
Looks like an old Stearns brand jacket, actually not a bad jacket with its slim design for the time. My Uncle had some that we used on our camping and fishing trips, comfortable to wear and they had a breezy mesh liner on the inside. We also like how AMF gave Alcort top billing on the stickers for a long time.
The big change in 1971 was the "new style" rudder system, it popped down and up more easily when launching and beaching and stayed down better while out sailing.
Do you think there is any chance that AMF copied George Patterson's patented pop up rudder design? It was used on Alcort's first catamaran, the Catfish, introduced in 1965.
We own a Catfish and they are pretty cool. Heavy, but cool :) Her name is SMEDLEY.
All of the claims below still hold true, whether your boat is made by Alcort, AMF, Pearson, Sunfish Laser Inc, Loveless and DeGarmo, Vanguard or Laser Performance. Still the most popular One Design Class and by far the most popular recreational sailboat ever made, with over 400,000 boats sailing around the world.
In 1954 Alcort, Inc patented the rudder releasing mechanism used on their different models of Sailfish and Sunfish sailboats. The bronze assembly allowed the rudder to automatically swing up if an obstruction was struck and then be easily restored to operating position. It was also designed to be "simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install and manipulate, compact, ornamental in appearance, and very efficient and durable in use."
From the patent: "The invention provides the following advantages: '
1. It affords a simple means of lowering the rudder into operating position from a boat after launching it from a beach, or in shallow water.
2. It permits a small craft to be driven or sailed upon a beach without injury, as the rudder will disengage itself automatically upon contact with the beach or submerged obstruction.
3. The rudder can be easily restored to operating position manually by swinging it downwardly to cause the lower end of the vertical hinge plate to engage against the rear beveled surface of the latch plate, without replacement of a shear pin or any other part.
4. The release mechanism may be adjusted to release the rudder more or less readily, as conditions demand, by varying the compression of the leaf spring, by means of the thumb nut.
5.The rudder may be locked positively in its operating down position, if desired, merely by tightening the thumb nut as far as it will go.
6.The rudder may be used to steer a boat even when it is in the unlatched or raised position in shallow water, and will afford a fair amount of maneuverability under such conditions, as contrasted to conventional detachable rudders, which had to be fully attached in order to operate."
This is a Standard Sailfish named Winnie, with the first generation rudder blade known as the "elephant ear." The 1940s and 50s wooden Standard Sailfish and Super Sailfish, along with the early wooden Sunfish, would have come with this tiny rudder. Note the short transom, the early wooden boats and fiberglass Super Sailfish MKII rudder systems have a short transom, so a 4 inch carriage bolt was used vs the 7 inch bolt used on the 1960s fiberglass Sunfish.
Here we are installing the rudder deck plate on our 1953 Sunfish Zip. Note that there are screw eyes molded into the bronze plate, so that the aft end of plate can be screwed into the top of the transom. Also note that the carriage bolt goes through the transom, not outside like the fiberglass Sunfish.
Here is Zip sporting an upgraded Generation 2 rudder, also know as the spoon tip. That blade provides much more helm control and is essential if you choose to use a newer design race cut sail on the older boat. The rudder pin has a keeper chain, normally secured to the hull. Since the boat is usually stored outside and it gets trailered around, there is more opportunity to lose that pin, held on only by its 60 year old chain. We changed this up later and secured the keeper to the rudder, which is stored indoors and rides in the car. Note the short transom again.
Ready for launch, just push the rudder down to latch it. Adjust tension as desired.
Rudder down and latched on the 1953 Alcort Sunfish Zip. Skipper was Master and Commander that day. And as always, how about that coaming?!
This is the transom of a fiberglass Sunfish. That transom is taller than the transom on the Sailfish series of boats and the wooden Sunfish. The carriage bolt measures just over 7 inches compared to the 4 inch carriage bolt on the earlier boats. The carriage bolt has also been moved to outside the transom, and a notch has been molded into the transom to provide clearance for the bolt.
This is the top deck plate for the fiberglass Sunfish, note how the rudder pin has the keeper chain eyelet screwed to the deck. We bet that there are a lot of Sunfish rudder pins strewn along the side of America's highways. And also there are no screw eye holes on the deck plate because the end of the plate extends past the transom. The last bit of trivia is that the patent number 2,675,775 is cast into the plate, many folks mistake that for a serial number. Oh, the last last bit of trivia, some early fiberglass Sunfish deck plates DO have a serial number embossed on the side of the plate, usually a low 4 digit number.
Reference:
US Patent 2,675,775 RUDDER RELEASING MECHANISM FOR SMALL BOATS
Alexander Bryan and Cortlandt Heyniger, Waterbury, Conn., assignors to Alcort, Inc., Water bury, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut
Application December 9, 1952, Serial No. 324,896
Patent Granted April 20, 1954
