Sunfish Rudder and Daggerboard Specifications

 22 Dec 20:

Looking for a holiday project? Make a new rudder or daggerboard for your Sunfish or Sailfish.

3/4 inch stock required, 1x12 select #1 pine from Lowes or Home Depot would work, or check your Mom and Pop Lumber Stores or local mill for hardwoods like cypress or mahogany.

The 1980 daggerboard design is also known as the Barrington Board, developed by the Barrington Frostbiters. It works well on any Sunfish or Sailfish. The 1993 board is made from a plastic type material, and at 44 inches it is too big for Sailfish and wooden Sunfish. That extra 4 inches presents challenges when launching and beaching for mess abouts, the boom can snag when the board is raised and cause capsizes on the beach. Makes for great pictures though. 40 inches is plenty for recreational sailing.

ZIP's original 1953 "Elephant Ear" Rudder and "Spoon Tip" 31 inch daggerboard on the left compared to her upgraded 1960s "Spoon Tip" rudder and 1980s 40 inch "Barrington" Daggerboard. She points and tacks much better with more blade in the water. 

Sunfish Daggerboard Variations and New Style Rudder

Here are 3 of the variations on the Sunfish daggerboard theme, generations 2,3 and 4. The first gen board was for the wooden Sunfish and it was short, oval tip. The boards shown (L-R) are for the fiberglass boats, the board on the left was called the Spoon Tip and it was used in the 1960s until 1972, when the board in the middle came out. It was used on both the Sunfish and the new Minifish and was called the Shadow board because it had less surface area than the previous board, a "Shadow" of its previous self. Racers from the Barrington Frostbite racers designed the board on the right, it was called the Barrington board. The Barrington is the board we like, we have one for all of our Sunfish, including our wooden boat ZIP. We also upgraded our Standard Sailfish WINNIE to a Spoon Tip.

There is a newer, loner Race Daggerboard made of plastic. Also available in wood.

This is the "new style" rudder that came out in late 1971. Also available today in plastic and a different tiller, with the same spring hardware.