I owned one
I believe Alcort was bought by AMF in the early 70's and the boats were built in S Windsor CT if I recall correctly. They have been out of business for many years. The company had 4-6 boats the Force 5(one of which I own currrently)a 14 foot boat very similar to a Lasar. Maybe a couple of others in addition to the Sunbird. The Sunbird was built to compete with the O'Day Daysailer. Its not a bad boat as I recall, a little tender compared to the daysailer. It will, like any dingy put you in the water if your in a breeze if you don't know what your are doing. By the way you have a centerboard not a swing keel. It has no ballast in it. A boat like this is designed to be kept upright by the placement of crew weight. Get a copy of the "The small boat sailers bible" or take a course on sailing small boats. If you are just learning to sail take it slow, stay in protected waters and go out in less then 10 knots of wind. I say all this because I have seen more than a few people driven from sailing, by starting out in such a boat getting dunked in cold water in the spring and never to return to the sport. One final thought, you may try going to Yahoo and doing a search on "Sunbird sailboat", this may lead you to something interesting. Good Luck!
