It's alive! It's alive! It's alive!

It's official. The Sunfish is looking 1000% better since the last post. The mildew and moss gave way to some elbow grease and a bleach and water solution, and after a more careful inspection, the boat really is in good shape. Looking at the picture, it really reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Wind however, I'm going to have to do something about that. Anyway after getting into the boat and getting to know it a bit more, it really. It's a sailing movie (of course) and there's a part in it where the main characters get together and check out a boat that they used to sail together, that has been repaired. The guy says "it almost doesn't look like the same boat." Seriously, this almost looks like a different sailboat. The trailer looks the same does look like the water that was sloshing around inside the hull was from Hurricane Ivan. Or at least some of the many rains after that, because it was fresh water. Other indications show that the boat was usually sailed in salt water before I owned it. The plug on the top of the deck is missing, which is probably where the water entered. After letting out the water, the boat was a lot lighter, and still doesn't show any signs of delamination.

There were a couple of surprises however. The sailboat came with three sails, the new one I talked about in my last entry, the red and white one that is sitting on the top of the boat in the pictures from the last entry, and a blue and white one that is still in a plastic bag. I opened the red and white one, just to see what it was like (knowing that it was probably in very bad shape.) It was in bad shape, but more surprisingly, it actually wasn't even an official Sunfish sail! It had a picture of a dolphin on it, with the letters SR underneath. A quick check on Google confirmed it, the sail was from a completely different kind of boat called a Dolphin SR, it is very similar to the Sunfish. I also took a look at the mast a bit more closely. It had a different design than I was used to, but I figured that was just because it was a newer Sunfish. Turns out that the mast is actually from that Dolphin SR boat (wherever it is). It should work no problem, but I think that means that I can't enter any Sunfish Class regattas, because the boat is no longer "Class Legal." Oh well.

The only other problem with the boat is that the tiller handle has rubbed completely through the top white layer on the back of the boat (the gel-coat). However, because I am going to have to put a couple of inspection ports into the hull anyway to get the boat dried out, I will probably just put it right there, and no one will be the wiser. All in all, it was really fun to get the boat cleaned up and see what I actually have. I have created a list of things that I need to buy to get the boat in top shape.

• 3 Inspection Ports to cover the holes cut in the hull for drying.
• The front handle has been in salt water, and is corroding pretty seriously. It will probably have to be replaced soon
• The plug is missing on the topside of the boat. Pretty important piece, and it will need to be replaced sooner rather than later.
• The bailer plug is also missing. That little plug helps water get out of the boat when it comes into the cockpit.
• I am also probably going to replace the harness on the back of the boat, it's a completely unique design on this boat, and the newer Sunfish actually have a better design that includes a traveller to make the sail move more easily from side to side.

Well, once again that's about it for now. The boat is much better off than anticipated, more to follow!
God's Peace,
Mac