sun fish sail boat
- Thread starter mike sims
- Start date
Joe Dunleavy
Active member
This has been done numerous times. If you search on this site or perhaps google it you should find some info.
Andrew Holley
Well-known member
Hey Mike where are you from? I know of one here in Green Bay, WI, is that you?
craig shire
Member
Sailfish (sunfish) conversion
Here is how I did mine.
I started with a sailfish hull I found on craislist.com for $20. The sailfish was the smaller sister to the sunfish. Overall length is 13’ and width only 36” inches at the widest part.
This is the hull as I got it. Portions of the deck had already been removed.
I proceeded to remove the remaining deck. I started with a circular saw, but quickly switched to a cutoff wheel in a grinder. The saw was throwing the cut fiberglass fibers and I could feel them sticking in my uncovered arms. The grinder produced a very fine dust that was easy to clean up and less painful. As noted above follow proper safety procedures when cutting – safety glasses, dust mask, and long sleeves.
This photo shows the mast step and centerboard trunk after the deck was removed.
Close up of mast step.
And after removal with the cutoff wheel.
Close up of centerboard trunk.
And after removal with cutoff wheel.
The remains of the bases for the mast step and centerboard trunk were trimmed as close to flush as possible with the cutoff wheel and grinder. Here is the final result on the centerboard trunk.
The centerboard slot was filled with epoxy/silca mix and sanded flush on the hull exterior. Then two layers of 12 oz tape and epoxy were put over the filled slot and feathered to meet the hull.
For the topside deck I wanted an arched deck similar to a traditional sneak box. Bulkheads were cut to a 49” diameter arc and epoxied into place in the hull. A cockpit was framed using 1x4 and 1x6 lumber. ¼” luan was used to plank the deck and pink foam insulation was used under the decks at the ends to provide positive flotation.
These photos show the bulkhead frames, the partially completed decking and the foam flotation.
The completed decks were laminated with 6 oz cloth and epoxy. The hull was painted with flat gray oil based porch and deck enamel and then oversprayed with flat black and brown rattle can camo paint from the hardware store.
I build some folding oar lock frames, but have since removed them as they were to flimsy and wobbly. I ended up poling the boat most places this year, but need to add some solid fixed oar locks.
I later added the dodger/cover shown in this photo and fastened cattails for marsh use. The dodger was cut from an old gray boat cover and ½” PVC tubing used as the hoop frames.
The boat worked well as intended. I did use it for some open layout hunting in Lake Erie, but only a couple hundred yards off shore as I was rowing and did not have a tender. Boat was solid in the slight chop that day and would likely be fine in as big a waves as I would be able to shoot straight in.
Here is how I did mine.
I started with a sailfish hull I found on craislist.com for $20. The sailfish was the smaller sister to the sunfish. Overall length is 13’ and width only 36” inches at the widest part.
This is the hull as I got it. Portions of the deck had already been removed.
I proceeded to remove the remaining deck. I started with a circular saw, but quickly switched to a cutoff wheel in a grinder. The saw was throwing the cut fiberglass fibers and I could feel them sticking in my uncovered arms. The grinder produced a very fine dust that was easy to clean up and less painful. As noted above follow proper safety procedures when cutting – safety glasses, dust mask, and long sleeves.
This photo shows the mast step and centerboard trunk after the deck was removed.
Close up of mast step.
And after removal with the cutoff wheel.
Close up of centerboard trunk.
And after removal with cutoff wheel.
The remains of the bases for the mast step and centerboard trunk were trimmed as close to flush as possible with the cutoff wheel and grinder. Here is the final result on the centerboard trunk.
The centerboard slot was filled with epoxy/silca mix and sanded flush on the hull exterior. Then two layers of 12 oz tape and epoxy were put over the filled slot and feathered to meet the hull.
For the topside deck I wanted an arched deck similar to a traditional sneak box. Bulkheads were cut to a 49” diameter arc and epoxied into place in the hull. A cockpit was framed using 1x4 and 1x6 lumber. ¼” luan was used to plank the deck and pink foam insulation was used under the decks at the ends to provide positive flotation.
These photos show the bulkhead frames, the partially completed decking and the foam flotation.
The completed decks were laminated with 6 oz cloth and epoxy. The hull was painted with flat gray oil based porch and deck enamel and then oversprayed with flat black and brown rattle can camo paint from the hardware store.
I build some folding oar lock frames, but have since removed them as they were to flimsy and wobbly. I ended up poling the boat most places this year, but need to add some solid fixed oar locks.
I later added the dodger/cover shown in this photo and fastened cattails for marsh use. The dodger was cut from an old gray boat cover and ½” PVC tubing used as the hoop frames.
The boat worked well as intended. I did use it for some open layout hunting in Lake Erie, but only a couple hundred yards off shore as I was rowing and did not have a tender. Boat was solid in the slight chop that day and would likely be fine in as big a waves as I would be able to shoot straight in.
Jeff Frechette
Active member
I built 2 of the Sunfish conversion boats in the past. It was a fun project and served me well over the years. I sold one of them a while back and still use the other for 7 seasons now.
I opted for a light boat that 1 person and cart around and throw in the back of a truck.
One was cut down to 10' the other to 11', both had provisions for a 40lb elect motor and battery box mounted in the front for weight stability.
If you have specific question you can shoot me a PM
I opted for a light boat that 1 person and cart around and throw in the back of a truck.
One was cut down to 10' the other to 11', both had provisions for a 40lb elect motor and battery box mounted in the front for weight stability.
If you have specific question you can shoot me a PM