I am looking at buying my first sail boat and this seems to be a great option with my limited budget. It's comes with new sails, 55kw trolling motor, paddles, trailer, Etc. only problem is after market trim the owner put on there that I'll have to replace or cover the holes from. Other than that I can't see any problems in picking it up to clean tomorrow to see the rest, then I am test driving her this weekend. So please just tell me should I steer clear from this boat or is a great boat? I love that I can beach her and go on islands of id like and I love the cabin it has even though it's small. Iare there better options for 1000 and under? I can probably get this for 500 I think! What I want to get out of the boat I buy is a fun days or weekend on boat with friends or just my gf. If I can't sleep on the boat I would like to beach it and be on an island or just be able to lounge around for a day on the boat. I would like not to have anything smaller than the sunbird 16.
Anyone have experience with a sunbird 16?
- Thread starter Zu13
- Start date
I loved my 'bird. Finally sold it. And sometimes miss it.
There is a yahoo group for the sunbird. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/amfsunbird/info
There is a yahoo group for the sunbird. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/amfsunbird/info
what were some pros and cons about having the boat? How fast did she go? How hard is it to capsize it and recover? Are there any problems its prone to have? tell me anything you know please!
My (at the time) non-sailing wife and I had her up to 5.5 knots one day surfing the chop. We got hit by a microburst one day in Pensacola Bay and managed to keep her upright and sailing while we reefed the mainsail. One minute, we were ghosting along and the next we were zipping across the bay under the jib. Yee Haw!
My brother and I capsized her one day in Galveston Bay. We had a bit of difficulty righting her up that day. But we did it and then noticed a foot of mud on the top of the mainsail where we had buried the mast in the bottom. IIRC, the water drained out rather rapidly once we were sailing again.
THE BIG PROBLEM with the 'Bird is the centerboard. The factory used iron scraps to weight the end of the board. And the board was constructed in longitudinal halves and glued together. What happens is water gets between the halves and rusts the metal scrap. The rust takes up more room than the metal and forces the halves apart and jams the board into the slot. You need to ask the PO if he has repaired the board or knows if it was repaired.
The other issue I had was one of the trailer rollers was lined up on the centerboard slot and crushed the fiberglass on both sides. And water would get in the void between the hull and the cockpit. While the boat was getting repaired, I added bunks on the trailer on each side of the slot to keep the boat off the roller right there.
What I think of as my best modification was adding a Johnson Lever on the forestay. That makes mast raising and rigging fast and easy.
My brother and I capsized her one day in Galveston Bay. We had a bit of difficulty righting her up that day. But we did it and then noticed a foot of mud on the top of the mainsail where we had buried the mast in the bottom. IIRC, the water drained out rather rapidly once we were sailing again.
THE BIG PROBLEM with the 'Bird is the centerboard. The factory used iron scraps to weight the end of the board. And the board was constructed in longitudinal halves and glued together. What happens is water gets between the halves and rusts the metal scrap. The rust takes up more room than the metal and forces the halves apart and jams the board into the slot. You need to ask the PO if he has repaired the board or knows if it was repaired.
The other issue I had was one of the trailer rollers was lined up on the centerboard slot and crushed the fiberglass on both sides. And water would get in the void between the hull and the cockpit. While the boat was getting repaired, I added bunks on the trailer on each side of the slot to keep the boat off the roller right there.
What I think of as my best modification was adding a Johnson Lever on the forestay. That makes mast raising and rigging fast and easy.
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I once capsized a 15-foot sailboat and got the mast stuck in the lake bottom. After recovery, I ordered a "Hobie Bob" for the top of the mast - as I often sail alone, I needed to be prepared to get the boat righted again by myself.
I have an AMF Sunbird and it has been huge fun, for very little investment. It is a very simple and user friendly craft. I think if the one you are looking at has no damage, it would be a great buy.
We have trailered ours all over and it is very easy to tow. We have sailed it in the Gulf of Mexico, camped sailed the Apostle Islands and we also race it on Midwestern lakes. Overall, very happy to have it. Good luck to you.
We have trailered ours all over and it is very easy to tow. We have sailed it in the Gulf of Mexico, camped sailed the Apostle Islands and we also race it on Midwestern lakes. Overall, very happy to have it. Good luck to you.
I think he is sailing on an inland lake in TN near Knoxville. There is a long concrete ramp as I use to launch boats there as a dealer years ago.
Sunbird, fun boat, put reef in main and home made rolling furler made out of pvc pipe and fittings for under 100 and able to handle stiff breeze. Small enough to pull off trailer on grass or tip on side on beach or shallow water to service bottom or mast top. Mast is easy to raise or lower by
