This might be my favorite video of yours. Well done. I grew up in Rhode Island and my parents got me a Sunfish at 12. Loved it. Raced it well into my upper teens until I graduated. Sold it before we moved to Texas. That was 1986. I'm 55 now and want to get another Sunfish. Just now getting my wife into it. We recently picked up a Hobie Cat 14 Turbo, but I'll get her to love the Sunfish like I did. Missed out on a deal with two Sunfish, tandem trailer, and gear - all for $1,000.
@LeeSideSailing
4 ай бұрын
Thank ypu and wow, sounds like a deal missed, but keep your eyes peeled!
@klemsaba
2 жыл бұрын
I grew up sailing Lasers then took 20 years off from sailing. Yes, that was a bad decision. Life happens though. Ten years ago my wife brought home a $250 Sunfish found at a garage sale and I fell in love the simplicity of this little boat. Our fleet has grown to 3 Sunfish now and a 26’ cruiser. Nice work on the channel!
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Excellent! Congrats on your fleet!
@MissyYoko
10 ай бұрын
My yacht club sold me a beautiful 1978 Alcort that was donated by someone for $150. The dolly cost more than the boat. I am in love with my little sweet Sunfish. Red white and blue sail. ❤
@LeeSideSailing
10 ай бұрын
Great deal!!! Congratsulations!!
@biscuiteater40
2 жыл бұрын
Ok, I’ve watched enough of your videos so I subscribed. Thanks for all the great videos.
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Brian! Glad you’re getting value from them.
@richjones8319
2 жыл бұрын
Lee, Thanks for your videos! I got an old sunfish from my cousin that had been neglected. your videos gave me the confidence to repair, replace and bring back a sunfish. It's still a little heavy but I will get it drier this winter. This weekend it will be back on the water. Hoping my grand daughters get hooked. I have not sailed before but feel I have sailed with you!! Thanks again.
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Congratulations!! Watch the weather! If you have not sailed before- sail without your grandkids and get used to things! If possible sail with someone experienced. Its one thing to watch video and read, but when youre doing it- somethings come with plain experience. You want your grand kids to have a good time, so do a few shake out sails- without them to make sure everything is set up and works properly. Even seasoned veterans forget something and habe to be abke to diagnose and remedy the solution. :). Have fun!
@richjones8319
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks again. That is my plan. My son has sailed and he is going to go alone and make sure all works well.
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Good idea…. If you dont know how to sail, sail woth him. Make sure you can get back and forth…. Its a skill that need to ne learned and one cant learn everything in a couple of hours. Good luck !
@chopstix2002
2 жыл бұрын
@@LeeSideSailing Thank you for the videos! My Dad did a great job restoring the sunfish. The inaugural sail went great. I was a little rusty since the last time sailing 25 years ago. After a couple loops solo I felt good enough to put a kid in the boat. My daughters enjoyed the experience of getting on the water and feeling the wind.
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
You have probably just made a memory they will never forget! Congratulations.
@tomgray3454
Жыл бұрын
I painted the hull. Looks great
@LeeSideSailing
Жыл бұрын
What did you use to paint the hull?
@kentblairl
2 жыл бұрын
New bow handle and bailer. Every, and I mean every, Sunfish that we restored needed a bow handle, baier and usually the lines. Sparkly chrome on the bow sells boats. And I could mention every part, but make sure all parts are manufacturer's parts, no weird blocks or tillers made from axe handles....yes, there was one. Yellow ski rope for a bridle...Stainless rusty rivets in the trim...broken bailers... Great attitude about the investment, we flipped boats and used the money to get new bling for our Fleet. See you out there Lee! Cheers, Clark and Skipper
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks!! Awesome ideas as always
@richjones8319
2 жыл бұрын
Lee, our sunfish sailed fine. All repairs held well and no water in the hull after 3 hours on the water. Thanks again and keep up the videos. The information is great!
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Excellent!!! Thank you. :)
@solitudeandsailing
2 жыл бұрын
Best return on your investment, the endless fun sunfish sailing provides.
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Yessiree:)
@kenbuffie2877
2 жыл бұрын
I am only commenting because you always earn it Lee!
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks Ken!
@skylarking12
2 жыл бұрын
An additional factor to consider is trailer vs. car-topping or throwing the boat in a pickup truck. Higher-value sunfish tend to come with a trailer. Though the sunfish *can* technically be car-topped, man-handling it on and off the top of a car or other vehicle is frankly a lot of work, and generally not fun for a single person to do. Trailers for Sunfish can be very small, and are available used, modified from old jet-ski trailers, and in kit form from places like Harbor Freight. When I got my first boat, the first year I sailed it, I rented a van from U-Haul, each time I wanted to go to the lake. That was a pain because you had to reserve the van days in advance and the weather was always a gamble; you could end up renting and not going, or renting and getting to the lake and finding you are rained-out or the wind is just too strong... I did the math on the renting, saved up over the winter, and the next spring, ended up getting a folding trailer from Harbor Freight for three hundred bucks, and it does double-duty as a general hauling trailer ...and then to go sailing, I added extra picket pockets to the frame, so I can drop in some custom-made bunks and go to the lake with it. The Haul Master trailer folds up like a ping pong table to fit in a single-car garage. So that was my biggest factor in "added value" to my boat; the spontaneity of being able to take to boat out whenever the mood and weather are right. When I sell this sunfish, I'm keeping the trailer, as I have a second boat, and, it lets me haul stuff as if I owned a pickup, without needing to own a pickup. Your video also got me wondering about the possibilities of offering to "time share" my boat with others to spread the joy. But there might be insurance and other issues to consider along with that. I'd be interested in your take on the idea.
