Sailfish and Sunfish were built for many years of both wood and fiberglass, but it was the Sunfish which gained the recognition of being the most popular sailboat of all time. Approximately half a million have been produced and there are many clones.

In 1969 Alcort was sold to AMF (American Machine & Foundry) but continued to use the name Alcort. AMF succumbed to a hostile takeover in 1985 and the Alcort sailboat division was sold to Loveless & DeGarmo (DBA Alcort Sailboats Inc.). In 1988, Pearson Yacht bought Sunfish and in 1991, Pearson established the spin-off company Sunfish - Laser Inc.. Vanguard bought Sunfish-Laser in 1997.

A Recycled Sunfish

Several years ago, my brother spotted a Sunfish hull in the trash and loaded it on his pickup truck. He lives next to a lake and used the hull to support an American flag. He stuck a 2" PVC drain pipe in the mast socket, fastened a flag to the top and anchored it in the middle of the lake. His creation attracted a lot of attention for a couple of years, but weather and kids proved too much for it and the boat started to take on water.

The upper deck seemed solid enough, so I decided to try a restoration. I knew I would never get my money back out of this project even if I didn't calculate labor.

The deck was in fair condition but the entire boat was badly stained from lying in dirty water. It responded to a good scrubbing and needed little attention. The cockpit was in surprisingly good condition with only a little staining.

Someone had painted the bottom several times and the paint was scratched and flaking. Two cans of paint remover and three days of scraping later, the original gel-coat finally became visible.

The next step was spraying the hull with fresh gel-coat. I did the Sailfish and Sunfish hulls at the same time. Incidentally, two quarts of gel-coat cost over $80!

The aluminum trim around the edges was damaged and partly missing. I removed what aluminum edging was still on the boat. The hull and deck had begun to separate, so I first dried the interior and then sealed the edges with silicone and pop riveted them.

For the edges, I bought white garden hose that had a single blue stripe on it. This was applied using simple tools and silicone.

I first clamped the hose to the edge with the stripe facing down

With a felt-tip pen, I scribed a line on the hose, using the hull as a guide. With a sharp knife, I cut a slit in the hose the entire length.

After pressing a generous amount of silicone into the hose, I pressed it onto the edge of the hull. It fit tightly and no clamps were needed except on the stern and bow ends. I cut small wedges into the hose so it would bend around the rear corners.

I robbed the aluminum nose piece from a junk Mutineer.

The finished Sunfish looked quite different from when it was lying in the trash!

I found a rudder, dagger board and sail, all from different sources.

Here are photos of the Sunfish sporting the mast and sails from the Seawitch.

I was still looking for a mast and spars when someone offered me $300 for the boat without them. I condescended, but didnät make a profit on that boat!.

SECOND SUNFISH

I bought this 1968 fiberglass Sunfish with a clear title for $150, repainted the bottom and varnished the dagger, rudder and tiller. The sail was bleached from the sun, but was otherwise in good condition. The boat had several upgrades like a Harkin pulley and two access covers. I sold it for $500.