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the comment- Trailers and dollies definitely add value to the package, but that would have deviated from concentrating on the boat itself :). As far as sharing the boat- it is a great idea IF you treat it like a business, i would put everything in writing, and make sure you’re compatible with the partner. For a small, relatively inexpensive boat like the sunfish- i find it better just to each have their own boat :).
@Blacksheep1B
2 жыл бұрын
I purchased my first sunfish 3 weeks ago, 2002 for $500.00. I have only crashed it once. Best investment ever. 😁
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
That sound like a good deal
@nedcourtemanche5378
2 жыл бұрын
Great stuff Lee, thank you! Any suggestions on where to buy quality line online these days? Any other thoughts/videos on recommended sunfish line? Used to buy from the late great APS, haven't yet found a replacement shop.
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
There are many shops with high quality line- the trick is to know what you want…. But ive gotten line from places like dinghy shop, bela sails, intensity and sunfish direct and even west marine (most locations have terrible line at west marine, but one near me actully hs some good sailing line).
@andrewdritsas7154
2 жыл бұрын
We love the sunfish that we purchased last year. Sailed the wind out of it too. Now making some little upgrades . I just wish I could figure it’s age. I know it’s really old.
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Does it have a plate with a number? How about a cubby hole.
@andrewdritsas7154
2 жыл бұрын
No cubby, no plate , no serial #. Not the old style rudder and was never converted. Original double racing stripes on forward deck. All original gel coat on deck and hull.
@theplinkerslodge6361
2 жыл бұрын
Getting a sunfish - I am getting back into sunfish sailing, "Never should have sold my nice racing Sunfish." Now have to rebuild my "program." I am not finding sunfish in the middle category, plenty availability on the older, neglected boats. The price is pretty high right now on everything - so much so, it makes sense to buy a new racing-grade boat if they are really going for less than $5,000 right now. That is the price shown on the internet. Twenty year old boats are going for a few hundred less than this, doesn't make financial sense.
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
I would wait for a good boat to pop up and act fast. Don’t worry about the sail, its the rest of the boat thats hardest to get. :)
@MythosGandaar
2 жыл бұрын
I bought my used 50 yr old sunfish for like $300, couldn't spend more than that cuz I haven't even taken it out yet after several months lol. Too busy for hobbies :(
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
At least your cash outlay was low. That way it’s not a big loss and if you ever wanted to sell it you can get the same amount of money back. Hopefully you get around to sailing soon!
@MythosGandaar
2 жыл бұрын
@@LeeSideSailing I will! The big reason I got the sunfish was because I know with my lifestyle, I won't be able to take whatever boat out super often, so I got one that costs low up front and basically zero over time. Aside from keeping the trailer registration up to date.
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
That is a great train of thought when buying any sailboat- how much time you will actually use it- !! Very intelligent decision.
@MythosGandaar
2 жыл бұрын
@@LeeSideSailing and I learned that the hard way! I owned a Precision 18 for a couple years and sailed it twice. Luckily I was able to sell that one, lol
@sblink23
2 жыл бұрын
Hi Lee. I’m restoring a 1982 sunfish with original tiller. I’ve purchased a new extension, but it didn’t come with shrink wrap. Is this necessary? And if so, will you provide a link for where to purchase and perhaps a tutorial for how to “attach”? Thanks!!
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
Shronk wrapnis jot necessary. I use electrical Tape.
@Andy_XT
2 жыл бұрын
Hi Lee. It seems that here in Europe it is not so easy to find a second hand Sunfish. But guess what? I am good at woodworking and with fiberglass too. Could you help me with Plans? I mean, what could possibly be better than making my own Sunfish and pass it to my son? I tried online but could not find a decent pdf plan. Thanks. Keep the videos coming, you are doing great!
@@LeeSideSailing That is really interesting! Thanks, Lee. They are trying to get the same kind of plans that they already have for the Sailfish. Fingers crossed!
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
This is a bit different fro The dimensions of the sunfish as I jnow it. Look ay the bow section.
@kentblairl
2 жыл бұрын
Plans for a wooden version are in work, we've drafted the stem block and have all the patterns for deck, hull, planks, frames, bulkheads, transom, etc...A 1953 and 1963 Alcort boat has been measured, I just need to stop watching Lee's videos and put pen to paper to clean up the measurements. In the meantime you could start building the sail rig, rudder and daggerboard and gather deck/rudder hardware. Check out smallboatrestoration.blogspot.com/p/alcort-wooden-sunfish.html
@Andy_XT
2 жыл бұрын
@@kentblairl Great work! Thank you so much for replying.
@rolfmca
2 жыл бұрын
Lee, should I varnish the boat with marine varnish or with polyester resin?
@LeeSideSailing
2 жыл бұрын
I would be the first to admit, that is not my strong suit, however- using polyester resin is not a varnish and doing wood parts with varnish looks classic. Many times if you want to change the shape of blades you can use fiberglass cloth and resin…. Resin would not have to be replaced or re-applied as much…. If you just want good looking wood i would go with varnish…. But like i said, this is bit my strong point. :). Thanks!
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